During his 1967 Super Bowl season with the Green Bay Packers, the great quarterback Bart Starr had a deal with his oldest son. For every perfect paper Bart Junior brought home from school, Bart Starr would give him ten cents – a pretty nifty sum of money for a kid back then.
In the course of the season, Starr had a particularly rough game against the (then) St. Louis Cardinals. Starr was discouraged and angry about his own performance. He returned home late that night, weary and battered, after a long plane ride. But his spirits lifted immediately when he found this note on his pillow:
Dear Dad, I thought you played a great game. Love, Bart.
And taped to the note were two dimes.
Within our families we experience the heights of joy and the depths of pain. Our belonging to a family means that each one of us – parent and child – reflects for the other the selfless, limitless and unconditional love of Christ, both in good times and (more importantly) in bad times. The Holy Family of Joseph, Mary and the child Jesus, in the suffering and tragedy they endured together, is a model for us and our own families as we confront the many tensions and crises that threaten the stability, peace and unity that are the joys of being a family.
I would like to leave you with this thought today; in the midst of all the wild and weird conflicts we may face in our families, God wants to be part of them. In the midst of the shouting matches, doors being slammed, people pouting and not speaking to each other, holding grudges, and in alcoholic or abusive situations, GOD THE HOLY IS THERE! God is not embarrassed to be there and God wants to help.
As we begin the year of 2019, I pray that as we face conflicts in our families, when we feel overwhelmed and everything seems impossible and we try to resolve our differences – that we will be humble and wise enough to seek help for ourselves. Especially, the comfort, the grace and the peace that God alone can offer our families.
Archive for December, 2018
The Feast of the Holy Family 12-30-2018
Monday, December 31st, 2018Christmas 2018 12-25-2018
Sunday, December 23rd, 2018Wally was big for a first grader. Everybody loved Wally. No bully, he was the gentlest of souls. Wally was a friend even to the smallest kids at school.
When the school staged its Christmas play, Wally wanted to be one of the shepherds. But the teacher directing the play had a larger role in mind for Wally. Wally was cast as the innkeeper. Wally practiced and practiced, but became more and more nervous about his lines.
The night of the play, everything was going beautifully. Then came the part where Mary and Joseph knocked on the door of the inn. Wally answered the door right on cue and gave his line.
“What do you want?”
“We seek lodging,” came the response.
“Seek it elsewhere, the inn is filled,” Wally replied, with just the right touch of brusque annoyance.
“But, sir, we have tried everywhere, we have come a long way, and we are very tired.”
“Go away,” Wally properly commanded. “There is no room in my inn for you.”
“But sir, my wife is with child. Don’t you have a corner where we can get out of the cold?”
That’s when it happened. Wally broke his icy stare and looked at Mary. There was a long silence. The audience became nervous and uneasy. Everyone thought Wally had forgotten his lines.
“No, be gone,” the prompter whispered.
“No, be gone,” Wally said halfheartedly. Joseph sadly placed his arm around Mary as they began to move off the stage. Wally couldn’t stand it any longer. Big he was, cruel he could never be. With big tears welling in his eyes he gave a performance never to be forgotten.
“Wait, Joseph, don’t go!” Wally cried. “Bring Mary back. You can have my room and I’ll sleep in the cold.”
A few people thought Wally had ruined the Christmas pageant. But most knew better.
Wally the reluctant innkeeper embodied the spirit of our Christmas celebration, expressed so eloquently in Isaac Watts’ beautiful hymn: “let every heart prepare him room.” The reality is that Christmas is a challenge to us and our values and our dreams. Just as Joseph is challenged by God to welcome the child into his home and heart despite the difficult circumstances, God challenges us to welcome his Christ into our everyday lives and allow the child to transform our hearts and homes in his peace and justice.
If you are ready to take up the Christmas challenge, then let me leave you with a few words as a special reminder to you:
“It is Christmas! It is the most wondrous feast – the birthday of the One who came to show us a God of love. How beautiful are the feet of those who walk the extra step across a room to greet someone with whom they have had differences. How beautiful are the feet of those who step beyond the material gifts and appreciate the heart of the giver. How beautiful are the feet of those who move about in the kitchen making the special foods and serving the guests who gather. How beautiful are the feet of those who not only go to church services but who also fully participate by greeting others joyfully, praying and singing heartily. How beautiful are the feet of those who walk into homeless shelters or places with little comfort to bring some of their own abundance.
Yes, how beautiful are all those feet who walk with the good news this day, with the intention of love in their hearts, for they are living the message of the One who came so long ago. The Christ of abundant love, born over two thousand years ago, lives on in us. As our feet take us near and far, let us continue to be the Christ to one another.
I close:
Divine Messenger,
We will carry the good news of your abundant and abiding love to all we meet and greet today, tomorrow, forever.” Amen
A Thought Before Christmas 12-23-2018
Thursday, December 20th, 2018There is a story that comes out of India which tells of a beggar whose great hope was that he would meet the king. Then, he dreamed, alms would be given him unasked and wealth scattered all around him in the dust. One day, the king’s golden chariot came into the village and actually stopped where the beggar stood. The king saw the poor man, got out of the chariot, and walked with a smile toward him.
The beggar was ecstatic. He felt that good fortune had come his way at last. But instead of giving him anything, the king held out his hand and said, “What do you have to give to me?” The beggar was confused and undecided. Then slowly, he took from his loaded knapsack a single grain of wheat and gave it to the king. The king made no move to give him anything in return. Disillusioned and dejected, the beggar walked to his bare room. At day’s end, he emptied his bag on the floor and was surprised to find a single grain of gold among all the other grains of wheat. He wept bitterly and thought: “If only I had the heart to give the king my all.
The beggar found only a single grain of gold in his bag because he had given away only a single grain of wheat. If he had given more, he would have received more.
A few weeks before Christmas – in the midst of money being tight, and the normal Christmas rush and pressure – we have many things to give – Let us not be afraid to give them. How about these:
1. Remember an old friend
2. Call or write to someone who has lost someone through death
3. Give peace
4. Forgive an enemy
5. Set differences aside in our families
6. Give of yourself – a small bit of quality time
7. Perform an act of kindness
8. Offer a few sincere thoughtful words of encouragement and affirmation.
9. Give love
and guess what, Christmas will be forever! Wouldn’t that be great!