Hodie Christus natus est.

There are many, many books that describe the Christmas story.  But no Christmas story holds a candle to the original masterpiece found in Luke’s gospel.  In 320 words, the evangelist Luke tells us the story that is ageless, that needs to be told again and again, and needs to be remembered, for it is the story of our salvation.

“Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.  While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son.  She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”

We gather today to honor and worship the infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying a manger, the one announced by the angel as the Savior, who is Christ and Lord.  We worship Him who gives meaning to our lives.  The power of God comes to us as a tiny infant.

The first Scripture reading from the prophet Isaiah proclaimed:  “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light:  upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shown.  You have brought abundant joy and great rejoicing.”

This is a wonderful, wonderful way of describing the Christmas mystery.  The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.

We are indeed a people who wait in joyful hope not because the darkness is over, but because the Light is with us now, and the Light will overcome the darkness.

We are well aware of the darkness in which we live:

 The massacre that is taking place in Syria that has destroyed the once thriving city of Aleppo, the darkness of violence in which there are too many streets in our cities that are not a safe place to walk, the brokenness experienced in too many family lives, and who of us would not say that there is darkness in our spiritual journeys.

In our world there is both darkness and light.  We know that the darkness isn’t over.  But we gather as a people of hope and promise because the light of Christ overcomes the darkness of life.

God’s gift to us is the Christmas mystery  --   Hodie Christus natus est.  Today Christ is born. Hodie.  Today.  You see, for all its uniqueness, Bethlehem is not an isolated experience.  Christ is born in the stable of Bethlehem but Christ is also born in every child born of God’s love.

In each child I have the privilege of baptizing, Christ is born again.  

It is good for us to remember who planted the seeds of faith within us.  It is also good to remember who brings us and who to we bring to listen again to the Christmas story. 

Who first held you and shared with you the Christmas story and who holds you today with love, encouragement, and affirmation as you live now the wonder and the mystery of Christmas.

A story:  In World War II a soldier was on duty Christmas morning.  It had been his custom to go to Church every Christmas morning with his family, but now, in the service on the outlying districts of London, this was impossible.  So, with some of his soldier buddies, he walked down the road that led to the city as dawn was breaking.  Soon they came upon an old, gray, stone building over whose main door were carved the words, “Queen Ann’s Orphanage.”  So they decided to see what kind of celebration was taking place inside.  In response to the knock, a matron came and explained that the children were orphans whose parents had been killed in one of the many bombings that took place in London.  The soldiers went inside just as the children were stumbling out of bed.  There was no Christmas tree in the corner.  There were no presents.  The soldiers moved about the room wishing the children Merry Christmas and giving them whatever presents they had in their pockets.  The soldier noticed a child alone in the corner -- looked a lot like his nephew back home.  And you, little guy, what do you want for Christmas?  The lad simply replied:  Will you hold me?  The soldier, with tears in his eyes, picked up the little boy and held him in his arms very close.

The Christmas mystery continues when in our journey of faith we are held by people who love us and we, in turn, hold others in their faith journey.  In my 48 years as a priest, I am most often in the sanctuary presiding and preaching.  I have been richly blessed in my priesthood.  But I must confess that I was filled with joy yesterday when I was merely in the pews.  I felt held by our school children as they led an inspiring Christmas prayer service.   Is it not a most precious for you and for me when our children teach us the faith lessons that we have taught them with our deepest love and faith.  The students of St Joseph’s School touched my soul.

As was illustrated so beautifully by the soldier in World War II, we also need to share the Christmas mystery with the poor and the needy in our midst.  We can never be a gated community.  We are taught in the original Christmas story that the birth of the Savior was first announced to shepherds – folks who live on the margins of society.  These shepherds are God’s kind of people.  These shepherds are God’s beloved just as the children in that orphanage without a Christmas tree and without Christmas presents are God’s beloved.

We are to hold with great love our own children.  We also are to hold with great love all children.  They are God’s beloved.

Have a blessed Christmas.

Doing it "my Way" needs to give way to "doing it God's way."

It was back in 1969, when Frank Sinatra originally composed and sang the haunting lyrics to:  I DID IT MY WAY.  The song seems so powerful, so masculine, and so confident.  We looked to Frank as a person who knows how to live life.

Yet, the message I DID IT MY WAY is in contradiction to the message of today’s Gospel.  The Gospel gives the infancy account of the birth of Jesus according to the evangelist Matthew.  This account tells us about Joseph.  His profound dilemma was whether to do it my way or to do it God’s way.  Joseph is our model for us to realize that “doing it my way” needs to give way to “doing it God’s way.”

The Scriptures tell us that Joseph was a righteous man.  That meant he was “law-abiding.”  Tell me what the rules are, and I will be a faithful rule keeper.  The laws in Joseph’s time were very strict.  If you found out that the woman you were engaged to was pregnant and you were not the other party to the pregnancy, you were to cancel the engagement, and the woman might be stoned to death.  Did I mention that the laws in Joseph’s time were quite strict!

With a compassionate heart, Joseph was unwilling to expose Mary to shame, and so he wanted to divorce her quietly.

It was then that the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said:  “Do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.  For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her.”

“When Joseph awoke from the dream, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him to do.”

In a word, Joseph did it God’s ways.

It is worth reflecting on the discernment-conversion process that took place in Joseph and then to wonder how and if we are to model this discernment in our own lives at times.

For Joseph, “the black and white” decision making was clear.  The rules clearly said to divorce Mary over this pregnancy issue.  Through the guidance of the angel of the Lord, Joseph moved beyond the letter of the law and embraced the spirit of love and followed the mystery of God’s law in his life.  Following the mystery of God’s call in  his life meant not being too tied down to the letter of the law, but rather to be open to the mystery of God’s call leading us to live by the higher law of love and being open to the spirit of God leading us in unexpected ways.

Like Joseph, we need to be open to the mystery of life, however life challenges us and calls.  True religion is open to mystery.  We need a Church lit with the light of God, as Joseph was.  His burden was lifted when he was open to God, to take Mary home as his wife, no matter what others might think.

In the life of the Church, there will always be very strict rule keepers ready to be severe and judgmental about all the folks not keeping the rules.  Their worry, at times very fairly considered, is that we will fall into a slippery slope that if you don’t keep some rules, then this means there only be chaos in the life of the Church.

I was talking to a parishioner recently even concerned about Pope Francis.  In her opinion, the Vicar of Christ seems to be a little lax on enforcing some of the rules of the Church.  After Pope Francis was elected to the papacy in 2013, during his first Holy Week as pope, he went to a prison for young people for the annual liturgy of the washing of the feet.  He raised a few eyebrows and opened the eyes of even some clergy, when he not only washed the feet of Catholics, he also washed the feet of Muslims and women in the ritual.  Previously this washing of the feet was reserved to Catholic men.

Pope Francis has captured the imagination of the world and breathed new life into the Church as he has extended the compassionate love of Jesus to one and all.  For Pope Francis, more than keeping rules, we are to be faithful to the commandment of love that Jesus has given us.

Going back to the Gospel, the angel of the Lord led Joseph to be open to God’s plan for his life.

How does that play out in our lives?  When does "doing it my way” need to give way to “doing it God’s way,” even when this requires us to trust in God’s grace for us?

Have you ever broken the letter of the law in order to follow a higher law?  How do you share your unconditional love for your children and the merciful love of Jesus for your children even when they are not keeping the rules you would like them to keep?  Are all of your children and grandchildren and extended family members going to Church Sunday after Sunday after Sunday? 

What would be an example of letting go of my way in order to be open to God’s plan for us?  This was the life and commitment of Joseph in today’s Gospel?  I know for myself as a priest becoming the pastor of Holy Spirit parish is being open to God’s plan as expressed through appointment I received from Bishop Matano?   When did or do have you have deal will illness in your life or someone you love, when you have to deal with death in the life of someone you love, how is it for you when you need to let go of your children in their growth and development process, and what happens for you when someone you love betrays your trust?

What I do know for myself and for you is that God has a plan for us.  The problem is that sometimes God’s plan doesn’t look like a gift we like to receive.  It requires far more trust to accept what God gives that what Santa gives.   May we pray for the openness to listen with a trusting heart and then to live out God’s plan for us.  Doing it “my way” needs to give way to “doing it God’s way."

Have a blessed day.

In our parish life, do people experience healing, joy, hope, and is the Good News of the love of Jesus preached to one and all?

You will recall from last Sunday’s Gospel that John the Baptist was a paragon of austerity.  He wore clothing of camel’s hair and had a leather belt around his waist.  His food was locusts and wild honey.  His message was:  “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

 Nobody questioned John’s integrity but few wanted to live exactly as he did.  His lifestyle of fast and abstinence was harsh, reflecting his concept of God.  Jesus, on the other hand, was criticized for eating and drinking, for mixing with all manner of folk.  That mirrored his experience of God.  Little wonder that John’s primary sacrament was a baptism of repentance while Jesus was a communion feast.

So, in today’s Gospel, John, from prison, sent his disciples to ask Jesus:   “Are you the one who is to come or should we look for another?”    John might have added:  “Because you certainly don’t look like the one I was expecting!”

 Jesus said to them in reply, ‘Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.’”

This brings us to Jesus who went in a different direction from John – a direction based on his unique relationship with the God he called Abba, Father.  Instead of emphasizing the wrath of God and the punishment soon to come, Jesus saw everything in the context of God’s great, infinite mercy.

In fact, Jesus introduced a whole new language about God.  He agreed with John that the people needed conversion.  But what he wanted people to see first was not the wrath of God so much as his incredible compassion for all.

Jesus emphasized that God comes to us primarily as a savior, a liberator.  He replaced the Baptist’s austere life in the desert with a lifestyle centered on meals open to everyone, meals in which he could invite people to celebrate this new possibility of total trust in a Father God.

And then Jesus began doing something that John never did.  He healed people whom no one else could heal; he soothed the pain of the “least of these” who lived on the margins of society; he blessed and embraced women and children.  Everyone was invited to the feast of mercy. 

That’s the background to this powerful story we hear in today’s Gospel.  John and his followers are beginning to wonder about Jesus.  What is he doing?  John the Baptist is in a dark place and asks a heavy question:  “Are you the one to come or should we look for another?”

Jesus’s response to all of this is very simple:  “Go and tell John what you hear and see.”

Fast forward to 2013 to the papacy of Pope Francis.  During the first Holy Week after he was elected, Pope Francis raised a few eyebrows and opened many eyes.  On that Holy Thursday he visited a prison for young people where he celebrated the annual washing of the feet.  Not only did he wash the feet of Catholics, he included Muslims and women in the ritual.  This was a big surprise for many Catholics, especially some clergy.  For centuries, the Holy Thursday washing of the feet had been reserved exclusively to Catholic men.

During this past Jubilee Year of Mercy, the pope initiated a custom of going out from the Vatican one Friday a month to perform some work of mercy.   In August the Holy Father went to a home for women recovering from prostitution, many of whom had been victims of trafficking.  If someone were to ask Pope Francis:  “Are you the Holy Father who was chosen for the Church or should we look for another?” 

As did Jesus, Pope Francis could respond: “Go and tell what you see and hear.”

I wonder as new people move into the town of Penfield and as they go Church-shopping for the right fit for their family, how do we respond as people ask whether we, the Church of St Joseph’s, are authentic disciples of Jesus or should we look for another parish?  This is the question of John the Baptist:  “Are you the one who is to come or should we look for another?”

In our parish life, do people experience healing, liberation, hope, and is the Good News of the love of Jesus preached to one and all?

As we know, the words and actions of Pope Francis have captured the imagination of the world and breathed new life into the Church. 

So too for us the Church of St. Joseph’s, instead of seeming to impose new obligations, may we be a people who wish to share our joy and the joy of the Gospel, who point to a horizon of beauty and hope in people’s lives and invite others to the Eucharistic table of the Lord.  In the words of Pope Francis:  “The Eucharist is not a prize for the perfect but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak.

As we celebrate the Sacrament of Penance this Tuesday, may we experience in this sacrament an encounter with the healing Lord; may we experience the merciful love of Jesus.

My favorite Advent hymn is:  “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.”  Have you ever noticed the paradox that is found in this very familiar hymn?   “Emmanuel” means “God is with us.”  And yet we pray “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.”  Advent joy is like this beautiful Advent hymn.  The joy is already given to us, but we long for a joy that is not here yet.

Emmanuel – God is with us.  Yet we are still burdened by the demons of war, of greed, of selfishness, and of deceit.  And so we pray for a fuller coming of God’s presence among us.  “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.”

We pray today that the blind regain their sight and the poor have the Good News preached to them.   May we the Church of St Joseph’s continue the mission of Jesus.  May we celebrate that God is with us  -- Emmanuel.  May we also pray:  “O Come,  O Come Emmanuel.”  We long for a fuller experience of the presence of God among us.

Advent is our wake-up call to return home to God and to listen again to God's dream for us.

We light the second candle of the Advent season today.  The countdown to Christmas is moving on.  The media, and especially advertisements, remind us constantly that the time is drawing short.  Of course, the reminder is too often in terms of how many shopping days till Christmas.

Today’s Scripture readings give us a different point of view.  John the Baptist is clear and direct:  “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.”  There is passion in the words of John the Baptism;  not the passion about the number of shopping days left but a passion about us preparing for the coming of the Lord into our hearts and our world.  The passion of John was a call to repentance.

In today’s Gospel, we are to enroll in the school of John the Baptist, hear his message and put it into action.  John the Baptist is our model for advent preparation preaching a baptism of repentance.  John  the Baptist appeared in the wilderness to give us a wake-up call.

The Advent question I have for myself and for all of us is do we have the passion of John the Baptist in recognizing our need for repentance and conversion in our lives?  What are the habits, the addictions, the sinfulness that we need to confess?  Humbly may we seek the grace of God to help us leave behind all that keeps us from putting Christ at the center of our lives.  All of us, including and especially myself, need to seek the conversion of our lives whereby God is our true North Star in all we say and do.

This past Tuesday we had a wonderful and enthusiastic Town Hall meeting in which we expressing our hopes of inviting more people to join our parish community, to make us even more vibrant that it already are.  We suggested some possible actions steps:  do a mailing, announcements during Mass, even going door to door.

More than strategy steps, we need the passion, the authenticity, the commitment of John the Baptist to help point us to the Lord at the center of all we say and do in our parish community.  May we pray in this Advent season to take on the passion and the need for repentance that so characterized the mission and preaching of John.

We need to more aware of the wilderness that is in our lives and in our world.  Perhaps we need to re-think our values totally.  We need to repent of all that keeps us from placing at the center of our lives and in this Advent season we need to find our way back to God. 

The repentance we seek is a fundamental change of heart which results in leaving sin behind and embracing God’s freely shared life and love.  The prophet Isaiah promises that the Savior will usher in a new era of relationships.  Then the wolf shall be the guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; the calf and the young lion shall browse together…There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain.  Woody Allen’s comment to this was:  The lamb and the wolf shall lie down together – but the lamb won’t get any sleep.’’

Advent has more to offer us, however, than that.  Advent has a Savior for us.  Beyond our own efforts to recognize sin and failure in our lives, beyond our confessions and admissions that lead us to repent, Advent presents us with what we truly need – a Savior.  For if we’re honest with ourselves we will admit that we cannot deal with sin, repentance, and conversion all on our own.  We can’t manage our lives all by ourselves.

I invite you to consider the first three steps of the famous Twelve Steps in Alcoholic Anonymous.   Of the twelve, the first three are the most vital and critical.  They deal with what John the Baptist is talking about in the call to repentance.  So, substituting the word sin for the word alcohol the steps are:

1 – We  admitted we were powerless over sin – that our lives had become unmanageable.  As Pope Francis himself acknowledges very freely, we confess that we are all sinners.  We need more than what our will power provides us.  The truth of our lives is that we are not lone rangers.  Left to ourselves, we become entangled in demons that keep us from placing Christ at the center of our lives.

2 – Came to believe in a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.  That power is the merciful love of Jesus of which we are the generous recipients.  May we all value the grace offered to us in the sacrament of reconciliation.  May this Advent be all about our journey back to God.

3 – Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood him.   God’s grace is freely offered to each and every one of us, but we need to make the decision to yes to the plan for our lives.  We have the wonderful example of Mary who we celebrate in a special way on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception this Thursday.  Mary said:  “I am the servant of the Lord.  Be it done to me according to your Word.”

Mary is our example of John the Baptist’s call of repentance.  When Mary said yes to the plan of God for her life, she made the decision to live out God’s plan for her life, rather than providing for her security and comfort. 

Each year the church marks the season of Advent as a time to nourish hope in God’s kingdom.  During these four weeks, we open the Word of God to hear anew God’s dream.  Advent is a wonderful time of hope and trusting in God’s promise that a Savior will be born to us who is Christ the Lord.   But for us to make room in our hearts for the Savior, we must heed the call to repentance from John the Baptist.

What spiritual discipline of prayer and service to others is going to characterize your Advent days?

In our Catholic liturgical tradition, we are richly blessed in our sacramental life.  God still illumines our eyes through the light of baptism.  God still opens our ears through His Word.  God frees from what holds us bound in reconciliation.  God feeds us at the table of the Eucharist.  In these ways and many others, we come to experience something of God’s vision for us, and we are empowered to take that vision into the world through acts of justice and mercy.

Advent, like discipleship, calls us to firmer conversion and deeper commitment, it calls us also, and in equal measure, to Christ-like compassion even as we extend God’s mercy to all long after the Jubilee Year of Mercy is done.