Homily: 7th Day in the Octave of Christmas

Readings: 1 Jn 2:18-21; Ps 96; Jn 1:1-18

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Here we are on the last day of the year, ready to say, “Goodbye” to 2024, for which we thank God, and look forward to the beginning of 2025.

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Have you ever noticed that there are no road signs in The Villages that say, “Dead End”? You’ll see them everywhere else, in Leesburg and Wildwood and Lady Lake. But in The Villages the relevant signs read “No Outlet.” My guess is the developer decided that signs proclaiming “Dead” and “End” might not be very well-received in a large retirement community advertised as the “beginning of your new life.”

I really have no problem with that, because for a faithful Christian there are no dead ends. Indeed, the end is always the beginning of something immense and wondrous.

Mary Queen of Scots, who for centuries was treated horribly by most historians, is today undergoing deserved rehabilitation. Anyway, I once read that shortly before her execution she embroidered these words:

“In my end is my beginning.”

For the Christian, then, the life of faith is always the beginning; there really is no end. 

Anna, the Temple prophetess, demonstrated this in yesterday’s Gospel passage. Although she was at the end of her life, she was “looking forward,” not back. We see this, too, in today’s passage where John starts the Prologue to his Gospel with the words, “In the beginning was the Word.…” But in our other reading from John’s First Letter, he begins with the end…

“Children, it is the last hour…"

For John, “the last hour” is also a “beginning.” Of course, to John it's really all of one piece, just as it should be with us. Yes, indeed, God is the beginning and the end...the alpha, the omega...and He’s active through it all.

I think we sometimes forget that. Oh, yes, we know God made the heavens and the earth, but then far too many today go through their lives as if He’s no longer involved with His Creation, no longer involved with us. For we, too – each one of us – are His Creation, and His involvement with us couldn’t be more intimate, more involved, more pervasive than it already is.

John wants to ensure we understand this: the fullness of God’s love for us manifests itself through His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. “Fullness” is the correct word, too, because God’s love begins with Creation, redeems us through the Incarnation, and leads us into eternity with His merciful Judgment…and that’s about as full as it gets.

Throughout it all, Jesus is the Word.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” [Jn 1:1].

And the Word of God is creative, for "all things came to be through Him..." And when God speaks, things happen:

“Then God said: Let there be light, and there was light.”

The Father, then, speaks through His Son, the Word, and all is created. But when you or I speak, we’re lucky if anything happens. Heck, even my little dog, who left us last year, obeyed me only when it suited her.

And then John shares those words that mean so very much to us:

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…”

Yes, Jesus became one of us, blessing our human existence with His Divinity, infusing us with His glory, if only we accept it.

Today, then, as we consider making New Year resolutions, perhaps we should just start anew.

I remember reading about a monk who confessed how he used to complain about the number of steps in his abbey. As he aged, he found that climbing those steps wore him down.

“I used to count them as I climbed,” he wrote, “just to help me get through them. But then, one day in prayer I realized my spiritual life needed, again and again, to start at the beginning. Now, as I go up the steps, I count each step aloud, “One, one, one…”

Consider today and every day a new beginning, asking God to come into our hearts and lead us as we struggle to follow Him on the Way.

Sisters and brothers, Sacred Scripture has depths beyond our understanding, and I often pray after our weekly Bible Study that I haven’t misapplied them or mangled them too badly as I try to share them with others. But, as we read God’s Word, and pray it, and live it, we become like the two on the road to Emmaus, because Jesus walks with us, from one beginning, not to the end, but to a new beginning.

God love you all...and Happy New Year.

Friday Daily Mass

In the sacristy this morning, a few minutes before Mass, my dear friend, Fr. Glen, in his normal kindly way pretty much insisted I preach. I was not assigned to preach and I’m one of those preachers who likes to be prepared, so this was a challenge. And as I age it’s become a growing challenge.

Years ago, after a similar experience, I decided always to prepare a homily whenever I assist at Mass. I usually make detailed notes even when I’m not expected to preach.  But last night I slept horribly and really didn’t get to sleep until almost 2 am. When I awoke, as usual at 5 am, I was simply too tired even to consider my regular homily preparation. I consumed huge amounts of coffee and just looked over the readings and took a couple of minutes to jot down a few notes. I then trusted in the Spirit — usually the best approach.

I’ve embedded the video of this morning’s Mass below. The Gospel and Homily are a little over 18 minutes into the video if you have a hankering to check it out. Even though unprepared, I hope it might spark a glimmer of hope as we look forward to the new year.

(Note: probably best to view the YouTube version.)

Blessings and God’s peace.

 

Generations and Generations

Okay, one of my readers -- and, believe me, she is one among a tiny band of followers -- informed me that I've been entirely too serious lately:

"Every so often you would post amusing or interesting little tidbits about your family, your childhood, and modern society. I always enjoyed them, but you don't do that anymore." 

I, of course, disagree. I'm still remarkably amusing and ever so interesting, but perhaps I haven't shared this with you as often as I should. So, I will try to soften my posts with an occasional "tidbit" to amuse or interest. 

As we come to a thankful end of 2024, I thought it might be helpful to clearly define the boundaries of the many generations we encounter today. I neither assigned the names of these generations, nor established their boundaries based on birth-years. Who makes these decisions, I do not know. To me some of the generational names seem rather odd and the dates rather arbitrary, but we must always respect the word and decision of the "experts" who continually bless the world with their wisdom. 

Here, then, is the generational breakdown offered by these experts as they divide today's population, based on years of birth:

1901 - 1927: Greatest Generation

1927 - 1945: Silent Generation

1946 - 1964: Baby Boomers

1965 - 1980: Gen X

1981 - 1996: Millennials

1997 - 2012: Gen Z

2013 - 2024: Gen Alpha

2025 - 2040: Gen Beta

Naturally, I'd known or had heard of most of these generational titles, but I find a few things troubling, or at best, questionable.

For example, my parents (both born in 1909), along with both of Dear Diane's parents, fell into the Greatest Generation. I suppose in many respects this generation could be considered great, but I'm just not sure they should be called the "greatest." Yes, they did their share of great things, especially during World War Two, but when they assumed political power after the war, they also set in motion policies that caused many of the problems facing us today. I also believe it a bit presumptuous to label anything the "greatest" while history continues to play out. After all, those Gen Beta kids just might turn out to be even greater. Then what do we do? Rename everything? Perhaps we should wait until the end of the world and let God decide who was greatest.

Because I was born in 1944, I am a member of what someone has labeled the Silent Generation. Another few years and I would have been a Baby Boomer, like Dear Diane. But that was not to be. Earlier today, when I informed my lovely wife of 56 years of my membership in this generation of silent ones, she burst out laughing. Why, I don't know. Maybe when she stops, she'll tell me. Let me check...Nope, still laughing.

All four of our children were born in the 1970s, which makes them Gen-Xers. I did not know this. In fact, I had never thought of them in generational terms. To me, they are our grown children. They look a lot like us, think somewhat like us, and act a little bit like us, but are still so wonderfully different from us. I think that is a good thing. But I still don't understand the why of the Gen X title. Perhaps someone can help.

I have never really understood the starting and stopping dates of Gen-Xers, Millennials, and Gen-Zers. I had thought I understood why the Millennials were given that title until I noticed their assigned birth years. I had assumed it applied to those born on or shortly before or after the new millennium, somewhere around the year 2000. But, no, Gen Z claims that period. Perhaps it's because many of the Millennials actually came to age with the beginning of the third millennium. 

We have no Millennials in our immediate family, since eight of our nine grandchildren are Gen-Zers born in the first decade of the 21st century. Our ninth grandchild was born in 2013, making her a Gen Alpha child. Alana, then, is unique, at least in our family.

I haven't a clue why any of these later generations were tagged with such non-descript names: Z, Alpha, and Beta...even X. Why these names? Perhaps the naming powers, who themselves remain unnamed, simply assigned these arbitrary titles as placeholders and intend to rename each generation once it makes its mark in our world, thus earning a more descriptive title. 

As for me, I will continue to maintain my low profile and live up to my membership in the Silent Generation. Then, again, maybe I'll just forget the whole thing and continue to see and love each person as an individual child of God whom He created in a unique act of divine love. I think that might be best.

Pope Benedict on Truth and Relativism

At this time of year, as we approach its end, we inevitably hear all kinds of odd things from the media. We are subjected to overviews of the previous year and predictions of what the next year will bring. 

For example, flipping through the channels yesterday evening I encountered a synopsis of the entertainment industry in 2024. At least from my perspective (and I don’t claim my point of view represents that of the majority of Americans), the industry’s annual highlights seemed more like horrifying lowlights. 

This brief coverage depicted a radically self-absorbed industry. We are presented with a world like few others, a dystopian-like world inhabited by far too many ego-centric celebrities. It’s a world in which money rules and defines almost everything. It’s a world where all is relative, especially truth. It’s a world lacking any standards of human behavior where the lines separating good and evil are increasingly blurred. 

It’s certainly not a good world, but one that apparently appeals to many, especially young people. And this is its real danger, that it will infect future generations and lead them to accept what Pope Benedict XVI called a “dictatorship of relativism."

Indeed, Pope Benedict, perhaps the greatest scriptural and theological scholar among modern popes, wrote and spoke often about truth and relativism. In a series of interviews with European journalist, Peter Seewald, Pope Benedict had much to say on the subject. (The interviews were published as a book in 2010 — Light of the World: The Pope, The Church and The Signs Of The Times)

I've included some of what the pope said below. I realize it's rather lengthy, but we can all benefit from his wisdom, especially on this subject. Here goes...

It is obvious that the concept of truth has become suspect. Of course, it is correct that it has been much abused. Intolerance and cruelty have occurred in the name of truth. To that extent people are afraid when someone says, “This is the truth”, or even “I have the truth.” We never have it; at best it has us. No one will dispute that one must be careful and cautious in claiming the truth. But simply to dismiss it as unattainable is really destructive.

A large proportion of contemporary philosophies, in fact, consist of saying that man is not capable of truth. But viewed in that way, man would not be capable of ethical values, either. Then he would have no standards. Then he would only have to consider how he arranged things reasonably for himself, and then at any rate the opinion of the majority would be the only criterion that counted. History, however, has sufficiently demonstrated how destructive majorities can be, for instance, in systems such as Nazism and Marxism, all of which also stood against truth in particular.

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...we must have the courage to dare to say: Yes, man must seek the truth; he is capable of truth. It goes without saying that truth requires criteria for verification and falsification. It must always be accompanied by tolerance, also. But then truth also points out to us those constant values which have made mankind great. That is why the humility to recognize the truth and to accept it as a standard has to be relearned and practiced again.

The truth comes to rule, not through violence, but rather through its own power; this is the central theme of John’s Gospel: When brought before Pilate, Jesus professes that he himself is The Truth and the witness to the truth. He does not defend the truth with legions but rather makes it visible through his Passion and thereby also implements it.

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A new intolerance is spreading, that is quite obvious. There are well-established standards of thinking that are supposed to be imposed on everyone. These are then announced in terms of so-called “negative tolerance”. For instance, when people say that for the sake of negative tolerance [i.e. “not offending anyone”] there must be no crucifix in public buildings. With that we are basically experiencing the abolition of tolerance, for it means, after all, that religion, that the Christian faith is no longer allowed to express itself visibly.

When, for example, in the name of non-discrimination, people try to force the Catholic Church to change her position on homosexuality or the ordination of women, then that means that she is no longer allowed to live out her own identity and that, instead, an abstract, negative religion is being made into a tyrannical standard that everyone must follow. That is then seemingly freedom – for the sole reason that it is liberation from the previous situation.

In reality, however, this development increasingly leads to an intolerant claim of a new religion, which pretends to be generally valid because it is reasonable, indeed, because it is reason itself, which knows all and, therefore, defines the frame of reference that is now supposed to apply to everyone.

In the name of tolerance, tolerance is being abolished; this is a real threat we face. The danger is that reason – so-called Western reason – claims that it has now really recognized what is right and thus makes a claim to totality that is inimical to freedom. I believe that we must very emphatically delineate this danger. No one is forced to be a Christian. But no one should be forced to live according to the “new religion” as though it alone were definitive and obligatory for all mankind.

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But the reality is in fact such that certain forms of behavior and thinking are being presented as the only reasonable ones and, therefore, as the only appropriately human ones. Christianity finds itself exposed now to an intolerant pressure that at first ridicules it – as belonging to a perverse, false way of thinking – and then tries to deprive it of breathing space in the name of an ostensible rationality.

It is very important for us to oppose such a claim of absoluteness conceived as a certain sort of “rationality”. Indeed, this is not pure reason itself but rather the restriction of reason to what can be known scientifically – and at the same time the exclusion of all that goes beyond it. Of course it is true that historically there have been wars because of religion, too, that religion has also led to violence...

Indeed, the Church of today and tomorrow will need many heroic souls who possess the faith and the courage necessary to stand up for Jesus Christ in a world that despises Him. Brothers and sisters, the Church is far more than the pope and the bishops, far more than its priests and deacons and religious. You too are the Church! And together we must stand firm in our faith, even as the world, slowly and deceptively, tries to lead us astray. Our lives must also be prayerful lives, lifting up the generations that follow so they, too, will accept the Truth and follow the Way to the eternal Life God offers to us all.

By the way, get the book (see Amazon link above). It's a wonderful read and provides many unique insights as to how we should life our faith in a world which is largely hostile to all that it stands for.

Homily: Christmas Vigil

Note: This isn't a newly written homily. I wrote it some years ago, but tend to use if I'm called to preach at the Christmas Vigil Mass. This year I won't be preaching, but I thought some folks might enjoy my take on Matthew's wonderful genealogy of Our Lord Jesus.

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Readings: Is 62:1-5; Ps 89; Acts 13:16-17,22-25; Mt 1:1-25

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People often wonder why the Church includes this Gospel passage, this rather long genealogy, in tonight’s liturgy. It seems to be a strange selection, doesn’t it? All those names scattered across the generations from Abraham to Moses, then on to David and Solomon, then to the traumatic exile of God’s People in Babylon, and finally to Joseph and Mary and Jesus Himself.

Yes indeed, it might seem a bit odd to have us listen to all those names on the night we celebrate the birth of our Savior. After all, isn’t the name of Jesus enough? Isn’t it enough to know that Jesus is the Son of God? Is it really necessary to tell us about these human ancestors spread out over the centuries from the time of Abraham?

Well, actually, yes! It is. You see, Matthew is simply saying, “Welcome to God’s family! -- because Jesus’s family is also our family.”

Tonight we not only celebrate Jesus’ birth, but we also celebrate our own spiritual roots, deep roots that stretch back nearly 4,000 years to Abraham, our father in faith. You can trace that spiritual lineage from the priest (or deacon) who baptized you, through the bishop who ordained him, all the way back to the apostles and to Jesus Himself. And then you need only turn to these opening verses of Matthew’s Gospel and follow the path all the way back to Abraham.

And do you know something else? You and I share these roots. That’s right – we all have that same family tree. What a gift this is! It’s one of the key messages of the Gospel, a message that takes us deeply into those spiritual roots, and binds us in a living connection with Jesus Christ Himself.

Each of the four Gospels begins by telling us who Jesus is, but each tells us in a different way.

Mark, in his usual Sergeant Friday, just-the-facts-Ma’am approach, begins by saying:

“The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God…”

Yes, Mark wastes no time identifying Jesus.

Luke’s a bit more subtle. He takes half a chapter before he finally gets to Jesus, and then he lets the angel Gabriel do the honors:

“Therefore, the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.”

And John? He echoes the opening words of the Book of Genesis and proclaims the eternal divinity of the Logos, of Jesus, the creative Word of God.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

But Matthew is different. Writing to a Jewish audience, he offers them a very Jewish family tree of Jesus Christ, true God and true man. He begins by proclaiming:

“The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”

Any Jew would recognize these titles, for they are Messianic titles. At the very start, Matthew is declaring Jesus to be the Messiah, the chosen one. Then, filled with the Spirit, he presents us with a family tree, one generation after another…right here in the very first verses of the New Testament. It’s as if God can’t wait to tell us all about His family.

Realize first that Matthew didn’t intend his genealogy to be complete. And his Jewish readers would know this too. No, Matthew wants to make a point. He wants his readers to understand and accept Jesus’s messianic roots. And so, he divides his genealogy into three sections of 14 names, or 6 sections, each with 7 names.

To the Jew 7 and 14 symbolized completion or perfection. And so Matthew completes his genealogy with the first and only name in the 7^th group of 7: the name of Jesus. For a Jew this was as perfect as you could get.

Although some of these names sound a bit strange to us, they’re all real people and offer a glimpse into the entire history of God’s People. As we run through that list of names we encounter every aspect of human life, and not just the good parts, but also murder, treachery, incest, adultery, prostitution…

We also meet five women, something rarely encountered in ancient genealogies. The last of these is Mary herself, but the first four – Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba – are all Gentiles: 2 Canaanites, a Moabite, and a Hittite. Jesus’s family wasn’t so purely Jewish, was it? Those Gentiles among His ancestors highlight the fact that He came from all of us, and for all of us. How did Isaiah put it?

“Nations shall behold your vindication, and all the kings your glory; you shall be called by a new name, pronounced by the mouth of the LORD.”

It’s a global family, but it’s also a family of sinners. Tamar disguised herself as a prostitute to fool her father-in-law, Judah, and ending up giving birth to his twin sons. Rahab was a prostitute, and yet she becomes a faithful woman. And Bathsheba? King David watched her bathing from his rooftop, invited her in, seduced her, and had her husband killed, so he could marry her. Solomon, their son, started right with God, but then joined his many wives in worshipping idols. It sounds a lot like fodder for the tabloids. 

Some members, like Mary and Joseph, are extraordinary; others, Ruth and Josiah, are faithful; some, like Manasseh and Rehoboam, are despicable; others, like Eliud and Azor, are anonymous, nondescript, men about which we know nothing.

Welcome to my family, Jesus tells us, welcome to my world. It’s the world we encounter when we open the Bible and realize how forgiving our God is. Yes, Jesus’s family is a human family and like most human families, has its share of saints and sinners. But from this, we learn that God’s plan was accomplished through them all, and that He continues to work through us, His people.

Notice, too, throughout the genealogy it's all father to son, and father to son…except at the very end. Matthew completes the genealogy with the words:

“Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.”

For Matthew doesn’t declare Joseph to be the father of Jesus. Jesus, the Christ, is born of Mary, the virgin, with God as His Father. Again, what a gift – to be members of God’s eternal family! Indeed, what a gift all of Revelation is!

Do you realize how blessed we are to be Catholic Christians? What we believe and how we worship are not things we’ve concocted. For Christianity is really a revelation rather than a religion. Christianity is God’s Word and Work, not something we came up with. It’s not a collection of man’s feeble attempts to placate some higher power.

It comes totally from God Himself. We believe God revealed Himself through the many generations Matthew enumerates in his genealogy.

It’s a Revelation that runs from Abraham to Moses to David through all the prophets and eventually to Jesus Himself – Who is the fulfillment of it all. Yes, it’s a revelation that reaches its climax in the Incarnation when Mary gives birth, as Matthew describes it, to “Jesus, who is called the Christ.”

You see, brothers and sisters, it’s all a gift. As St. Paul asked the Corinthians: “What do you possess that you have not received?” The answer, of course, is “Nothing!”

And right there at the top of the list of God’s gifts, is that which we receive through our Baptism: the gift of adoption. We became sons and daughters of the Father, part of the Family of God. And so, we join Jesus on that family tree described by Matthew. We are heirs and inherit the fruit of God’s promises made to Abraham and to those who followed him. But as members of God’s family, we must behave as any good son or daughter would behave. We must live in a way that honors the father, in a way that doesn’t dishonor the family.

Another great gift that comes out of this adoption is the privilege of eating at the table of the Family of God. Yes, we can take part in the Eucharistic Feast, the Mass. And what a gift this is! For here, at this altar, Jesus Christ, gives Himself to us, body and blood, soul and divinity, and allows us, the members of His family, to join Him in the most intimate way imaginable. Here, as we come forward to receive the Body and Blood of Christ, we also join each other in a unique Communion in which the Church is most completely herself. Eucharist – the word itself means thanksgiving – is like a great family dinner, Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners all rolled into one… and yet far more wonderful and fulfilling.

Brothers and sisters, we are sons and daughters of God! These roots are deeper, stronger, and longer lasting than any human family roots. Indeed, they’re so strong they’ll carry us all the way to eternal life.

And so tonight, as we rejoice in the birth of our Savior, let us also rejoice that our names are written in heaven, as members of the family of Jesus Christ.

Come, Lord Jesus!

 

Homily: 3rd Sunday of Advent - Year C

Readings: Zep 3:14-18a; Phil 4:4-7; Lk 3:10-18

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Gaudete Sunday – Today, smack in the middle of Advent, in this season of prayerful repentance and preparation, we are called to be joyful. It’s a time to rejoice, for that’s what Gaudete means: this Latin imperative: “Rejoice!” Hence, the color of our vestments and the candle we light today on our Advent wreaths – the color rose is offered as an outward sign of our joy.

But why? Why this focus on rejoicing? What’s its source? We rejoice today because our salvation is at hand. It’s especially fitting in anticipation of our celebration of the birth of our Savior on Christmas Day. Two Old Testament readings today, prophecies from Zephaniah and Isaiah, then a passage from Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, and finally the words of John the Baptist in Luke’s Gospel, all reminding Israel and us of God’s promise of salvation.

We’re told to shout for joy, to sing joyfully, to cry out with gladness, to exult with all our hearts, not to be discouraged, to leave anxiety behind, to fear nothing. Sisters and brothers, if you missed that message, you just weren’t paying attention.

In our first reading, Zephaniah completes his prophecy by telling us to rejoice:

“Shout for joy, daughter Zion! Sing joyfully, Israel...

But because he’s a prophet, inspired by the Holy Spirit, he speaks not only to the people of his time, but to those in the time of fulfillment, and that includes you and me:

"The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a mighty Savior…"

Zephaniah was also called to prepare God’s people by telling them how they are to receive their Savior:

“…I will leave as a remnant in your midst a people humble and lowly, who shall take refuge in the name of the Lord.”

Is Zephaniah speaking to us? To us, who have received a mighty Savior in our midst and continue to receive Him in His Eucharistic Presence? Yes, indeed, for Zephaniah’s words are God’s Word, inspired by the Holy Spirit and given to the Church for the salvation of all.

A remnant…a people humble and lowly? It that the Church? Is that us? Are we humble and lowly? 

My! That sure goes against the grain, doesn’t it? To be lowly in today’s world is to be a loser, because anyone who’s anyone strives to be a winner. Fame and fortune beckon and the lowly will be left behind. Yes, indeed, humility’s not something we see a lot of these days. As my father used to say, only partially in jest:

“Humility’s a strange commodity. Once you know you have it, you just lost it.”

You never hear saints talking about their humility, because for them humility is simply reality, the reality of our existence. We are all children of God, none better than the other, all loved into existence by our great God, Who created everything. Now, that's humbling.

Does this remnant of humble, lowly ones rejoice in God’s gift of salvation? Do evangelists of the last days prepare the world for the Son’s return? Yes, indeed, for God so often takes the weak and powerless, and through them does wondrous things. Or He allows us to be weakened, so we so come to experience true humility.

Some years ago, driving north, Diane and I stopped by Jacksonville to see dear old friends, a retired admiral and his wife, Scott and Marnie. I’d known Scott for years, and flown with him back in our Navy days. But now he was dying of cancer, and we wanted to see him once more.

That day, as we ate lunch together, Scott’s drawn face suddenly filled with peace. He smiled and said:

“You know, Dana, I’m so looking forward to seeing our Lord, I can hardly stand it. Isn’t that weird?”

Scott died exactly one week later. And that comment, made over a salad at a Longhorn restaurant, was a gift. Speaking with us several weeks later, Marnie said, “Scott saved me from a lot of grief because he was so joyful about the life to come.” We are to welcome the Lord with joy, however and whenever He might come to us.

We hear a similar message in our Responsorial Psalm. It’s really not one of the Psalms, but a prayer of praise, joy, and thanksgiving from Isaiah. We need only pray again our response:

“Cry out with joy and gladness: for among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.”

Accepting this, we believe our Savior is among us now, and that God is calling us to prepare the world for His ultimate return. We must, then, try to understand what God desires of us. And to find out, let’s revisit today’s Gospel passage from Luke.

Many picture John the Baptist as some odd zealot, dressed in animal skins, roaming about the desert, telling everyone to repent while they still have time – in other words, kind of a scary guy. John was certainly a bit fierce, mainly because he understood the holiness of God, the effects of sin, and so preached the need for repentance. And yet, he was among the sweetest of men – a saint of indescribable humility, and perhaps the most joyful saint in Scripture.

For John had met and acknowledged Jesus before both were born. Filled with the Holy Spirit, John leaped in his mother’s womb at the sound of Mary’s greeting – an unborn infant filled with joy at his Lord’s arrival. As Luke reveals to us: Called by the Word of God, John “went throughout the whole region of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” We too are called to experience this same joy as we prepare for our own meeting with Jesus.

Did you notice that everyone John encountered, everyone he baptized, asked the same question: “What are we to do?” How should we live our lives? And John told them all – the crowds, the tax collectors, the soldiers, everyone who asked him – that they must live their newfound faith. They must prove it through works of charity, honesty, faithfulness, and justice.

Yes, indeed, “What are we to do?”

Well, God gave us a pretty simple command: Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength; and love your neighbor as yourself.

“What are we to do?”

About 25 years ago, ministering in another parish, I was asked that same question. A couple, in their early 40s, approached me after Sunday Mass and asked if they could meet with me. I didn’t know them. I’d been a deacon for only a few years, but I agreed to meet privately the next day.

We began the meeting with a brief prayer, then the man told me they were seasonal visitors, living in their new summer home. It seems they had just sold their business, a software development company, for over 50 million. My immediate thought? Oh, a big donation’s coming. 

But no, it was the wife who spoke next and said, “We’ve both been unfaithful, but want to save our marriage.” And with that, her husband looked at me and asked, “What are we to do?”

Hearing that question – What are we to do? – threw me right back into Luke’s Gospel, and caused me to ask myself, "What am I to do now?"

I first told them to go to the sacrament reconciliation and receive God’s forgiveness and taste His mercy. And because I’m no marriage counselor, I referred them to a faithful Catholic counselor, one whom I knew would help them. Then I just said: “Love, repentance, forgiveness, and mercy.”

That they were there, together, demonstrated their love for each other. Repentance, though, means far more than being sorry for our sins. The very word – repent – means to re-think, to change our thinking, and from that to change how we act. As St. Paul reminds us, repentance demands change.

“…put on the new self, created in God’s way, in righteousness and holiness of truth.”

Forgiveness and mercy…well, they go together, for they are the most vivid manifestation of God’s love, the same love we are called to imitate. We should, of course, begin in our own families, forgiving those who love us, those whom we love, those to whom we can sometimes be most unkind indeed. 

But don’t stop there. Do what John told the crowds as they prepared to meet their Lord: Give to the poor, not just from your surplus but from your own need. Be honest, loving, caring people.

Called by God as His messenger, John prepared the world to receive Jesus Christ, the Word of God Incarnate. John awakened those he encountered, pulled them out of their complacency, led them to repentance so they would understand Jesus when He came.

And it’s no different today. To shake the world out of its indifference, to heal the hatreds, the divisions, the Church needs us all to be true witnesses to God’s love for the world. Today, because our God calls us all to rejoice in our salvation, we need people of joy – not just on one Sunday of Advent, but every day.

St. Paul, in our reading from Philippians, said it best:

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice!”

And he wrote those words from a Roman prison, as he awaited execution. Yes, “Rejoice in the Lord always.”

I’m reminded again of the words of my dying friend, Scott:

“I’m so looking forward to seeing our Lord, I can hardly stand it.”

Here, indeed, is the peace of God that surpasses all understanding. And this, sisters and brothers, is the Good News of Jesus Christ. Live it! Share it!