Gospel text for Holy Cross Day, 14 September 2019

John 12:31-36a        Jesus said, “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die. The crowd answered him, “We have heard from the law that the Messiah remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” Jesus said to them, “The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.”

Reflection        Let’s consider this gospel text in context. After raising Lazarus from the dead, and doing many other signs, Jesus enters Jerusalem in anticipation of the great festival days. A large crowd greets him, waving branches and saying, “Hosanna, blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.” We memorialize this moment in the celebration we now call Palm Sunday. 

At the same time, tension is mounting among religious and political officials who are infuriated because, “the world has gone after Jesus.” (John 12.19) They are losing control and Jesus must be eliminated. Reading the handwriting on the wall, Jesus could run away, but instead he utters, “Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say, Father save me from this hour? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. “ (John 12. 27) 

Then something happens that we tend to overlook. A voice comes from heaven. Some folks think it is thunder, others, an angel. Jesus explains, “This voice has come so you will understand my death.” Here we come face to face with the great enigma, the problem of the cross. 

Two thousand years ago in Jerusalem the most barbaric and humiliating way to die was to be nailed to a cross, lifted up and left to slowly suffocate. This dreadful fate was reserved for the worst criminals. Yet Jesus instructs the crowds to believe him, that he will be lifted up on the cross in glory. The instrument of inhumane death will be the means of glory. How can this be?

I believe the passage from An Ignatian Book of Days,*”  September 15th, “Suffering With Others” helps us understand the glory of the cross.

“When we cannot change a situation we are tempted to walk away from it. We might literally walk away: we are too busy to sit with a suffering friend. Or we walk away emotionally: we harden ourselves and maintain an emotional distance. We might react to the gospel accounts of Jesus’ passion and death this way. They describe something terrible and horribly painful, yet we might shield ourselves from the pain… Ignatius wants us to experience the Passion as something fresh and immediate. We learn to suffer with Jesus and thus learn to suffer with the people in our lives.” (266) 

Later in the gospel according to John we read, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friend.” (John 15.12-13) Saying yes to the present moment, no matter how grim it looks, suffering with others regardless of how much it costs, this is lifting up the cross, this is the means of glory. 

Please listen to Peter Gabriel's soundtrack (upper right corner of blog). It accompanies the Passion. Imagine suffering with Jesus or a friend.

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* Manney, Jim. Loyola Press (Chicago, IL., 2014).

Gospel text for Christmas Eve & Christmas Day 24 December 2018

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Dec 24th 5pm and 9pm 

Dec 25th 9:30am

Luke 2:1-14        In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see-- I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest heaven,

and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”

Reflection        Mary and Joseph are living in Roman occupied territory and the Emperor Augustus is exercising his power over “the whole world” in order to enhance his wealth by requiring all people to register in their ancestral homes and be taxed accordingly. Here we see a picture of worldly power exercised without regard to the suffering and hardship it causes vast swaths of ordinary folks, people like pregnant Mary and her fianceé Joseph whom we meet tonight trekking across the dangerous desert skirting vipers, tigers, scorpions and bandits, giving birth to their son in conditions barely fit for barn yard animals, wrapping him in rags and tucking him into a feeding trough. 

At the same time we witness another story unfolding. An angel of the Lord, a messenger of God, breaks into this fear riddled night with a promise of light to poor shepherds who are ‘living in the field,’  poor men who stay awake all night to protect their sheep from predator wolves.  Surely we are as startled as the shepherds to hear the angels decree, ”Do not be afraid; for see-- I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. And this will be a sign for you, you will find the child (wrapped in rags and lying in a feeding trough.)”

Two dramatically different ways to imagine the identical situation. Seen through Emperor Augustus’ eyes, the child born in the City of David, wrapped in rags and tucked into a feeding trough is of no consequence beyond adding a mite to the his tax revenue. From the angel’s angle, the child born in the City of David, wrapped in rags and tucked into a feeding trough is of unspeakable consequence, “a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord,” and this is “good news of great joy for all the people.”

Angels, angelus, are messengers from God, and, if you have ever encountered an angel you know, angels bring with them the glory of God. We sang it in our Christmas Carol, “Angels we have heard on high singing sweetly through the night…. gloria in excelsis deo.” And again just before the reading of Luke’s gospel, “Hark the herald angels sing, glory to the newborn King!” Glorious exclamations of praise and joy. Christ is born. Our waiting is over. The promise of peace is fulfilled this night. This is the good news of great joy for all the people. 

The questions before us this Christmas are several. “Through whose eyes do we choose to see the whole world? Through the self-serving eyes of the autocrat or the all-inclusive vision of the angels? In which story do we choose to participate? In Augustus’ me first, “power over” parable of selfishness or in the angel’s all inclusive narrative of generosity? How do we choose to imagine our world? As a resource from which to extract as much as possible or as a resource given to be revered and protected for the good of all? Which voice do we choose to embody? The  disapproving shout of condemnation or the sanctifying voice singing praise to God?

Merry Christmas!

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Gospel Text for Christmas Eve 24 December 2016

Luke 2.1-20       In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see-- I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!"

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us." So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Reflection        Peace and glory, glory and peace, these two are handmaids that tend the birth of peasants as well as nobility.  Peace and glory, glory and peace, this holy couple is the right response of humanity to the birth of a child because peace and glory acknowledge the arrival of light in the depths of darkness, they declare the entrance of hope on the stage of suffering and despair.

And that is the reason ‘this day’ more than two billion Christians around the world are telling the humdrum tale of an impoverished couple and their newborn “child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” We never tire of retelling this story because it is full of peace and full of glory. We replay this saga because it is a story for all people and for all time. We recall this drama because we hunger to be fully alive, which is to say, we long to be full of peace and glory, right here, right now... this day. 

Many of us are exhausted. We have been living life as if we are people in exile; lost, wandering and wondering when we are going to get to some happily ever after state. Here is the thing. Life is not about what is missing. Life is not about waiting for some utopian ideal. Life is about ‘this day,” full of peace and full of glory. 

Of course you may reply, “Really? Have you not heard the news? According to the Global Peace Index of 2016 only ten countries in the entire world are not currently at war and are completely free from conflict.  Have you not heard, currently nearly 1 in 3 children, 1 in 5 Arizonans, and 1 in 7 seniors in Arizona live in poverty? Have you not heard that 40% of the people who receive emergency food assistance are working?*  Have you not heard, some of us have lost our jobs, our health, our loved ones? Where is the peace? Where is the glory?”

This is when the rest of the angel’s message is essential, “Do not be afraid; for see - I am bringing you good news of great joy for all people.” The light that pierces the heart of darkness is here, this day. We do not have to wait until we find the perfect job or place to live. We do not have to wait until our student loans are paid, our tax debt is clear and our retirement plans secure. 

^“This is the day that the Lord has made;   let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118.24)  Let us be glad and grateful purveyors of God's peace and glory for all of humanity, this day. After all, God IS with us and with God nothing is impossible. 

Merry Christmas!

 St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance  www.firstfoodbank.org/learn-more/hunger-statistice-in-arizona. accessed 22 December 2016.

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