And So This is Christmas

 And what have you done?

In times past, I would spend Christmas at the “family homestead” in Hamilton.  The photo here shows me some time in the 1980s, with a shot of the front hallway and the manger scene.  When I would walk into the house, I notice two important details.  First the creche.  Our traditional manger scene was always right above the main fireplace in the front hallway.  I look inside to see if they remembered to put in the baby Jesus in the manger on Christmas morning.  Next thing I notice was the dining room.  How did they set up the table.  Who’s coming home, how many chairs, who sat where.  And most especially where will I sit this year.  And what will they be serving?

What about your home?  Maybe the manger scene is in the front yard, and the Christmas meal is take-out in in front of the TV.  Or maybe your Christmas creche is in the living room, and the family meal is in the family room.  Just take time to notice the manger scene. 

Notice this creche.  The manger scene.  Jesus is in a manger?  What is a manger?  A place to be fed.  The word manger comes from the Latin manger to eat.  A manger is a place where food is found. Hungry animals come to the manger to be fed, and once fed, go forth as better animals.  Hungry people come to Jesus to be fed, and once fed, go forth as better people.

If you go to church at Christmas, notice the altar.  A kind of dinner table, it is an altar of sacrifice.  A different kind of food.  Not the kind where we stuff ourselves and then take a nap.

Jesus is the food that changes us inside and sends us outside to feed others.  I don’t look at the altar asking, “What will they be serving?”  Instead I ask, “Who will I be serving?”  What must I do next?

At Christmas, we are led to this stable.  Then we are led to this table.  Then we are led to be better.  Because you have encountered God in a baby, then God as bread, where then are you led?

See, it is very nice to go home for Christmas, but what really matters is where you go after Christmas.  What’s next?  What will be different?  Where will you go after Christmas?

This feast is a time for transformation.  The Divine transformed into the Human for us.  Can your humanity help transform the world to be more divine?  You may ask the question:  am I any different than I was last Christmas?  Has my faith changed me in any way in 2020? 

Ask yourself if it had been a change for the worse, or a change for the better.  One or the other.  Maybe in this area I have improved.  But in this area I am slipping.  So come to the stable.  Then come to this table.  May the coming of Jesus be the start of a new life inside you?

Mary’s life was different after the stable.  And it was no picnic.  She and her husband went through really hard times.  There was no pandemic like we have, but they became homeless and moved to Egypt.  Learning to trust God, they found a new home in Nazareth.  Those days changed people for the better.  The lowly shepherds were changed.  Their fear at night was turned into a vision of angels praising God.  Glory in the highest.  From low to high.

Crowds of people were transformed by Jesus.  People who walked in darkness, once, powerless, now filled with possibility.  I can be anything I want.  As John wrote: “The word became flesh.  “And to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God.”  Certainly the power of a virus is not as great as the power of the Almighty.

Later at the feast of the Epiphany (January 3, 2021), we will hear how the wise men were changed by this baby.  The story says the magi came to Bethlehem “but they departed for their country by another way.”  You can do that too.  Let 2021 be a time to take a new road.   God in the Eucharist can change you from that way, to this way.  From your way to His way.

What change will your direction take after Christmas?  What will you let go of?   Where will you go, and where will you not go?  How will you act, and how will you not act?

 ∙ Maybe you will decide to pray more with Scripture to uncover the richness of Gospel story.
∙ You can serve the people in your own home/family by offering a simple “I’m sorry”
∙ Take time to write writing a sincere letter of thanks for a gift received
∙ Maybe you might spend more time with someone who needs you to feed them.
∙ Help someone clean the house
∙ Maybe you will quit searching and finally kneel like the wise men did.
∙ Maybe like Joseph you will finally live your dreams and accept God into your home.

 You have been led to this stable, and then to this table, Now where?  It is time, let the baby change you.  This time, let the bread make you rise.

    At the creche, we rejoice at his birth.
    At the altar, we are saved by his death.
    And tomorrow, we are changed by his life.

And so this is Christmas, and what have you done?
Where will you go next?  And whom will you serve?

 

Have a Merry Christmas and a transformative new year!

 

Help

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The theme of today’s readings is very much one of peace and consolation and rest.  Perfect summer reading.  Perfect for the beach, or for church, wherever you go to seek rest.

The First Reading from the prophet Zechariah speaks of a king entering Jerusalem riding on a young donkey.  The scene is one of a king of humility but also of peace.  He rides on a placid donkey rather than on a prancing war horse: “and he shall proclaim peace to the nations. His dominion shall be from sea to sea.”  Sounds like an appropriate reading for 4th of July weekend, and a hopeful message for those of us who find life a little less than peaceful or restful.

Jesus, who is identified with the king in Zechariah’s passage, also brings peace.  He is the Prince of Peace.  “Come to me, all you who labor and are overburdened, and I will give you rest.”  Whatever demands Jesus may make on our following him as disciples, he wants to be at all times truly a source of comfort, of consolation and of forgiveness and reconciliation. 

Whatever demands life may be making on us, he is there too to be called on.  When we are in difficulties and pain, we can ask him to take them away.  He may not always do so when we want, but we can expect him to restore our peace.

Picture in your mind the greatest burden you carry.  Now imagine that burden in the form of a large cross which you carry on your shoulders.  Every day it seems that cross gets heavier or becomes so attached to us it seems hard to shake.   The Christian life demands that we carry that cross, but not alone.   Being a Catholic means struggling, but not alone.  As much as American culture says you can do it all, and all by yourself.  That’s a lie.

When Jesus says “Come to me.”  He says let’s do this together.   He doesn’t say set your Cross aside.  He doesn’t say, be a happy Christian and wish your burdens away.  He says Come to me and bring along your Cross.   Show it to me, describe it to me, tell me how it feels, and ask my help to carry it with you.  For we need to remember that faith is not an escape from our problems.  Sometimes Jesus gives us peace not from our pain but within our pain. 

When I speak to young people, I am quick to assure them “Do not expect Jesus or his Mother or some other saint or the Church to be there to wave a magic wand that wipes away all our problems, all difficulties, all obstacles.”   Jesus Christ is always a reminder that in order to find rest in peace in him, we must do it his way take upon ourselves his yoke.

When Jesus uses the image of a “yoke,”  he is talking about a double yoke;  one designed to harness together two oxen, in part to make the work easier.  To lighten the burden.  But also so that the larger ox could train the younger one, help him learn the pathway and grow stronger in the work.   “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.”

Your job for this week is to have that conversation with Jesus where you describe the heaviest Cross you have to carry.  He wants to join up with you, yoke himself to you, especially for a task into which you have been yet unwilling to move.   I guarantee you – the Gospel guarantees – that when you hold that vocal conversation with Christ this week, that you will indeed find rest.    Have a great summer.

All Together Now

All Together Now

In times past, my family would all gather at a 4th of July picnic out in the middle of nowhere, Butler County Ohio.  Today we did it on Zoom.  I think we had the entire gang together, and the conversation was ... unintelligible to say the least.  But we all came with one thing:  love.  Yes, we are proud of the red white and blue, but today we are proud to be one family loving one another ... as our parents would have us do.  Happy 4th everyone.

I Will

I keep telling myself that I would like to keep up with my old blog:  this one.  I never get around to it.  Until this evening when I said to myself, "I will get to this, at least in a small way."  Just as a reminder, my blog titles are Beatle song titles.  When I hit 210 then I may switch to John Denver songs, but I don't think I'm close yet.

This is a photo of me and my 9 brothers taken in the summer of 2019 at our family reunion.  I posted it here to give you an update, but also to let you know that we 10 brothers will try to make a "guys" reunion in may of 2020.  We shall see.  They all say "I Will" try to make it, but we will see who does and doesn't.  It's a sabbatical summer for me, so it might turn out to be sort of a retreat ... or not.
I any case, if anyone of us has a great time this summer, I know I will.