Homily
4th Sunday of Advent A
21/22 December 2013
Christ the King Church Topeka
Daily Readings
Joseph comes a few days before Christmas to save us. Might I guess that your Advent has been like mine? Busy. Crazy. Distracted. It would be more accurate for me to say that I'm surviving Advent, and the Christmas preparations. I'm worried about how everything is going to come off this year, and no, I'm not done shopping. It's been a beautiful and holy season, don't get me wrong, and many gorgeous exchanges have already taken place, with more to come. But by this point in Advent, we should have the heart and anticipation of Mary. We should be right with her in her anticipation of giving birth and seeing the face of the most important child ever born, the world's greatest hope and light. We should be yearning to see the face of God in the Christmas mystery with her heart, or as they preface at Mass tells us, with love beyond all telling. But I'll be honest with you. I'm not there. I wish I was. But I'm not there.
We know, of course, that we are all more like Mary, than Jesus. We are imitators of Christ, his beloved and fervent disciples. We try to take on his thoughts and his heart, and to fulfill his command to love just as he does. But we stink at it. All of us. We're not very good at it at all. At least we have an excuse. He has a divine nature joined to his human nature. We don't. We're just human. We're sinners. That's all.
So Mary comes to our rescue, and we are devoted to her because we are closer to her by nature, and we are to first imitate her if we are to have any chance of imitating Christ. We have to receive Jesus before we can act like him. Mary teaches us this, and we will never be a better disciple than Mary. So we can entrust all of ourselves to her, and be totally devoted to her, with confidence that she is the surest path to her Son. Mary is like us. She has a human nature that can be transformed and elevated by grace. There is no better preparation for Christmas than to ask our Lady what it is like to give birth to a Savior, and we are to imagine with her what would happen to our hearts and our lives if we were to hold the helpless and vulnerable yet the most powerful person and the light of the world, in our arms. That is perfect preparation for Christmas. But we stink at that too. Let's be honest. Or I'll be honest for you. I'm not like Mary. Not even close. I'm closer to her than to Jesus, but I am neither immaculately conceived nor full of grace. I'm full of a lot of other stuff. My pride, my plans, my business, my stuff. I'm full of it, but just the wrong IT! I wish I could say differently, but I am not humble or courageous or faithful enough to allow Jesus to be conceived within me, and to visit me from the inside out. I fear that kind of intimate visit from the Lord, and what that would mean for me. So I'm not ready for Christmas like Mary. I wish I was. But that's not my Advent.
Now Joseph . . . now there's a guy that I can relate to. Today we hear the beautiful story of Joseph's dream announcing that his wife had been chosen to be the virgin mother of the long-awaited Messiah. Joseph of course had to think there was no bloody way this could be true! The promise of the Messiah had waned not grown stronger since the time of David. Why now? Why her? Why me? What are the odds? Yet Joseph responded in faith. We see his beautiful heart, for it was his right to have Mary exposed for conceiving out of wedlock, but out of love for her and God he goes not around but beyond the demands of the law, and is willing to get out of the way so that God's plan can move forward. Yet as he learns, he is a part of the plan. He is a big part. He is to be the foster father, and to take Mary and Jesus into his home. Joseph responds in faith, and is known here and throughout the Gospels as a righteous man who finds a way to do the right thing, oftentimes with incomplete information and understanding! Joseph, neither perfect in nature like his son, nor full of grace like his wife, finds a way to do the right thing. Now that's someone we can relate to, and strive to be more like.
I'm being honest with you. If the angel Gabriel came to me like he came to Mary, and asked me to allow Jesus to be conceived in the deepest recesses of my being, I would be scared out of my mind. I'm not like her. I love her. I want to be like her. But I'm not. But if that angel appears to me in a dream, when I didn't have my legs beneath me to run, then maybe I would listen. Maybe I would say yes. Probably not, but maybe. At least there would be a chance. Maybe I don't have the courage, humility and faith to allow Jesus to visit the most intimate places of my heart this Christmas, but like Joseph, maybe I can at least let him and Mary move into my home.
I want to have the very best of Christmases, don't you? Don't you want this one to melt your heart, to help you believe in yourself and others and the destiny of our poor world? If so, let Joseph save your Advent preparations. He is like us. We can go to him. With Joseph, through Mary, to Jesus! Let's not be afraid to go to Bethlehem, dear Christians! Let's come with clean hearts and pure minds and great anticipation to celebrate that God is truly with us! With Joseph, through Mary, to Jesus! Rise, let us be on our way!
4th Sunday of Advent A
21/22 December 2013
Christ the King Church Topeka
Daily Readings
Joseph comes a few days before Christmas to save us. Might I guess that your Advent has been like mine? Busy. Crazy. Distracted. It would be more accurate for me to say that I'm surviving Advent, and the Christmas preparations. I'm worried about how everything is going to come off this year, and no, I'm not done shopping. It's been a beautiful and holy season, don't get me wrong, and many gorgeous exchanges have already taken place, with more to come. But by this point in Advent, we should have the heart and anticipation of Mary. We should be right with her in her anticipation of giving birth and seeing the face of the most important child ever born, the world's greatest hope and light. We should be yearning to see the face of God in the Christmas mystery with her heart, or as they preface at Mass tells us, with love beyond all telling. But I'll be honest with you. I'm not there. I wish I was. But I'm not there.We know, of course, that we are all more like Mary, than Jesus. We are imitators of Christ, his beloved and fervent disciples. We try to take on his thoughts and his heart, and to fulfill his command to love just as he does. But we stink at it. All of us. We're not very good at it at all. At least we have an excuse. He has a divine nature joined to his human nature. We don't. We're just human. We're sinners. That's all.
So Mary comes to our rescue, and we are devoted to her because we are closer to her by nature, and we are to first imitate her if we are to have any chance of imitating Christ. We have to receive Jesus before we can act like him. Mary teaches us this, and we will never be a better disciple than Mary. So we can entrust all of ourselves to her, and be totally devoted to her, with confidence that she is the surest path to her Son. Mary is like us. She has a human nature that can be transformed and elevated by grace. There is no better preparation for Christmas than to ask our Lady what it is like to give birth to a Savior, and we are to imagine with her what would happen to our hearts and our lives if we were to hold the helpless and vulnerable yet the most powerful person and the light of the world, in our arms. That is perfect preparation for Christmas. But we stink at that too. Let's be honest. Or I'll be honest for you. I'm not like Mary. Not even close. I'm closer to her than to Jesus, but I am neither immaculately conceived nor full of grace. I'm full of a lot of other stuff. My pride, my plans, my business, my stuff. I'm full of it, but just the wrong IT! I wish I could say differently, but I am not humble or courageous or faithful enough to allow Jesus to be conceived within me, and to visit me from the inside out. I fear that kind of intimate visit from the Lord, and what that would mean for me. So I'm not ready for Christmas like Mary. I wish I was. But that's not my Advent.
Now Joseph . . . now there's a guy that I can relate to. Today we hear the beautiful story of Joseph's dream announcing that his wife had been chosen to be the virgin mother of the long-awaited Messiah. Joseph of course had to think there was no bloody way this could be true! The promise of the Messiah had waned not grown stronger since the time of David. Why now? Why her? Why me? What are the odds? Yet Joseph responded in faith. We see his beautiful heart, for it was his right to have Mary exposed for conceiving out of wedlock, but out of love for her and God he goes not around but beyond the demands of the law, and is willing to get out of the way so that God's plan can move forward. Yet as he learns, he is a part of the plan. He is a big part. He is to be the foster father, and to take Mary and Jesus into his home. Joseph responds in faith, and is known here and throughout the Gospels as a righteous man who finds a way to do the right thing, oftentimes with incomplete information and understanding! Joseph, neither perfect in nature like his son, nor full of grace like his wife, finds a way to do the right thing. Now that's someone we can relate to, and strive to be more like.
I'm being honest with you. If the angel Gabriel came to me like he came to Mary, and asked me to allow Jesus to be conceived in the deepest recesses of my being, I would be scared out of my mind. I'm not like her. I love her. I want to be like her. But I'm not. But if that angel appears to me in a dream, when I didn't have my legs beneath me to run, then maybe I would listen. Maybe I would say yes. Probably not, but maybe. At least there would be a chance. Maybe I don't have the courage, humility and faith to allow Jesus to visit the most intimate places of my heart this Christmas, but like Joseph, maybe I can at least let him and Mary move into my home.
I want to have the very best of Christmases, don't you? Don't you want this one to melt your heart, to help you believe in yourself and others and the destiny of our poor world? If so, let Joseph save your Advent preparations. He is like us. We can go to him. With Joseph, through Mary, to Jesus! Let's not be afraid to go to Bethlehem, dear Christians! Let's come with clean hearts and pure minds and great anticipation to celebrate that God is truly with us! With Joseph, through Mary, to Jesus! Rise, let us be on our way!
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