Ever since her mother tried on the gloves in the department store,
her ten-year-old daughter decided this would be her present to her. For
weeks, she put aside part of her allowance; she earned extra money
doing chores and running errands for neighbors. On Christmas morning,
she saw the delight on her mother’s face as she opened the box. In the
joy she experienced in bringing joy to her mom, God was born.
A group of volunteers from a local church have spent the past
dozen weekends at the building site. Under the direction of the
professional carpenters and trades folk who have donated their time, as
well, they framed the house, enclosed the building with sheet rock,
painted and tiled, and are now completing the finishing work. Whether
they realize it or not, they are building more than a house for a family in
need: They are making a dwelling place for God.
One night a week, she returns to her classroom at the local high
school. Her students are not teenagers but adults who never finished
high school and immigrants from Latin America and Asia. Together they
struggle through vocabulary, spelling and literature. With each new
word understood and passage grasped, this young teacher gives birth—
to God.
The great Dominican theologian Meister Eckhart preached that
“we are all meant to be mothers of God” for “God is always waiting to
be born”. God seeks to be born in our own loveless stables and forgotten
caves; God waits to come to life in Bethlehem’s of anger and
hopelessness; God makes a dwelling place for himself in the Nazareth’s
of our homes, school and workplaces. On this first day of 2023, we
honor Mary, the Mother of God, under her most ancient title, that of
Theotokos, the Greek word for “bearer of God”. In baptism into the life
of Mary’s child, we are called to be “bearers of God”—to give birth to
God, every one of us, each in our own way.
I close, today the New Year 2023 lies before us like a blank
canvas. So many possibilities—more than just the simple resolutions we
steadfastly keep until kickoff time of today’s first football game. But a
whole new year, an entity of time, begins today. We Christians believe
that God has sanctified all time in his work of creation and his recreation
of the world in Christ. May this new year, be truly new for each one of
us—a time for renewal, for making this year a year of peace in our
hearts and homes, for becoming the people of compassion God calls us
to become. And may we always remember that every day can be a new
start, that God enables us to always begin a new canvas, that we can
erase the crooked lines and the clashing colors to begin a new work of
art reflecting the beauty and light of God’s life and love. Jesus—Be born
again and again through us 2023. Amen
Archive for the ‘Cycle A’ Category
To Give Birth to God 1-1-2023
Friday, December 30th, 2022A Thought Before Christmas 12-18-2022
Thursday, December 15th, 2022There 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!
Remember You Always Walk With God 12-11-2022
Friday, December 9th, 2022A few weeks before Christmas, a woman who lived in a New York
apartment building found a greeting card taped to her door. “Merry
Christmas from the custodial staff”, it said.
“How nice”, she said to herself and promptly forgot about it. A
week later she came home to find another card taped to her door. It was
the same message, “Merry Christmas from the custodial staff”. But this
time stamped right in the middle in big red letters, were the words,
“Second Notice”!
Many of us are terribly forgetful. We immerse ourselves in our
daily tasks of life as we must-we can forget almost anything: birthdays,
anniversaries, appointments, our bank balance, our glasses. You name
it, we forget it. We make lists so we won’t forget and then we forget the
list. But our forgetfulness isn’t limited just to the little things. We
forget the big things as well; who our real friends are, what really
matters in life, who loves us, who needs us, what we were made for. We
just forget.
I believe that is why we need to gather here – week after week; to
help each other remember who we are, remember what really matters,
and remember that we aren’t walking this long road alone. We’re
walking it with the Lord who is right at our side.
And what is this Lord like who walks at our side? Does God walk
with us as a critic? A police officer? A judge? Or maybe just an
impartial observer? In fact the Lord is none of the above.
The Lord walks with us as a partner and mentor who wants to see
us succeed and who understands that it’s going to take us a while. Now
what more could we ask? How can we not celebrate and rejoice as
today’s liturgy urges us. How can we not be confident and hopeful and
put all fears behind us. After all, God is with us and for us!
And there’s still more. Having God walking with us as partner and
mentor gives us the opportunity to be in close conversation hourly. With
simple words like, “Well, Lord, what do you think about this?” Or,
“Lord can you help me see this clearly?” Or simply, “Help, Lord, I can’t
do this one alone.” Those are the kinds of words that partners and
friends speak very often.
All of that is what we have to come together here to remember.
First, remember to rejoice and forget all your fears because God is with
us. And second, remember to listen to and talk to God about the real
stuff of our lives because God cares more than anyone else…and God
knows the way home.
I would like to close by sharing with you my idea of what God’s
special Christmas card would say to each one of us;
“Remember what you’ve seen me do”, says Jesus. “…the blind
see, cripples walk, lepers are cured, the deaf hear, and dead men raised
to life”. If you’ll let me, I’ll do the same for you”, he says. “I’ll heal
what is sick in your spirit, if you’ll let me”.
“I’ll open your eyes and your ears so that you’ll know what really
matters so you’ll know that happiness and peace are available to you
everyday, even on the worst days. I’ll show you that and let you
experience that, if you’ll let me.
“I will not insulate you from adversity, challenge, or pain. But I
will always see you through them, and never let you come to ultimate 4
harm. I’ll take you by the hand, and raise you up; I’ll help you to walk
and I’ll walk with you until your journey is complete, if you’ll let me.
“All that is my promise to you, my solemn pledge. And I will not
take it back”, says the Lord. We have a lot to rejoice about today!
Don’t we!
