Homily
Gaudete Sunday - 3rd Sunday of Advent
17 December 2017
St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center at the University of Kansas
Are you ready for Christmas? I bet this question caused some guilt and anxiety in you. I pray that you don't hate this question as much as I do. If you were to ask me the same question, I would resent your having asked it. No, I'm not ready for Christmas. I'm not even close - practically, spiritually, emotionally - the whole bit. I'm not trying to be a scrooge, but it's hard to be ready for Christmas. It's a hard question posed to us by the Church and by the great prophet John the Baptist on this Gaudete Sunday, the 3rd Sunday of Advent.
It doesn't help that pink Sunday falls just 8 days before Christmas this year. Pink Sunday is supposed to be about rejoicing that the Lord is drawing ever nearer. Just as often, and perhaps moreso, it's a painful reminder of what we already know to be true - we're not ready, and the chance that this Christmas will pass without it being our best Christmas is real. Then the guilt can set in . . cause we know we cannot let this Christmas pass us by without anything changing in our heart.
Gaudete Sunday is a gift to us, not a threat . . so let's spend a bit of time getting this right, at least. John the Baptist reminds us that of all the visiting that we are preparing for, the visit of the Lord is the most sure and the most important. Rejoice in the Lord, always - again, I say rejoice - the Lord is near! More certain than any other visit we make or receive this year, the visit of the Lord on the door of our hearts, his begging to be born in you and me, is the most dramatic and the most certain. This is incomparably great news, and the proper response is not one of anxiety or fear, but one of joy. The Church begs us to get this spiritual attitude right as we enter the home stretch of our Christmas preparations.
The Lord's visit this year at Christmas will not me that things are about to outwardly go perfectly for us. The Lord's visit does not mean that we will win the lottery, nor does it mean that all of our problems will magically be whisked away. It does mean that everything that it means to be human is familiar to the Lord, and everything matters. Watch It's a Wonderful Life if you don't believe me. The Incarnation of Jesus, and His ensuing paschal mystery, ensure that nothing that happens to us is outside of God's providence or grace. Jesus is present to everything, and everything matters. This is the good news of Christmas for which we prepare.
More personally for you and me, Jesus wants to visit each one of us precisely where the prophet Isaiah says He will come. Where is that place? It is where we are brokenhearted or trapped. Jesus wishes to be born in the weakest and smallest place in our hearts. He begs us to allow Him to be born there this Christmas. For if we know anything about the story of Bethlehem, the remaking of the world from the inside out begins very small. Will you allow Jesus to visit you, and be born, in the smallest place of your heart? You have 8 more days to figure it out.
The very thought that Jesus wants to be born in that place in your heart, is cause for great rejoicing. St. Paul can confidently say then, that no matter what evils or darkness befall us, Jesus is present to all. Pure religion is less about what you do and more about who you are with. St. Paul leaves us with the proper spiritual attitude in these finals days of Advent - Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all things give thanks!
Gaudete Sunday - 3rd Sunday of Advent
17 December 2017
St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center at the University of Kansas
Are you ready for Christmas? I bet this question caused some guilt and anxiety in you. I pray that you don't hate this question as much as I do. If you were to ask me the same question, I would resent your having asked it. No, I'm not ready for Christmas. I'm not even close - practically, spiritually, emotionally - the whole bit. I'm not trying to be a scrooge, but it's hard to be ready for Christmas. It's a hard question posed to us by the Church and by the great prophet John the Baptist on this Gaudete Sunday, the 3rd Sunday of Advent.
It doesn't help that pink Sunday falls just 8 days before Christmas this year. Pink Sunday is supposed to be about rejoicing that the Lord is drawing ever nearer. Just as often, and perhaps moreso, it's a painful reminder of what we already know to be true - we're not ready, and the chance that this Christmas will pass without it being our best Christmas is real. Then the guilt can set in . . cause we know we cannot let this Christmas pass us by without anything changing in our heart.
Gaudete Sunday is a gift to us, not a threat . . so let's spend a bit of time getting this right, at least. John the Baptist reminds us that of all the visiting that we are preparing for, the visit of the Lord is the most sure and the most important. Rejoice in the Lord, always - again, I say rejoice - the Lord is near! More certain than any other visit we make or receive this year, the visit of the Lord on the door of our hearts, his begging to be born in you and me, is the most dramatic and the most certain. This is incomparably great news, and the proper response is not one of anxiety or fear, but one of joy. The Church begs us to get this spiritual attitude right as we enter the home stretch of our Christmas preparations.
The Lord's visit this year at Christmas will not me that things are about to outwardly go perfectly for us. The Lord's visit does not mean that we will win the lottery, nor does it mean that all of our problems will magically be whisked away. It does mean that everything that it means to be human is familiar to the Lord, and everything matters. Watch It's a Wonderful Life if you don't believe me. The Incarnation of Jesus, and His ensuing paschal mystery, ensure that nothing that happens to us is outside of God's providence or grace. Jesus is present to everything, and everything matters. This is the good news of Christmas for which we prepare.
More personally for you and me, Jesus wants to visit each one of us precisely where the prophet Isaiah says He will come. Where is that place? It is where we are brokenhearted or trapped. Jesus wishes to be born in the weakest and smallest place in our hearts. He begs us to allow Him to be born there this Christmas. For if we know anything about the story of Bethlehem, the remaking of the world from the inside out begins very small. Will you allow Jesus to visit you, and be born, in the smallest place of your heart? You have 8 more days to figure it out.
The very thought that Jesus wants to be born in that place in your heart, is cause for great rejoicing. St. Paul can confidently say then, that no matter what evils or darkness befall us, Jesus is present to all. Pure religion is less about what you do and more about who you are with. St. Paul leaves us with the proper spiritual attitude in these finals days of Advent - Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all things give thanks!
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