Sunday, November 27, 2005
The Real Countdown, Advent 1-B
Fr. Bryan P. Timby
Nov. 27, 2005
Well, the countdown has begun. It began at six o’clock Friday morning when stores all over the country opened their door to usher in the “Christmas Shopping Season.” Merchants are excited this year and anticipate an increase in sales over last year because of the good economy. The shoppers are so excited that they even trampled over one another as they sought the best bargains at the least expensive stores. They are counting down the days and will be reminding us tight up to the last hours of Christmas Eve that there are only so many shopping days left until Christmas.
Some have confused the shopping season with the Christian season that celebrates the birth of Jesus so much so that Christmas Day has become the end of a secular celebration of shopping. And the 25% off, 33% 0ff, 50% off and 60% off sales have replaced the Advent calendar as the way to prepare for the twelve days of the Christmas Season.
But there is still a place for Advent in the hustle and bustle of the month of December. Even Rev. Billy Graham just the other day in his column addressed the meaning of Advent in the life of a Christian. He reminded his readers that the four Sundays preceding Christmas Day and the days that follow them form the season of spiritual preparation Christian call Advent. He said it is a season of introspection and change, time to adjust one’s attitudes and priorities to conform to the mind of Jesus, who came to call us to conversion and life eternal.
Our encounters with Christ are many, although many go unappreciated. So often we fail to see the face of Jesus in those we encounter every day. Sometimes it is just plain difficult because there are those that seem to be the incarnation of evil, like the one who curses your driving habits, the one that stole your wallet from the locker at the gym, or the one who murdered a bunch of women and threw their bodies down a hillside over the course of several months or years. Yet we meet Christ when we meet them. Jesus tells us so.
Then, there are those who bring smiles to our faces and our hearts: the child’s face that lights up when a box of gifts is delivered in an otherwise disastrous year, the hope that is in the eye of an elderly person as we grasp their hand and say a prayer or speak a few kind words to them, the gratitude of a family who is rescued from destitution through an effort of friends, acquaintances and even strangers. It is just easier to admit to the presence of Jesus when there is the presence of love.
The difficulty we have in recognizing the Lord in people we don’t like is an aspect of conversion that needs our consistent attention. It is possible to see Christ in everyone. We just have to realize that one part of conversion is coming to the understanding that we are to call forth the presence of Christ in one another. He is there. He is just waiting to be revealed, waiting to be recognized.
Each of us is a work in progress. We are malleable as long as we are alive and allow the Master Potter to work with us. Every day presents opportunities for growth. Every breath is filled with promise. And it is all because God loves us and desires us to be in full communion with Him.
As we anticipate our encounter with the Lord in the mystery of His Incarnation, we surrender ourselves with confidence so that our own transformation may be accomplished through the potter’s hands. We open ourselves to the graces of the sacraments. We tend to the spiritual aspects of this holy season. We prepare ourselves for the joy that is Christmas by cooperating with God’s revelation of mercy, compassion and love.
We watch. And we wait.
It is possible even in the midst of the hurry-scurry of the holiday season. We make appointments with God. We go to confession. We keep the holy days of the season. We celebrate the quiet of Advent through lessons and carols that remind us that God did indeed become one of us, one like us in all things but sin.
So, let the countdown continue. Just remember that we are waiting and watching for something much more fulfilling than anything jolly old St. Nick can drag down a chimney. When it arrives we will not be tempted to say Christmas is over but will instead joyfully proclaim that it has just begun.
Nov. 27, 2005
Well, the countdown has begun. It began at six o’clock Friday morning when stores all over the country opened their door to usher in the “Christmas Shopping Season.” Merchants are excited this year and anticipate an increase in sales over last year because of the good economy. The shoppers are so excited that they even trampled over one another as they sought the best bargains at the least expensive stores. They are counting down the days and will be reminding us tight up to the last hours of Christmas Eve that there are only so many shopping days left until Christmas.
Some have confused the shopping season with the Christian season that celebrates the birth of Jesus so much so that Christmas Day has become the end of a secular celebration of shopping. And the 25% off, 33% 0ff, 50% off and 60% off sales have replaced the Advent calendar as the way to prepare for the twelve days of the Christmas Season.
But there is still a place for Advent in the hustle and bustle of the month of December. Even Rev. Billy Graham just the other day in his column addressed the meaning of Advent in the life of a Christian. He reminded his readers that the four Sundays preceding Christmas Day and the days that follow them form the season of spiritual preparation Christian call Advent. He said it is a season of introspection and change, time to adjust one’s attitudes and priorities to conform to the mind of Jesus, who came to call us to conversion and life eternal.
Our encounters with Christ are many, although many go unappreciated. So often we fail to see the face of Jesus in those we encounter every day. Sometimes it is just plain difficult because there are those that seem to be the incarnation of evil, like the one who curses your driving habits, the one that stole your wallet from the locker at the gym, or the one who murdered a bunch of women and threw their bodies down a hillside over the course of several months or years. Yet we meet Christ when we meet them. Jesus tells us so.
Then, there are those who bring smiles to our faces and our hearts: the child’s face that lights up when a box of gifts is delivered in an otherwise disastrous year, the hope that is in the eye of an elderly person as we grasp their hand and say a prayer or speak a few kind words to them, the gratitude of a family who is rescued from destitution through an effort of friends, acquaintances and even strangers. It is just easier to admit to the presence of Jesus when there is the presence of love.
The difficulty we have in recognizing the Lord in people we don’t like is an aspect of conversion that needs our consistent attention. It is possible to see Christ in everyone. We just have to realize that one part of conversion is coming to the understanding that we are to call forth the presence of Christ in one another. He is there. He is just waiting to be revealed, waiting to be recognized.
Each of us is a work in progress. We are malleable as long as we are alive and allow the Master Potter to work with us. Every day presents opportunities for growth. Every breath is filled with promise. And it is all because God loves us and desires us to be in full communion with Him.
As we anticipate our encounter with the Lord in the mystery of His Incarnation, we surrender ourselves with confidence so that our own transformation may be accomplished through the potter’s hands. We open ourselves to the graces of the sacraments. We tend to the spiritual aspects of this holy season. We prepare ourselves for the joy that is Christmas by cooperating with God’s revelation of mercy, compassion and love.
We watch. And we wait.
It is possible even in the midst of the hurry-scurry of the holiday season. We make appointments with God. We go to confession. We keep the holy days of the season. We celebrate the quiet of Advent through lessons and carols that remind us that God did indeed become one of us, one like us in all things but sin.
So, let the countdown continue. Just remember that we are waiting and watching for something much more fulfilling than anything jolly old St. Nick can drag down a chimney. When it arrives we will not be tempted to say Christmas is over but will instead joyfully proclaim that it has just begun.
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Great post father. Thank you always giving me a little bit the other Holy Rosary from down in Memphis. I miss both you and father Russ and ya'lls homilies.
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