Be a Joiner, not a Loner

January 27th, 2011

Thursday of the 3rd Week of Ordinary Time

Heb 10: 19-25; Mk 4: 21-25

Dc. Larry Brockman

This morning, Paul said to the Hebrews:  “We should not stay away from our assembly”.  That really caught my eye because someone sent me an interesting story, called “The Silent Sermon”.  That story addresses very well why we should not stay away from our assembly.  It seems a woman complained to her pastor that her husband had stopped going to Church.  The husband said that he talked to God all the time, and didn’t need to go to Church any more.  The pastor promised to visit her husband, which he did.  The husband let him in, and had him take a seat by the fire.  Before any conversation could begin, the pastor bent over to pick up the tongs next to the fire, and lifted a sizable red hot ember, which he placed out towards the edge of the fireplace.  Soon, the ember was coal black.  The Pastor got out of the chair, nodded to the husband, and headed for the door.  As the husband closed the door, he said to the pastor:  “I’ll be back at Church next week pastor.” 

I don’t know about you, but I need the common fellowship, reinforcement of values, and general air of civility, that this assembly at Holy Family provides, especially on Sundays.  Our secular, dog-eat-dog, turbulent society fills my week, and I need to come home to the assembly to both get warm, and keep warm in the faith.  That is why one of the six Church Laws says that we must make Mass each Sunday; yet, the motivation for attending ought to be the one the Silent Sermon implies- that all of us need each other to reinforce our Christian Commitment, to stay “super hot”, and keep the fire of Faith burning in our hearts.   

And I am convinced that it is even more important that we be fed by the Assembly more than once a week because we can sometimes get into a mode of listening to Mass, and then running out the door without any other contact.  Yet, just like the fire in the fireplace, the ember only stays hot if the assembled logs and embers work together continuously.   

I know it’s kind of a different interpretation of the meaning of the lamp hidden under the basket, but the Gospel story can be interpreted to reinforce this idea as well.  You see, each of us has something to add to our assembly like a talent, a special insight, or an energy that complements the needs of the assembly.  When the whole assembly works together, they can do great things on behalf of God.  But when our energy or talent or special insight is hidden- isolated from our neighbors- then it is lost to its higher purpose, lost to the work specially carved out for us as an assembly.  Not only that, but the concept of “use it or lose it” applies as well.  When our gifts are kept isolated, they may wane, even die out, fulfilling Jesus’ prediction that those who have, will get more; whereas those who have little will lose what they already have.   

What does all of this mean for you and I?  Simply that we were meant to do things as a group; not just to use our talents in isolation.  So, if you are not already involved with your assembly, then get involved.  Be a joiner; not a loner. 

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A Quake in the Body of Christ

January 23rd, 2011

 

3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time

Is 8: 23- 9: 3; 1 Cor 1: 10-13, 17; Mt 4: 12-23

Dc. Larry Brockman

 

A year or two ago, some of our public figures, who call themselves Catholic, made public statements about abortion.  I recall one person in particular who quoted St. Thomas Aquinas out of context in order to defend the pro-choice position on abortion.  Their comment received all kinds of attention in the press.  Their comment did significant damage to the unity of the Body of Christ.  How so? Well, first, using their authority as a public figure, this person attempted to make a blatantly incorrect position on Church teaching sound legitimate;  second, this person gave the secular media a wedge to use in undermining our Church’s doctrine on abortion; and third, this person offered false shelter to others who don’t like the official teaching of the Church, especially Catholics.  I remember feeling a quake in the unity of the body of Christ. 

Such behavior for a public figure should not be taken lightly.  Perhaps that’s why Church Law, or Canon Law, has a provision in it that persons in the public eye who publicly take a position against an important Church Doctrine, like Abortion, are excommunicated from the Church.  In an effort to contain the damage, the Church did not escalate the matter.  Yet. this example demonstrates all too clearly that things have not changed since Paul wrote to the Corinthians,  Because today, the Body of Christ is still plagued by divisions, and these divisions do harm to the Body of Christ. 

This morning, we find ourselves at the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe vs. Wade decision of January 22, 1972 legalizing Abortion in this country.  Father Ennis has asked that we talk about Respect Life issues this morning at all the Masses.  In accordance with St. Paul’s teaching, it is essential that as a Church and as a Parish, we do everything that we can to show that we are united as Christians on this important issue.   

In the past couple of years, this Parish has given extraordinary support to the Respect Life Movement.  Our Baby Bottle campaigns, our Spiritual Adoption Campaigns, and our Post Card Campaign, have all demonstrated that you are a pro-life people.  Congratulations to all of you for your support.  And I am confident that the ongoing Baby Bottle and Spiritual Adoption campaigns will also be successful this year, and that you will support the KOC Spaghetti Dinners to be held on the last Friday of each Month outside of Lent for JMJ Center.     

So, that said, what is missing?  What more can we do to unify the Body of Christ on Respect Life Issues?  Besides prayer, I think there are three important things we can all do.  First, we need to be educated in pro-life matters.  This year, our Respect Life Conference will be held on Saturday February 26th.  We will focus on end-of life issues, not on abortion.  A doctor, a lawyer, and a priest will provide expertise that all of us should find valuable.  They will serve as a panel that will present and discuss Christian ethics on end of life matters; and they will give Catholic advice on the details of Living Wills, Do Not Resuscitate Orders, and other such documents.  All of us need to know about end of life issues and what our Church teaches.  Why? First, because we need to know what to do when we are confronted with them as part of public policy.  For example, some of these issues may become sensitive politically because of provisions in the New Health Care Bill.  So, we need to be informed on them as voters.  And you know, it doesn’t matter what your age is, God could call you at any time- a stroke, an aneurysm, a car accident- and you could be in a position where you should have had a Living Will.  And for those of us who are getting up in years, or have a parent getting up in years, these end-of-life issues are quite timely right now.  And so, I urge all of you to come to the conference to find out what our Church teaches.   

We are also going to be hearing about “Human Trafficking”- another Respect Life issue- in the next couple of weeks.  The Diocese is involved in a major push to educate us about recognizing when Human Trafficking is occurring.  Human trafficking occurs when people are effectively coerced into prostitution or farm work or domestic service or some other activity against their will.  It happens all around us, only we don’t always recognize it.  The Church is hoping that if you and I are properly educated on recognizing signs of Human trafficking, then we will notify the right people so that something can be done about it.  Education is a responsibility that all of us adults have in these matters.  A knowledgeable parish can demonstrate their convictions with action.     

That brings me to the second thing we can all do.  Our Parish and our Diocese need to show our Right to Life stance publicly, not just within our walls or with our wallets.  Taking a public stance makes it clear that we believe and support the Church’s position because we are being proactive, not passive.  I encourage you to get involved in some way in a Respect Life Project in order to do that.  For example, JMJ Center is looking for an executive Director; and some folks make weekly visits to picket Abortion Clinics.  But you can do it in small ways too, you know.  For example, every year we have a “Life Chain” out in front of the Church along the sidewalk.  Parishioners are asked to hold pro-life signs for just an hour on a Sunday Afternoon.  Typically, we have 100 people, many of whom are youth trying to get service points.  Just 100 people out of a parish of 6,000 families.  What a public statement it would be if we had 500 or 1000 of you lined up for a mile or so along Apopka Vineland.  Surely, some of you can do that.  And then there are the water cooler discussions and other opportunities we all have when we are in public- a chance to make a difference, speaking up instead of remaining silent.   

The third thing we can do is to vote our position.  Now I know that there are some people out there that will talk about separation of Church and State.  But like it or not, there is a strong link between Government and controlling immoral and illegal behavior.  We elect people to government positions at all levels so that we will be protected from those who do evil things.  That’s why we have police and civil law and standards of behavior.  Make no mistake about it- 55 million aborted people since 1972 is evil.  Yet some folks seem to have lost their grip on what wrong behavior is.  Even though the vast majority of doctors and scientists all acknowledge that human life begins at conception, a large part of our secular society, under the guise of tolerance, preaches that termination of a human life in the womb, is a matter of choice for the pregnant woman.  What about the Father; and what about the fact that terminating that life is murder? 

Tolerance and passive acceptance of this position is leading to an erosion of our other values.  And so, we find assisted suicide and gay marriage gaining acceptance as well.  The Florida Catholic Bishops statement on this Anniversary of Roe vs Wade that is published in today’s bulletin specifically raises concern over these other two issues.  And we will need to be concerned about Euthanasia next, because in today’s economic crunch secular society may not want to pay the cost of keeping older folks alive.   

The fact is that this largely Christian nation needs to be awakened, and stand up and be counted.  We need to unite as the Body of Christ.  We do that by making sure our elected officials reflect and practice Christian values, and the most important of these values is respect for life.  It is our responsibility as clergy to make that very clear to our parishoners. 

Let us all recognize this one essential fact about our Church.  Today, as in the day of Paul, our Church’s mission is to Baptize us as Christians and to preach the Gospel.  The Church does this, and I quote “Not with the wisdom of human eloquence, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of it’s meaning”.  Rather, the Church teaches the Wisdom of God.  God is responsible for all life; it is his decision.  And so, as Christians, we are challenged to hold the Body of Christ together in unity.  And we do that by choosing those who choose life. 

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Great Expectations!

January 20th, 2011

 

Thursday of the 2nd Week of Ordinary Time

Heb 7: 25 – 8: 6; Mk 3: 7-12

Dc. Larry Brockman

 

Great Expectations!  Such great expectations from the people that crowded Jesus.  And why not?  For the stories of Jesus great healing powers had spread far and wide.  “If Jesus could do that for others, surely he can do it for me, too”.  That was the sentiment, an air of great expectations.   

Now the Church has paired this Gospel with an interesting scriptural description of the roles of priests and sacrifices.  Why so?  In the Old Testament, priests offered animal sacrifices to the Lord to atone for sins.  They offered the best- lambs and other animals specially selected because they were the most desirable.  As if sacrificing something near and dear would be an acceptable offering to God; and in some way atone for their sins so that favors would be granted by God.  They practiced this because God, acting through his prophets like Moses, prescribed what they were to do and how they were to do it.  And so, it was their expectation that God would keep his end of the bargain, accept their sacrifice, and grant them the favors they sought after the atonement sacrifice.  That was their expectation.   

Now Jesus sacrifice has been described in Old Testament terms as the slaughter of the unblemished Lamb of God- the sacrifice of the human life of God’s only son for the atonement of the sins of Mankind, our imperfections- so that we may all qualify for eternal life.  When our priests re-enact this sacrifice in the Mass, that’s what it is all about.  We re-enact the perfect sacrifice as a reminder, and in Thanksgiving for, the New Covenant- the promise of eternal life for those who accept and believe, so that we can stay directed on the path that the Lord laid out for us in the Gospels.   

When we attend Mass, what are our expectations?  Are they like the people that surrounded Jesus in our Gospel story, people who are expecting that something be done for them.  Or are our expectations more in line with the meaning of the Mass- that we remember what God, through Jesus His son, has done for us so that the reminder brings us into focus of what we need to do to attain the reward Jesus earned for us, eternal life? 

I think that it comes down to this: Trust.  We need to constantly be reminded of the promise of our own everlasting life that the Mass reminds us of, so that our trust in the Lord’s providence for us will override every trial, suffering, and doubt in our lives, trust that God will answer your prayer in his way, his time.  We can be, and do need to be, persistent in our prayer.  So, we should come to Mass often, and pray often.  But our attitude needs to be one of trust, not selfishness.  Unlike the people in the Gospel who crowded Jesus, pressing in on him for an immediate cure, we need to give him space, the space to fulfill God’s plan for us who trust in him.   

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Combating Hardness of Heart

January 13th, 2011

Thursday of the 1st Week of ordinary Time

 

Heb 3: 7-14; Mk 1: 40-45

 

Dc. Larry Brockman

 

Those Old Testament Jews, they had such hardness of heart amongst them, didn’t they?  For 40 years the Lord worked miracle after miracle for them- deliverance from a much more powerful people; pillars of fire; God talking out of a cloud; manna for food coming out of the sky; water from rocks; and even staffs turning into snakes.  And yet, they didn’t get it.  Although they experienced all of these works of the Lord’s and more, they really didn’t hear the voice of the Lord and follow His precepts.  They never seemed to remember the lessons taught by the Lord the previous day or week.   Every day was like a new birth for them; it’s almost like they were saying to themselves:  “A miracle yesterday, yes;  but what miracle will you work for me today so that I will believe”?  You see, hearing means more than just awareness when it happens.  It means actually responding to what you hear.  And so, we hear the message not once, but twice in today’s scripture, that:  “If today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts”.

Is our world, our generation, our parish, our congregation making the same mistake?  Do we harden our hearts when we hear the Lord’s voice?  In its wisdom the Church proclaims the teachings of the Church consistently and persistently- teachings on our responsibilities to grow in our faith, to serve others, and to love our neighbor; teachings on abortion and sexual morality and social justice.  And do we respond?  Or do we just hear with a little “h”, and then go on with our daily lives as if nothing happened, waiting to be fed with the next miracle before we are shaken out of a sense of complacency or preoccupation?

You know, I really have to admire the leper in the Gospel story.  Most lepers would have been complacent, downtrodden, and consumed with their own suffering.  But this leper was not- he listened to the message of Jesus, a message of change and conversion of the heart and of hope.  And Jesus responded by healing him.  This leper’s heart had not been hardened.

As individuals, we cannot single handedly change the world.  But like this leper, there is something we can do.  We can change our attitude.  We can soften our heart when we hear the Lord, and open ourselves up to respond to the message we hear.  In other words, we can:  “Encourage yourselves daily while it is still “today”, so that none of you may grow hardened by the deceit of sin”.

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Are You Experiencing the Epiphany?

January 2nd, 2011

Epiphany

Is 60: 1-6; Eph 3: 2-31, 5-6; Mt 2: 1-12

Dc. Larry Brockman

The year is 1976.  My wife Jane and I are expecting our 4th child.  We had 3 sons; I was one of two sons; and my Dad was one of 4 sons.  Almost 100 years had passed in my Dad’s family without a daughter being born!  We are waiting, and hoping that a little girl would be born.  Just 3 days before Christmas, Jane went into labor.  We had trained in the Le Boyer natural child birth method.  So I was there, right along side her as she labored.  Suddenly, the baby was born; my beautiful daughter Mary!  The doctor handed Mary to me, and I placed her in a warm water bath as she looked up at me with deep blue eyes!  What joy I experienced, but I experienced something else as well.  The whole process was an epiphany, the manifestation of a new life, yes.  But more than that- an answer to a prayer, and a sudden realization that things were different.  Soon after birth, I was ushered out of the room, and proudly proclaimed the good news to family and hospital staff alike, sharing my joy and euphoria over the birth of my daughter.   

Today, we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany.  In Europe and much of the world, it is the Epiphany which is the major Feast of the coming of the Lord, not Christmas day.  It is that day when the wise men, the kings, appeared at the scene of the nativity of the Lord.  They came from all over the world, a diverse representation of all the peoples come from afar to see the manifestation of the Lord, a fulfillment of a promise by God to send us a savior.  And not only that, Jesus was not just the Messiah for Israel, but the Messiah for all mankind. 

The manifestation of God was the birth of His son on Christmas.  But the Epiphany is the realization that Jesus is the Lord of all, the Savior of all, not just for Israel, but for the whole world.  It is the realization that the ancient promise, the ancient covenant, between God and the Jews, had been fulfilled for all of us.   

And just who was this Messiah that God sent?  His only son- true God and true man, fully human and fully divine.  Nothing like that had ever been promised by any of the religions of the world, that God himself would take on human nature and live and dwell amongst us as one of us, showing us the way to live a life pleasing to God through the example of His Gospel.  Proof of his humanity was birth as a helpless baby, coming into the world just as all of the rest of us do; to grow up and become an adult; to find out what life was all about.  That was a process that took 30 of his years.  His Mission of public ministry took just the last 3 years.   

Proof of His divinity is the inspiration of the Spirit, transmitted through the angels and dreams, to his parents, to his Aunt Elizabeth; and to the wise men.  The wise men, who travelled from all corners, had to be inspired.  They were not Jews or followers of the Jews.  Rather, they were Gentiles from diverse peoples and cultures.  All of whom heard the call, the prompting of the Spirit.  They were so convinced of the coming of the Messiah, that they brought precious gifts of Gold, Frankincense, and myrrh.  Some say the gifts were the best that the visitors had to offer from their own countries.  Others say the Gold signifies the coming Kingship of Christ; the frankincense signifies the recognition of the divinity, the smoke that reaches up to the almighty; and the myrrh represents a foretelling of the death of Jesus because myrrh was used in embalming.  The point is that these men were committed to their mission to find the Messiah.   

In the second reading, Paul refers to the Epiphany as the unveiling of a mystery.  And indeed, it was a mystery.  The Messiah was promised, yes, but the kind of Messiah that was sent, a spiritual messiah, not a worldly king with power and might, this had been a mystery that was not unveiled until Jesus grew up and fulfilled His mission.  And this culminated by Jesus command to his apostles to preach the Gospel to all nations, not just the Jews.   

And so, all of us today commemorate this manifestation, this Epiphany, this unveiling of the mystery on its anniversary.  It is a day of joy for all who allow themselves to be transformed by the Epiphany.   

Now the Wise men did not stay and bask in the glory of the Messiah they had found.  Rather, they returned to their homelands to spread the good news of the coming of the Messiah.  As I look out at all of you today it strikes me that all of you are called to do the same,.to spread the good news and the joy of Christmas to our world as a whole.  As Isaiah says: “Then you shall be radiant at what you see; your heart shall throb and overflow.”  And so, I ask all of you here today.  Are you ready to spread the glory of the Coming of the Lord?  Do I here an Amen?  Merry Christmas!    

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Loving the Lord- a Commitment

December 30th, 2010

 

6th Day in the Octave of Christmas

1 John 2: 12-17; Lk 2: 36-40

Dc. Larry Brockman

 

Focus!  If only we could focus on love of the Lord, and not love of things of this world then we would be more pleasing to God.  That’s the message that comes across from John this morning.   

Now, there is the interesting story of Anna the prophetess as an example.  She was truly focused on Love of the Lord.  Widowed just 7 years into her marriage, and they married young in her time, Anna lived alone as a widow for probably 60 years or more.  Here is a woman who was living the expected life at the time- married, devoted to a husband, focused on her life in the world and then suddenly, in the prime of life, she is a widow.  In the Old Testament times, being a widow was the most painful plight for a woman.  No matter how you look at it, that was a wake up call for Anna.  She was forced by the death of her husband to focus on what life was really all about.  I don’t detect any bitterness.  Rather, Anna trusted in God and was patient.  So, she dedicated her life to prayer and hope, rather than bitterness and focusing on things of the world.  She was content with the life of uncertainty that the Lord had dealt her, waiting, just waiting for decades and decades, for the coming of the promised Messiah.   

Each one of us starts out in life focused on things of the world.  That’s inevitable, because virtually all children focus on themselves and learning how to live in the world.  We grow into maturity, and learn about a higher purpose, something other than what the world has to offer.  Sometimes we do that with the help of our parents; sometimes by our own reflection; and sometimes by the school of hard knocks, like Anna did.  But in any event, we make a choice during the process- a choice to make the world and the things of the world our primary focus; or to balance the necessity to live in the world with a primary focus on God.  And the essence of focusing on God, the essence of Love of God, is patience and trust.  These are the virtues that are the foundation of Faith in God.  God’s will for us is not necessarily something we can map out, something that we can direct.  Rather, we need to learn the lesson that Anna learned- to be patient and trusting as the Lord guides us on his path for us even when things look the most bleak.   

The coming of the Christ Child changed everything.  Until then, the world seemed the ultimate in human experience.  Life everlasting was just a vague promise.  But with Christ, all that changed.  The Messiah that was promised became real, one of us.  And so, forever more, our primary focus must always be on God: when we are basking in prosperity; when we are just trying to make it in life; and even when we are miserable in hurt or sickness because “the world and its enticements are passing away.  But whoever does the will of the Father remains forever”!   

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Our Families- Greatest Blessing and Greatest Curse!

December 26th, 2010

 

Holy Family

Sir 3: 2-6, 12-14; Col 3: 12=21; Mt 2: 13-15, 19-23

Dc. Larry Brockman

 

There’s an old saying that goes something like this:  “Everyone’s greatest blessing is also their greatest curse”.  I’ll bet that sometimes you might feel that way about your own family.  Because our greatest joys come from our family; like the feeling you had when you fell in love with your spouse; or experiencing the birth of your child; or the joy on the faces of children on Christmas Morning.  But our families can also be the source of our greatest suffering: like the loss of a loved one; or when our children leave us; or when a relationship begins to sour.   

You know, the family unit is God’s plan for humans.  God could have made us like ferns.  Ferns are self sufficient and self propagating.  They don’t need moms and dads.  But humans need a family to survive and propagate.  We are made in the image and likeness of God, and God is a Trinity.  Our families are like the trinity- Moms, Dads, and children, three distinct parts.  Each has their own role; each is dependent on the other.  Sirach talks about those roles, and the respect that is due to each person in the family- respect due to Fathers, Mothers, and Children.  And love is the centerpiece of those mutual relations between the members of a family.   

Today we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family.  It is our Parish Feast Day, because our Parish is Holy Family.  I am certain that very many of us celebrated Christmas as a Family- an extended Family that includes 4, even 5 generations.  This is how it should be, because all of our family shares in the gift of the Incarnation, how God became man, and the salvation of humanity that comes with it.  All of us should share in that joy with members of our family.    But sometimes, when families gather, there is strife.  It is part of the curse I talked about earlier.  The strife may be over old grudges that surfaced; or nagging that reminded us of frequent nagging in the past.  Or the strife might be fueled by jealousy or hurt over some part of the gift giving.  Somebody might be upset that they got light chocolates rather than dark chocolates; or Tommy’s toy is more in vogue than Dick’s; or this sweater is just not something I could ever wear.  In any event, today is a good time to put all that strife aside, and focus on the Christian Family.   

First, we need to recall that our Advent experience was over joyful expectation of the coming of Christ- not just the Christ Child- but the second coming of Christ as well.  At that second coming, all of us will be judged.  So, while we are rejoicing over the promise of our salvation that is made so very real by the birth of the Savior; we need to recognize that a big responsibility comes with that promise.  All of us now need to be ready for that second coming by living the life of a Christian.   

Now our families are our first and most important influence on who we become as people.  Parents and Grandparents are the first and most memorable teachers of children.  If they don’t teach by taking an active role, then their avoidance of teaching their children effectively teaches any way.  In the second reading, St Paul gives us incredible and succinct insight on what it takes to be a Christian:  “Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another if one has a grievance against another”; and then later he says “Over all of these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection”.  Indeed, these are the ingredients that all members of a family need to embrace.   

Nobody is perfect- no Mom or Dad or Child.  And when we perceive that somebody has hurt us, we need to draw from Paul’s list of virtues rather than react.  I know that is hard, because just like every one else here, people in my own family have done things that hurt me.  I really wanted those dark chocolates, you know!  But, I have also done things that hurt as well.  If I want to be forgiven, and even expect to be forgiven; then I have to forgive as well.  That’s why Paul’s list of virtues is so important.  And even more critically important is that these virtues be practiced in our own families.  Because children are watching what their parents do, and that is how they will behave.  Likewise, our neighbors are watching what we do; and if we don’t reflect our professed Christianity, that is not likely to be a positive influence on them.   

There is no better example of the effect of hate, rather than love, than the story in today’s Gospel.  Herod’s jealousy and hate had no limits.  He was willing to inflict incredible pain on many, many families by killing all the infants in the area in order to be sure that the ancient prophesy of a Messiah was not fulfilled.  That hatred spawned incredible evil and suffering over many.  It is no different for us.  When we hate, the tentacles spread wide and in many unforeseen ways.  But love, no matter how hard it may be to practice, it can permeate the human spirit and propagate as well.  So, remember this when you gather as a family:  “Over all of these put on love.”   

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Rejoice, Jesus is Born!

December 25th, 2010

 

Christmas

Is 9: 1-6; Tit 2: 11-14; Lk 2: 1-14

Dc. Larry Brockman

 

The waiting is over!  The darkness that filled the world has been overcome by a bright light.  The Lord came to live and dwell among us!  And things will never be the same.  Because we were given a great gift, the Incarnation, God made man.  We now have a closeness, an intimacy, with God now and forever that is unique among the religions of the World.  It is something no other religion preaches or teaches; that God would become one of us and share His divinity with us.  And so we have much to rejoice about because the one and only almighty God sent His son to live as we do- in the form of a human being.   

Now we only know about 3 years in Jesus life- his public ministry.  We know very little about the other 30 years.  But there are things that are certain, things that are obvious for any human being:  This small child that we welcome at Christmas was helpless, cried, and needed to be nurtured by His mother to survive.  He had to learn how to eat and drink, crawl and walk; talk and play, and go to school and work.  He was just like us in every way, except for sin.  He experienced hunger and good food; joy and sadness, likes and dislikes; sickness and health; cold and hot.  He learned how to speak and write and read; He learned about the scriptures; and He even learned a job skill- carpentry.  Jesus experienced the dark emotions of humans as well, like fear and doubt and anger because that’s all part of becoming an adult human being, it’s all part of learning who we are.  Jesus learned who he was with the help of loving parents; and by living and working as a normal person does for 30 years.  Just think about that.  Jesus lived just like one of us for 30 years, growing up and becoming an adult and working to make a living.  In that time, He probably wondered what life was all about for him; what was he destined to do; and how was He destined to do it.  At the right time, He needed some answers.  And so, Jesus spent 40 days in the desert and thus confirmed in his mind who He really was, and how His Father wanted Him to live His life.  In other words, Jesus heard and responded to His calling.  And so, He went out and did His Father’s will for Him.  He conducted his public ministry of preaching and teaching about the Kingdom of God.   

Because His message shook the establishment, he experienced suffering and death rather than violate God’s plan for Him.  And because He was sinless and also divine he was resurrected and returned to God the Father in glory.  It was a glory that he returned to His disciples to announce, to announce that we who believed in Him would share in the kingdom and His glory.   

Yes, there is much to rejoice about in such a fully human life because we have been shown the way.  The Gospel of Jesus Christ is His story.  It shows us the values and mores we need to live as God intended us to live as humans, and yet be pleasing to Him.  St. Paul tells Titus that Jesus “trained us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age as we await the blessed hope, the glory of our great God and savior Jesus Christ”.  Indeed, this is another element of our joy, the knowledge that we who follow Jesus have been promised a share in the Glory of God.   

All of us have our own lives to live- we have our learning and discovery and working and reflecting to do.  Most of us have heard God calling us, maybe not the first time, but God is relentless and we are like branches growing on a tree.  No matter which way we grow, as parents or bosses or retirees, God is there to nourish us.  And yet, we are likely to be pruned once and a while.  Sometimes it’s an illness or a loss or a setback.   But new buds form and so, we change our direction of growth, and God is there to help us follow our revised course whenever we ask Him, until eventually, our tree dies.   

Life as a human is a gift from God, as it was to the baby Jesus.  It is God’s gift to give; and God’s alone to take away.  But because of this day- Christmas, the celebration of the Incarnation, we share in the glory of the second more glorious life with Jesus in the kingdom of God.  So rejoice, Jesus is born! 

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Have You Been Refined?

December 23rd, 2010

 

Thursday of 4th Week of Advent

Mal 3: 1-4, 23-24; Lk 1: 57-66

Dc. Larry Brockman

 

In this season when we are expecting the joy of the coming of Jesus, why such somber talk about refining Gold and Silver?  Well, in the Gospel, this messenger sent by God, John the Baptist, talked about getting ready for the coming of Jesus.  John preached asking for forgiveness and then repentance, and he used a public a ritual of Baptism to symbolize a person’s acceptance of that conversion of the heart.  So, that’s how John foresaw getting ready for the coming of Jesus.  We must show our willingness to seek forgiveness of sins, and repent of our ways that led to those sins so that when Jesus comes, we will be truly ready for him.     

In today’s world, there is a troubling trend:  People downplay the seriousness of their sins.  Instead of participating in such a public ritual as John the Baptist performed, or even the public confessions that were practiced in the early Church, where one makes a public commitment to conversion, we have been blessed with private confession where we make that commitment to conversion to the priest.  That’s important- because human nature being what it is, we all have to face the need for accountability, not just for what we did or failed to do, but for our commitment to change, our conversion.  The priest serves as Jesus himself in that confessional and is bound to secrecy.  And yet, in recent years, people don’t seem to take advantage of this wonderful Sacrament.  Is it because they are sinless?  Is anyone sinless?  I think that the devil prompts us to sweep our sins under the carpet where we try to forget about them.  And though we may ask for forgiveness, do we really make a commitment to make a change?    Listen to the prophet Malachi’s words, because if we are not prepared when Jesus comes: then Jesus will purify us like refining of gold or silver or the threshing of wheat.  And that is meant to sound ominous, foreboding, and painful because ultimately we are accountable to God; we cannot hide that or sweep it under the carpet. 

Another thing stands out about the refining of gold and silver.  These are valuable, aren’t they?  So even in the midst of a very sobering message of painful refining or threshing, there is a beautiful message for all of us- that God sees us as so very valuable to him in our converted state, as valuable as the finest Gold or Silver.   

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Why Does God Abandon Us?

December 16th, 2010

 

Thursday of 3rd Week of Advent

Is 54: 1-10; Lk 7: 24-30

Dc. Larry Brockman

 

He leaves all of us for a brief moment, doesn’t He?  For some of us, He leaves us for 80 or 90 years or more; others never make it out of their mother’s womb.  But He abandons all of us, and I’m just using His words from Isaiah.  Yes, we are abandoned and given the opportunity to make a choice on our own- a choice highlighted in today’s Gospel.  A choice that the Jewish people of John the Baptist’s time, including the lowest of low, the tax collectors who collaborated with the Romans, were given the freedom to make.  We are all given the choice to find God; accept Him; believe in Him; and be Baptized and follow His lead from the Gospel; or to reject Him and his teachings for something else, like the Pharisees and scholars of the law did.  That’s what it comes down to.  God abandons us so we can exercise our own free will.   

Now, as Isaiah goes on to say, it doesn’t matter what we have done in the time we have been abandoned by Him.  When we choose God and his will for us going forward, he will welcome us back and treat us like that abandoned wife that was welcomed back.  In fact, in God’s time, He abandoned us for just an instant- that is all.  Because we will have an eternity left with Him in the Kingdom of God.  And so whatever sufferings we endured while we were abandoned- failed relationships; physical or mental pain; hard lives; whatever, will ultimately seem like just an instant in time.  That’s what the good news of the coming of Jesus is all about.  Because when He comes this Christmas, if we really believe in Him as the Son of God, all can be well for us.  We can be totally happy knowing that we will at least be the least in the Kingdom of God for all eternity.   

Not so for the Pharisees and scholars of the law.  Unlike the average people of their time, the Pharisees and scholars knew too much.  They were not open to the real thing when it appeared in front of them.  They were blinded to the simplicity of the message.  Indeed, they had expectations of what the Messiah would be like, expectations that prevented them from “accepting the plan of God for themselves”.  You see, they thought the Messiah would come to save them physically from their woes.   

And so, let us strive not to fall into the same trap.  Ask yourself what kind of a Messiah are you looking for?  Is He one who will answer your expectations for saving you from the trials and tribulations of this World?  Or is He a Messiah who comes into your heart this Christmas just to whisper to you the “plan of God” for you, hard as it may be in the brief instant of time that is your life relative to the infinite time of God’s eternity. 

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