Sunday, December 11, 2005
Of Things Divine: Rejoice In the Lord, Advent 3-B
Fr. Bryan P. Timby
Isaiah 61:1-2a, 10-11; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24; John 1:6-9, 19-28
Did you ever have any one ask you, “Who died and made you the messiah?” Maybe you posed that question to someone who was acting as if he was the fountain of truth.
It’s amazing how many young priests (and, I’m not talking about Fr. Russ) come out of the seminary and move into their first parish assignment with the notion that they are going to save the Church from herself and all her errors and teach the fuddy-duddy old pastor what the Church is all about. Know-it-all saviors are hard to take. It was no exaggeration when Pope Pius VII responded to Napoleon’s promise to destroy the Church with the statement, “Sir, if this Church can be destroyed it would have been done long ago at the hands of her priests.”
A lot of people claim to know it all. They never hold their opinions back and pronounce them as if those opinions are dogma. It doesn’t matter what the subject matter is. They know what the government should do in every situation. They know how to eliminate poverty … and crime from our streets. They know how to solve the energy crisis … and reverse global warming. It seems they know everything about everything and how it all is the beginning of the demise of humanity, modern civilization … the end of the world.
John the Baptizer, who knew more than most, wasn’t like those know-it-alls. He knew the truth and when to speak it. That’s what prophets do. They are humble servants of God called from the masses to announce what the world needs to hear from the heart of God. Their call to repentance is eternal. Their revelation ofDdivine Truth satisfies the hungriest of souls. That’s what John did as a voice crying out from the desert: make straight the ways of the Lord.
The spirit of the Lord was upon John as he baptized with water, calling people to live in the way God intended His people to live. It was glad tidings John announced as he said there was one coming after him who would baptize with fire and the Holy Spirit, one whose sandal straps he was not worthy to untie.
John knew who he was. John knew the truth about himself. He wasn’t God nor did he have any designs on being God. That is the reality of John’s humility.
Humility allows us to embrace the truth about ourselves, to recognize what keeps from loving as we should, what holds us back in generosity, what demons we have allowed to conquer us and lead us to sin. It also allows us to see the possibilities we have by the grace of God.
Not only does humility allow us to enter into ourselves to discover the real us, but it also motivates us to unshackle God. That’s right! Humility allows us to set God free. Humility allows us to free God to be God in our lives.
You’ve heard it said that an alcoholic will only ask for help when he hits rock bottom. That’s because until the moment he recognizes the depths to which he has sunk, the drunk thinks he is in control. He is a know-it-all who doesn’t have a problem, contrary to the world’s experience of him. Only when he realizes that he is not in control and surrenders control to his “higher power” is God able to begin the process reclamation and sobriety.
St. Paul is a wonderful example of humility. He didn’t have a particularly easy life. Even after his miraculous conversion, Paul was met with suspicion wherever he went to proclaim the Gospel. He was imprisoned. He was beaten. He was shipwrecked. He was the subject of ridicule. Yet, he was able to rejoice in God’s call to him and to instruct people to likewise rejoice always. It was only because he recognized that God was in control of his life that Paul was able to find inner peace in whatever situation he found himself. Everything he was and everything he wanted to be was in the hands of God. Even as his head was being chopped off, blow after blow, Paul found reason to rejoice because God was near to him.
When we allow God to be God, wonderful opportunities present themselves to us. We can heal broken relationships. We develop a new outlook on life in general. People previously bothersome to us are no longer burdens on our time but doors that open to the presence of the Divine. Taking care of an ill relative is no longer the chore that we resent but the avenue by which we can grow in holiness. Interruptions in our routine become welcome diversions.
When we allow God to be God, we don’t have to look very far to find reasons for rejoicing. We rejoice even in the littlest of things: the sudden embrace of a child who wraps her arms around our thighs in a display of spontaneous affection, the kind touch of a hand to our arm by a person speaking to us that reveals the need to be connected, the prayers that help us get through tough times….
There are so many reasons to rejoice, but the most important one is what happens here among us today. While we watch and wait to celebrate the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord, we know that it is Christmas every day because Jesus is present among us. In this very celebration of Mass, Jesus becomes flesh as real as when he was born in Bethlehem. When the Host is given to us at Communion, our hands become no less than the manger in which Mary laid her Son. We will gaze upon him in wonder and awe. And, he will kiss our lips as we receive his very flesh and blood in Holy Communion.
Like John, we are not worthy of him, but he comes to us anyway. It is this truth that sets us free. It is this truth that gives us the courage to be the saints God intends us to be … if only we will let Him.
So, like St. Paul, I say to you: Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I say rejoice! For the Lord is here!
Isaiah 61:1-2a, 10-11; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24; John 1:6-9, 19-28
Did you ever have any one ask you, “Who died and made you the messiah?” Maybe you posed that question to someone who was acting as if he was the fountain of truth.
It’s amazing how many young priests (and, I’m not talking about Fr. Russ) come out of the seminary and move into their first parish assignment with the notion that they are going to save the Church from herself and all her errors and teach the fuddy-duddy old pastor what the Church is all about. Know-it-all saviors are hard to take. It was no exaggeration when Pope Pius VII responded to Napoleon’s promise to destroy the Church with the statement, “Sir, if this Church can be destroyed it would have been done long ago at the hands of her priests.”
A lot of people claim to know it all. They never hold their opinions back and pronounce them as if those opinions are dogma. It doesn’t matter what the subject matter is. They know what the government should do in every situation. They know how to eliminate poverty … and crime from our streets. They know how to solve the energy crisis … and reverse global warming. It seems they know everything about everything and how it all is the beginning of the demise of humanity, modern civilization … the end of the world.
John the Baptizer, who knew more than most, wasn’t like those know-it-alls. He knew the truth and when to speak it. That’s what prophets do. They are humble servants of God called from the masses to announce what the world needs to hear from the heart of God. Their call to repentance is eternal. Their revelation ofDdivine Truth satisfies the hungriest of souls. That’s what John did as a voice crying out from the desert: make straight the ways of the Lord.
The spirit of the Lord was upon John as he baptized with water, calling people to live in the way God intended His people to live. It was glad tidings John announced as he said there was one coming after him who would baptize with fire and the Holy Spirit, one whose sandal straps he was not worthy to untie.
John knew who he was. John knew the truth about himself. He wasn’t God nor did he have any designs on being God. That is the reality of John’s humility.
Humility allows us to embrace the truth about ourselves, to recognize what keeps from loving as we should, what holds us back in generosity, what demons we have allowed to conquer us and lead us to sin. It also allows us to see the possibilities we have by the grace of God.
Not only does humility allow us to enter into ourselves to discover the real us, but it also motivates us to unshackle God. That’s right! Humility allows us to set God free. Humility allows us to free God to be God in our lives.
You’ve heard it said that an alcoholic will only ask for help when he hits rock bottom. That’s because until the moment he recognizes the depths to which he has sunk, the drunk thinks he is in control. He is a know-it-all who doesn’t have a problem, contrary to the world’s experience of him. Only when he realizes that he is not in control and surrenders control to his “higher power” is God able to begin the process reclamation and sobriety.
St. Paul is a wonderful example of humility. He didn’t have a particularly easy life. Even after his miraculous conversion, Paul was met with suspicion wherever he went to proclaim the Gospel. He was imprisoned. He was beaten. He was shipwrecked. He was the subject of ridicule. Yet, he was able to rejoice in God’s call to him and to instruct people to likewise rejoice always. It was only because he recognized that God was in control of his life that Paul was able to find inner peace in whatever situation he found himself. Everything he was and everything he wanted to be was in the hands of God. Even as his head was being chopped off, blow after blow, Paul found reason to rejoice because God was near to him.
When we allow God to be God, wonderful opportunities present themselves to us. We can heal broken relationships. We develop a new outlook on life in general. People previously bothersome to us are no longer burdens on our time but doors that open to the presence of the Divine. Taking care of an ill relative is no longer the chore that we resent but the avenue by which we can grow in holiness. Interruptions in our routine become welcome diversions.
When we allow God to be God, we don’t have to look very far to find reasons for rejoicing. We rejoice even in the littlest of things: the sudden embrace of a child who wraps her arms around our thighs in a display of spontaneous affection, the kind touch of a hand to our arm by a person speaking to us that reveals the need to be connected, the prayers that help us get through tough times….
There are so many reasons to rejoice, but the most important one is what happens here among us today. While we watch and wait to celebrate the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord, we know that it is Christmas every day because Jesus is present among us. In this very celebration of Mass, Jesus becomes flesh as real as when he was born in Bethlehem. When the Host is given to us at Communion, our hands become no less than the manger in which Mary laid her Son. We will gaze upon him in wonder and awe. And, he will kiss our lips as we receive his very flesh and blood in Holy Communion.
Like John, we are not worthy of him, but he comes to us anyway. It is this truth that sets us free. It is this truth that gives us the courage to be the saints God intends us to be … if only we will let Him.
So, like St. Paul, I say to you: Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I say rejoice! For the Lord is here!
Comments:
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I guess a lot of us think we know it all - isn't that why we blog?? LOL Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Father. I stumbled across your blog because you listed "Song of Bernadette" as one of your favorite movies - how's that for serendipity? :-)
I look forward to reading more of your thoughts. I hope you do an update soon.
God bless,
Lisa, from Massachusetts
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I look forward to reading more of your thoughts. I hope you do an update soon.
God bless,
Lisa, from Massachusetts
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