Category: Sermon
Dust to Dust ~ Sr. Dollie Wilkinson, OPI
“‘Excuse me, you’ve got some dirt on your head.”
How many times have you heard this, and felt yourself heave a heavy sigh. But this simple question can serve as a catalyst for a very important discussion. So why exactly do we have this smudge on our foreheads?
Ash Wednesday begins Lent, a time when we stop and assess how we’re doing in our walk with God. Lent helps us identify spiritual areas in which we can grow and sinful areas that we need to avoid. To repent, put simply, means to turn away from sin and turn toward God. We use ashes as an outward expression of our need to begin again.
For over twelve hundred years on the dies cinerum (day of ashes) faithful followers have approached the altar and received ashes upon their foreheads. These ashes are made from the burnt palm fronds that were blessed on the Palm Sunday of the previous year. The ashes are sprinkled with holy water, usually fragranced with incense and blessed using four prayers that are thousands of years old. The use of ashes for repentance and penance can be traced even further back and is practiced throughout the world. On Ash Wednesday ashes are applied to believers’ foreheads in the shape of the cross.
So today we begin a 40 day period of wilderness wandering, 40 days because that’s how long Jesus was tempted in the wilderness. Even those in our society who have never really observed Lent know that it’s the time of year when pious people suffer and give things up not so God will be impressed with us, but to press upon ourselves the need for repentance and reform. As stated in this passage from the prophet Joel –
“Yet even now, says the Lord,
return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
rend your hearts and not your clothing.
return to the LORD, your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.
Amen.”
Seems to sum things up pretty well…..Fasting, Weeping, Mourning. For those of us who act like Lent is a competitive sport, this text from Joel is a pretty awesome starting place. But Lent isn’t a contest, and other than the outward sign of a cross of ashes on our forehead, is meant to be very private. As we are cautioned to do in Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18:
“Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. “So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face,so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
But, why does God say to return to God with all of our heart rather than return to God when we get our crap together? I mean in Lent we tend to really focus on our behavior, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but if God says return to me with all your heart, I think that maybe the implication is that we give our hearts to a whole lot of things that are not God. So if we think Lent is about giving things up so we can impress God maybe we should ask ourselves: which is harder – the fasting part or the returning to God with all our heart part?
I don’t think that my problem is that I eat too much sugar or spend too much time on Facebook. My problem…and maybe yours too, is that I sort of give my heart out to things, and even people, that cannot love me back. I mean, by the time I even get to the table of God’s grace, I’ve tried to love so many things and people, and hopes and doubts – I’ve given myself to them so completely that there’s very little left. So little to be fed by God’s grace since my starving little heart is doled out in so many pieces trying to get it’s own needs met. And so, thank God, once a year we gather to speak the truth of how we piece out our hearts, how we sin and fall short, how we rely on every single other thing to love us – everything but God. How we love each other and are loved by each other so poorly with the small leftover bits of our hearts after we’ve given most of them and time to career advancement, saving the world, saving for our future, buying fake cows on Facebook and the dull pain of chemical dependency, sugar binges or the next spiritual practice or restricted diet that promises to make us whole. It’s not our time that’s so wasted with all of it…I think it’s something so much more valuable… I think it’s our hearts.
So we gather again this Ash Wednesday with the faithful all across the world, to gather all the pieces of our broken selves…all the pieces of our starving little hearts and we come again here to be told, of all things, that we are dust and to dust we shall return. The very thing we are trying to pretend is not true. I think we give our hearts away because we’re afraid of the limits of our earthly bodies. In other words, we sin. And all of it…and I hate to be so cliché, but basically, when it comes down to it, all of it is about the fact that we’re afraid to die. But even though we may be afraid to die, then you’d think hearing you are dust and to dust you shall return would be pretty bad news, but not so. Because here’s the thing: in the creation story in Genesis 2 it says that the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils, the breath of life; and the man became a living being. So, yes, children of God…you are dust and to dust you shall return. But remember this: it is from dust and the very breath of God that you were created out of divine love. A divine love which mends the pieces of your heart back together whenever you return to it. Always, always always! And to do this, to gather the given away pieces of our hearts so that in returning to God, God can make them whole, well, there’s a term for that …it’s repentance.
I used to think that repentance meant to feel so bad about being bad that you promise to not be bad anymore. But now I see repentance as just returning again to God. Just as in the story of a certain Carmelite nun, who found contemplative prayer to be very hard because her thoughts would wander a thousand times during a 20 minute prayer session. She was sure her teacher Thomas Merton would rebuke her for such a failure, so she was surprised when instead Merton said that her wandering thoughts were just 1,000 opportunities to return to God.
That’s what Ash Wednesday and Lent are…a thousand opportunities to return to God with all your heart. Returning again to the only thing in which we are once again whole…and that is the eternal and divine love of God. The eternal and divine love of God who created you from dust and breath. The eternal and divine love of God to which you will return after your last breath when again you are dust.
Finding God in Our Suffering ~ Br. Igor Kalinski, Novice
” Does not man have hard service on earth? Are not his days like those of hired man? Like a slave longing for the evening shadows, or a hired man waiting eagerly for his wages so I have been allotted months of futility, and nights of misery have been assigned to me. When i lie down I think ” How long before I get up?`The night drags on, and I toss till dawn.
In the first reading in the Book of Job, these verses are telling us how fast our days are passing. Living here on this earth, we have our own difficulties, our struggles, and sometimes, our God appoints difficult times to discipline us, to prepare us, to become stronger, to teach us through the pain, sorrow, and to remind us how we are nothing without His presence in our lives. Without Him we can not face the problems of our days. Through our suffering we become humble; we become one with the character of Christ in our suffering. We become similar to Him, so much so that we want to follow Him everyday. He was carried His cross to Calvary. We must carry ours daily, that is our daily passion. We all of us have problems, hard moments, sad and bad things with which we must deal. How merciful it is that we have Him to take our sorrows and pains! Through His wounds, we become more compassionate to our neighbors, knowing that they also need help.
Now think of your own situations and acknowledge that we seldom know what God is orchestrating behind the scenes. At any point we might become characters on the stage of suffering. When we face the same kinds of decisions that were thrust upon Job, will we bless the Lord or curse Him? We will acknowledge that God both gives and takes away, He gives us days, years, decades with difficulties and through that we build our character to be more strong, He teach us how to behave when life is not sweet, He is not leaving us, we do not going to forget that this is the valley of tears, and in the verse 8:17 from the Gospel of Matthew, we learn that he took our infirmities and carried our diseases, so in difficult times we always have our Lord Jesus who will take our problems with Him. He takes our illness, our struggles. The proof of His actions are so so many, for with God anything is possible!
Danger? No. I do not expect danger. God will deliver us, in the Gospel of MARK verses 1:29-39 ” So He went to her (Peter`s mother in law) took her hand and helped her up and the fever was gone, and so many sick people, demon-possessed, all town came to the gate of that house that evening, and all receive healing, powerful God`s healing, restoration, renewal bodily and spiritually making their faith to grow.”
This also our mission, as Christian and Dominican as well. We are to help alleviate the suffering, to bring healing to the spirits of the least, the lost, and the forgotten. Won’t you accept that mission?
Amen
Follow Me ~ Sr. Dollie Willkinson, OPI
As I watched my old house being torn down a couple weeks ago many memories came rushing in. The joy of bringing my first little girl home from the hospital, on a heart monitor because she had Gastro-esophageal reflux, which caused her to turn blue from losing her breath quite often; or bringing her younger sister home a few short years later, and watching this very precocious girl try to not only keep up with her older sister, but her older cousins, all of whom seemed to think our home was the fun place to be. Then, so many years later, bringing home my granddaughter, and watching her take her first steps, being so afraid she would slip and fall on our hardwood floors. There are so many memories in this one house, that some would wonder why we (my family and I), would readily abandon it and seek somewhere else to live, to create new memories. But in Mark 1:14-20, this is exactly what Jesus is asking four young men to do, leave what they know, where they are comfortable, and have known all their lives, to follow Him and become something more.
“Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea–for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him. As He went a little farther, He saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.”
As Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon, Andrew, James, and John. And called to them. There were no questions, no good byes. They just simply dropped their nets, and left to follow Jesus. Now if it were me, and I suspect most of you, I would be filled with questions. Like, “Where are we going? What will we do? How long will we be gone? What do I need to take? Where will we stay?” But this conversation doesn’t take place in today’s gospel. Jesus does not offer a map, an itinerary, or a destination, only an invitation. This is not the type of journey you can prepare for. It’s not about planning and organizing, making lists, or packing supplies. It’s just not that easy. If anything this journey is about leaving things behind……to leave behind our nets, our boats, and all that seems familiar.
So Simon and Andrew were casting a net into the sea for they were fishermen. Day after day it was the same thing; the same sea, the same net, the same boat. Day after day it was wind, water, fish, sore muscles, and tired bodies. They probably grew up watching their dad and granddad fishing, watching their future life, and how they too would spend their time. Cast the net, and pull it in. If you are not casting the net, then you probably sat in the boat mending the net. That’s what James and John were doing. Casting and mending, always……casting and mending. You know about those days, right? How many of us go through our days on autopilot, feeling as if we are stuck in some time loop?
We may not fish for a living but we know about casting and mending nets. Days that all seem the same. One looks like another and nothing changes. We don’t expect much to happen, so this seems like our life. We cast the nets. We mend the nets. Casting and mending to make a living, to feed our family, to pay the bills, to gain security and get to retirement, to hold our family together, make our marriage work, and to grow up our children. Casting and mending to gain the things we want; a house, a car, books, clothes, a vacation. Casting and mending to earn a reputation, gain approval, establish status. And to make our way through another day of loneliness, sadness, or illness. Casting and mending are realities of life. They are also the circumstances in which Jesus comes to us, the way in which we hear the call to new life, and the place where we are changed and the ordinary becomes the extraordinary.
Those future disciples of Jesus, Simon and Andrew, James and John, were not looking for Him. They are too busy with the nets. It is another day of casting and mending. They may not have even noticed Jesus but He not only sees them; He speaks to them. Jesus has a way of showing up in the ordinary places of life and interrupting our daily routines of casting and mending nets. That’s exactly what He did in the lives of these four gentleman. And that’s what He can do for your life and mine. “Follow me” is Jesus’ invitation to a new life. If these four fishermen accept the invitation, their lives will forever be different. They will be different. They will no longer catch just fish. They will “fish for people”. When Jesus says this, He is describing the transformation of their lives, not simply a job catching new members or followers. Whatever your life is, however you spend your time, there is in that life Jesus’ call to “Follow me.”
That’s the hard part for most of us. We’re pretty good at accumulating and clinging but not so good at letting go. More often than not our spiritual growth involves some kind of letting go. We never get anywhere new as long as we’re unwilling to leave where we are. We accept Jesus’ invitation to follow, not by packing up, but by letting go. “Follow me” is both the invitation to and the promise of new life. So what are the nets that entangle us? What are the little boats (or old houses) that contain our life? Who are the people from whom we seek identity, value, and approval? What do we need to let go of and leave behind, so that we might follow Him? Please don’t think this is simply about changing careers, disowning our family, or moving to a new town. It is about the freedom to be fully ourselves, and in so being discover God’s plan for us. We need to let go so that our life may be changed, so that we can now travel in a new direction, so that we may be open to receive the beauty of God’s promises. When we let go, everything is transformed.. That’s why Jesus could tell these four gentlemen they would still be fishermen. But now they would fish for people. They wouldn’t become something they weren’t already, but they would be changed. They would more authentically be who they already are – Fishers of men! Won’t you? Won’t you let go and let God?
A Tale of Two Callings….. (Um….Hello???) ~ Br. Michael Marshall, Novice
Not so very long ago, and on a college campus pretty far away, there lived two young men who were doing the things that young men in college do. These guys, we’ll call them Steve and Manny, were devout Christians and became active in the Catholic campus ministry while there in college. Now, neither of them was Catholic, and why they were active in the Catholic ministry is a completely different tale, but it is what they did, and, for our purposes, this was was a very good thing. So, anyway, while they studied what they were studying and enjoying campus ministry, they began to feel more ‘at home’ in the Catholic Church, and both guys felt called to convert to Catholicism. They studied the faith, and as they got deeper into it, both young men felt a pull, a tug, that still small voice inside of them…..was God calling them to the priesthood? Could it be?
Steve and Manny both went to the priest on campus and told him what they were feeling. After a few major chat sessions, the priest, Fr. Michael was his name, by the way, suggested that they attend the diocesan vocation discernment retreat that was scheduled soon. They both, with Fr. Michael’s help, prepared for the retreat and both were excited about it…and a bit nervous. Finally, the day came and Fr. Michael, with the boys in tow, went to the retreat and, wouldn’t you know it, just like Samuel heard the first call while asleep, Manny decided there and then he wanted to be a priest. He wanted to serve. He wanted to lead. He wanted a collar. He was VERY sure he was called to the diocesan priesthood and asked for the application. Which he was refused. “Too soon!” the Vocations Director said. “Pray about it more!” the Vocations Director said. So, Manny, who was confused more than he’d ever been, began to pray more earnestly for God’s guidance. Like Samuel the first time he heard God’s voice, he was confused.
Now, Steve, on the other hand, wasn’t quite so sure what God wanted of him. Was he being called? If so, exactly to WHAT was he being called? Steve, too, spent much time in prayer and in discernment. Soon, he, too approached the Vocations Director for an application. He was certain of his calling. In no uncertain terms, he was to be a priest. He applied. The vocations committee gave the recommendation that he should be accepted, and accepted he was!
And Manny? Manny, poor confused Manny, spent more time discerning as to where he was called, and in what way he was called. To the priesthood? To something else? Manny KNEW that he was being called by God to serve. But how? Where?
Soon, actually, shortly after Steve entered the seminary as a diocesan seminarian, our friend Manny entered a religious order. Both men felt that they had found their calling and they were happy……… at first. But then, Steve eventually felt that something was not right. While home for summer break, the doubts grew stronger. And stronger. And stronger. The Priesthood? Really? ME? He returned to his seminary studies only to leave seminary a month later.
And Manny??? He remained in formation, exploring God, learning God, loving God. This continued for three years….and finally he realized that this formation, this path that he had chosen, was not the right fit. So this was just like Samuel hearing called by Eli for the second time. Like Samuel, the second time he heard God’s voice, he was confused.
Shortly after leaving seminary, Steve fell in love with a gal named Deb and found that he was called to another form of ministry: that of husband and father. Steve and Deb did, indeed marry the next year. They are very happy, and have three children.
And Manny? Manny sought out several formation programs. WAS God calling him? Was he hearing things that weren’t there? So, Manny decided that since he wasn’t sure on his own, like Samuel, he would seek direction. And this he did. Like Samuel, Manny asked his own personal “Eli.” And this “Eli” said….”Stop. Stop thinking about it. Stop trying to figure it out. Listen. Listen to God. Not you to. Not to what you think you want. LISTEN TO GOD. If he is calling you, you will KNOW.” And Manny stopped. And Manny listened. And this time, just as with Samuel’s third time, Manny heard God, and realized that it WAS God calling him. God was calling him into a new and exciting and rewarding life of ministry and service that he’d not even imagined. Manny let go of what HE wanted, and let God guide him. And, Manny is happy!
The point is, when we hear that voice that tells us we are called to something, we have to stop and think, from where is that calling coming? From whom? Is it really a calling, or something we believe to be a calling only to fulfill our own desires? If it is to fulfill our own desires, what of God’s desires for us? Will we be willing to walk away from ourselves to listen to God? Will we answer to our true calling?
What is God calling you to do? To whose voice are you listening? We are told in Jeremiah 29:11 that God says to us, “I know the plans I have for you.” Will you listen to God’s plan? Will you hear his voice? Ask Him. He’ll answer. Guaranteed!
Amen.
Rise up and Shine the Light
“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you! Isaiah 60:1
We have just had the special time of Christmas, Gifts are very likely to have been given to those we love and to our friends to bring them some joy. Perhaps you received the gift of socks, a jumper, tools for DIY, Or maybe a box of your favourite chocolates. If you were given socks for a christmas gift, you would wear them to keep your feet warm. A jumper would be used to keep our main body warm, DIY tools would be used to decorate or make home improvements and of course chocolate would be eaten and enjoyed. I am certain whatever gift you may have received, that you would’ve said a grateful thank you to the person who thought enough of you to give you such a gift.
Today we celebrate the Important Feast of Epiphany, the actual unwrapping of the Christmas gift the Lord has given us. This is no ordinary gift!!! We are all given the ultimate gift, the gift of Chirst Himself!!! The Lord gives us his heart, his love, his mercy, and his ever unflinching determination to see all get the salvation that only Our Lord can give! But what are we to do with the extra special gift the Lord has given each of us? We are to use them in our daily lives, to become ever closer in our relationship with our Lord and to bring others out of darkness and into the saving light of the Lord.
The wise men were led to the Holy Babe and King by following a bright star that led them to the place where He was lying. They heard the words: “Rise! Shine! Your light has come!” The Lord shines his light for us through his holy word in the scriptures, and we are to rise up and shine the light of His love, mercy, and salvation for all to see, like the brightest torch shining the way in the darkest of nights!! The Lord was born, suffered and died out of his love for each and every single one of us so that in Him all that truly believe will never die but will live with Him forever in his eternal love. We are called to be His church in the world until his return we must let all people’s throughout the world see the light of the Lord through our lives, our teachings, our thoughts and our deeds so that all may see the Glory of the Lord.
So let us now anew thank the Lord for his wonderful gift to us by rising up and letting his light shine through us!!
Feast of the Holy Family ~ The Rev. Lady Sherwood, OPI
The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
Reading 1:SIR 3:2-6, 12-14
Responsorial Psalm:PS 128:1-2, 3, 4-5
Reading 2:COL 3:12-21
Gospel:LK 2:22-40
Today, we come together as churches and as children of the Lord to celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family. The Holy family of the Blessed Mary, of Joseph her spouse, and of course of our Lord Jesus Christ together as a full family. Now, we all come from families and we know as about both the joys and issues and difficulties family life can bring. Families are made of individuals, and individuals often have crosses to bear. Even as part of a family, even in the church family, we all have our crosses in life to carry. The Holy family, though indeed very blessed and Holy, were also still human and had their crosses of life to carry.
The crosses that were borne by the Holy family come to mind when reading the scriptures. Now just imagine what it must’ve been like when Mary and Joseph had to tell others how Mary had been conceived by the Holy Spirit alone? I sincerely doubt many people at first sincerely believed and accepted the truth of the situation. Yes, there was probably talking behind their backs, mocking, and those who would’ve just seen it as merely untruthful. How misunderstood both Mary and Joseph indeed must have been! Can you can you imagine how they would feel? We have all been misunderstood or not believed at times and it isn’t a good feeling at all! Even Mary, at the beginning of her pregnancy, was misunderstood by Joseph who was considering putting her away quietly, before an Angel intervened in a dream and reassured Joseph of the truth of the situation. At that time Mary’s pregnancy would have been seen as acceptable by others, and Joseph was concerned how it would be seen and how it would be taken. Can you imagine how this must have felt to both Mary, and indeed to Joseph?
When Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem for Jesus’s birth, there was no room and all they could find was an animal’s shelter because Bethlehem at that time was so crowded. Can you imagine not finding anywhere to give birth? Not nice at all! After the birth of Jesus, Both Mary and Joseph had to flee because Jesus’s life was in danger from King Herod, who was killing all newborn babies and those very young in an attempt to kill Jesus as Herod saw him as a very severe threat. How this must’ve felt to both Mary and to Joseph! The fear for their son’s safety, the sadness, the confusion…the suffering!!
Mary and Joseph suffered the awful experience of losing Jesus for three days when he was twelve years old and the only satisfaction they got from him was that he had to be about his Father’s business.
We do not hear of Joseph any more so we presume that before Jesus began his public ministry in Galilee Joseph had died – The Holy Family suffering the greatest pain of all families, the pain of bereavement and separation through death.
Jesus’ public ministry must have taken its toll on Mary. Simeon had predicted in the Temple that a sword of sorrow would pierce Mary’s soul. We can imagine one such occasion as we read in Mark 3:21 that when Jesus returned to Nazareth. One day his relatives came to take him by force, convinced that he was out of his mind. Not a very pleasant experience for any family, no matter how holy.
There were so many other crosses this Holy family had to endure, but the saddest and the one which must’ve felt like Mary’s heart was being torn from her chest, was when Mary had to watch her only son die by crucifixion upon the cross for our salvation…oh what pain and sorrow!!!
All this suffering, pain and sadness this family has had to endure yet they stayed together and extremely strong throughout, and even kept their sanity…but how?
It was their sheer strength in their never-ending love both for God our Heavenly Father, and for each other, and for their endless faith and trust in God that enabled them to come through absolutely. So what holds us and our own families together in times of trauma, or suffering? We usually stay together because of our love and forgiveness of each other. We may at times have disagreements or words, but in the end true love keeps us in good stead. We should take notice always in the way we live our lives in the message that we get from the lives of the Holy Family, and that message is that no matter how hard we may feel our lives become, we must give all our love, faith, and trust to the Lord who will never ever fail us!! Let us pray to ask that we and all our families may live with the love, faith and true trust of the Lord in our lives!!
Gifts
What you are is God’s gift to you.
What you become is your gift to God.
During this time of the year, many of our thoughts turn to gifts: giving and receiving, what we want to give, what we want to receive, what will please those we love, the shopping, the ordering, the wrapping, the general hustle and bustle of the Christmas season centering around gifts ad infinitum, donating to the people with the red kettles and bells so the less fortunate can have gifts…..
And then there’s the practice of ‘re-gifting,’ passing along that unwanted or unusable gift that we were given, to someone else, so that they will have SOMETHING, and so that they too, can possibly pass that pink and orange and green plaid scarf along, re-gifting it themselves to someone else who won’t use it either….and sometimes by some freak chance that unwanted item comes back to us several years later….and not much too worse for the wear…. And is re-gifting, as amusing (and cheap) as it may seem, necessarily a bad thing?
Why all this focus on gift-giving and gift-receiving at this time of year? The union of Christmas and gift giving was a gradual one; actually, the full story of the bright packages beneath the tree, like most of our Christmas customs, begins in the days before the birth of Christ. In ancient Rome, gifts were exchanged during the New Year’s celebrations. At first these gifts were simple, such as a few twigs from a sacred grove and small items of food. Many gifts were in the form of vegetables in honor of the fertility goddess Strenia. During the Northern European Yule, (yep, the yuletide season is a pagan thing) fertility was celebrated with gifts made of wheat products, such as bread and alcohol.
Like many of the old and pagan customs, exchanging gifts was difficult to get rid of even as Christianity spread and gained official status. Early church leaders tried to outlaw the custom, but the people cherished it too much to let it go. St. John Chrysostom urged no compromise with heathen abominations, but he, too, failed in this tenacity of hanging on to the tradition of gift giving. Since there was no general agreement about the exact date of the birth of Jesus, it must have seemed helpful to have it supersede the Saturnalia, so the rebirth of the sun became instead the birth of the Son of God, and the church leaders looked for a Christian justification for the practice of all this gift giving. This justification was found in the Magi’s act of bearing gifts to the infant Jesus, and in the concept that Christ was a gift from God to the world, bringing in turn the gift of redemption and everlasting life.
What you are is God’s gift to you.
What you become is your gift to God.
Wikipedia defines a gift as the transfer of something without the expectation of receiving something in return. Although gift-giving might involve an expectation of reciprocity, a gift is meant to be free. By extension the term “gift” can refer to anything that makes the other happier or less sad, especially as a favor, including forgiveness and kindness.
God’s gifts to us are free and clear. He has given us the gift of His Son, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He has given us the gift of eternal life: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23 (NIV); The gift of salvation: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” Ephesians 2:8 (NIV); And the gifts that are unique to each of us: “We each of us have our own individual gifts: But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.” 1Corinthians 7:7 (NIV)
Besides the obvious gift of His Son, and the forgiveness that we receive through Him whom we receive by faith, what other gifts has God given specifically to you? What talents have you received? What blessings have been given to you?
We learn about the 7 Gifts of the Spirit in Isaiah 11:2-3: “2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD— 3 and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears;” (NIV)
And more importantly, what are you doing with those gifts? What are you giving back to God? What are you “becoming” as you use your gifts and talents? Which of the gifts that you have been given are you “regifting?” In other words, when we’ve received a gift from God, do we share that gift with others? Do we “regift?” We are told in 1 Peter 4:10, “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.” (NIV) Jesus himself addresses this very thing in the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30. By using our gifts, they multiply and we bring others to know God, and by recognizing what we have been given and using them for God’s glory, we are giving back to God.
What is the most precious thing we can give to God? The most precious gift we can give is what God wants the most. God wants us to make the fervent attempt to repent, get right with Him, and not lead a double life, trying to follow two contradictory paths, but living our lives according to His will. God simply wants us to give ourselves to Him. This is the best gift we can give! Our gift to Him is how we respond to the gifts He has given us which are the gifts of life and of grace. We can best do this when we are headed in His direction, following His precepts with a grateful, willing heart and mindset, and by striving to be the best that we can be by becoming what it is that He wants us to be.
Barbara Streisand sings in “The Best Gift:”
The best gift
That I ever got
Didn’t really weigh a lot
It didn’t have a ribbon ’round
And it sometimes made a terrible sound
The best of all it seems to me
It wasn’t ‘neath the Christmas tree
And yet, I guess I’d have to say
That it made all the other presents twice as gay
The best gift that I’ve ever known
I’d always wanted most to own
Yet in my dreams of sugar and spice
I never thought it could be so nice
The best gift that I ever get
Was sometimes dry and sometimes wet
Was usually pink but oftentimes red
As it lay so innocently in it’s bed
The best gift of the year to me
The one I hold most dear to me
A gift that simply drove me wild
Was a tiny new born child…
As we celebrate the birth of THE tiny newborn Child, God’s greatest and best Gift to us, let us strive to make ourselves the best gift we can give to others, and to God. Amen.
Patience is a Virtue, Advent II ~ Rev. Archdeacon Sr. Dollie Wilkinson, OPI
Patience-the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.
After a recent conversation with my granddaughter, where she declared, “I get Christmas first!”, because of course being only three, she could not imagine being patient in waiting for Christmas. To the very young, the actual word “patience”, has very little meaning. But in 2 Peter 3:8-15a, we are cautioned to do just that.
“But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed. Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire? But, in accordance with His promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home. Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by Him at peace, without spot or blemish; and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation. So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given him.”
Here we are cautioned to be patient, in waiting on the Lord’s mercy and favor. Just as the Lord is patient with us, so too should we be patient in waiting on His promises. How often have we prayed, expecting a quick answer to what seems to us an imminent dilemma? But as Peter states, “ with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day”. Meaning, what to us may seem like a dire concern, to the Lord, it is crucial only if it aides in bringing His children to salvation.
So many times I have heard the trite saying, “Patience is a virtue”. But what does this mean, and where does this saying come from?
“The first known publishing of the quote “Patiences is a virtue” comes from the poem “Piers Plowman” written between the years 1360 and 1387. Typical of texts from the 14th century, authorship can be debated though literary historians normally attribute most of the text to William Langland. However, there are multiple versions of this poem written at different times with sections believed to be authored by different, unknown people. “Piers Plowman” is a poem about a man, the poet and first narrator, in search of Catholicism and faith according to medieval standards. He does this by having dream visions after falling asleep. The poem is allegorical, meaning the characters are symbolic and also satirical. However, the allegory isn’t vague or abstract. The various characters include Truth (God), Wrong (Devil), Holy Church, Thought, Wit, Study, Conscience, Liar, Reason, Dowel (do well), Dobet (do better) and Dobest (do best) and others, including the seven deadly sins. Later, the characters are lead on a quest by Piers Plowman who also becomes the narrator. The Plowman is chosen as the guide due to his seemingly innocent and truthful nature.”
So in the allegorical poem by William Langland, we learn patience is a critical virtue,
highly prized by our Lord, “ regard the patience of our Lord as salvation.” And thus the key to our salvation. But in our fast paced, hurry up world, how can we practice patience? Are we just like the child, eager for Christmas day, the frenzied opening of presents? Or can we do as our Father commands us, practicing patience, knowing the ultimate gift isn’t found under an evergreen tree. But in the patient, loving presence of our heavenly Father. And is this not the bestest gift of all?!!!
He Sees You When You’re Sleeping… 1 Advent ~ Br. Michael Marshall, Novice
Every year before Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, I sit in the pew waiting for the excitement of the birth of the Christ Child. The anticipation builds until the fanfare of trumpets announces the great “Joy to the World, our Savior’s come!” the great climax of the Advent Season. But, what IS Advent? What does it mean?
The Season of Advent, the 4 week period before Christmas, is a season of preparation, and the beginning of the church year. Each of the four Sundays mark a step closer to the Christmas celebration. Many people think of Advent as the four weeks of countdown, during which a candle is lit on the Advent wreath each Sunday, a purple candle representing each Sunday until the Third Sunday, which is known as Gaudate Sunday. But Advent is SO much more than that!
The Advent season is a time of examining how we have been living as a follower of Jesus. As well, it is a time of reflection. I have learned that Advent is a time of charity and love. I do not mean we just throw a couple quarters in the Salvation Army kettles as we pass by when Christmas shopping because we feel guilty if we do not, but it is a season of giving of ourselves. Christ has told us that we are called to love our neighbor unconditionally. Don’t you think the beginning of the church year is a good place to start doing so?
In The Gospel reading for today, Jesus is sharing with his disciples that they will not know when the Lord will return. “…you do not know when the Lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning.” (Mark 13:35) One might wonder why the Gospel for this Sunday was chosen, since it refers to the Second Coming instead of the birth of the Savior. The message of Advent is not just about being ready for that one time and final event, but is also about always being ready when called upon in time of need.
As children, this message was shown to us in a different way. Throughout the “commercialized” Christmas season, which has, in many ways, seemingly replaced Advent, there are many carols and other songs about Christmas. When we read the Gospel for today, we find something very familiar to one of the most classic children’s Christmas songs, “Santa’s Coming to Town.”
“He sees you when you’re sleeping
He knows when you’re awake
He knows if you’ve been good or bad
So be good for goodness sake!
Ohh! You better watch out!”
Yes, the song is about a jolly, chubby old man in a red suit, but the message of Jesus is definitely in the song. Not everyone has children, but all of us once were, and we can be children at heart. We KNOW this song! We can think of this catchy song to remind us of what Jesus is saying what we should be doing during the Advent season. Let us remember that that we do “not know when the Lord of the house is coming,” and that we should always and in every way, be prepared for the coming of the king, far before we sing “Joy to the World” on Christmas morning.
Good Sheep and Baaahd Goats???
Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24
34:11 For thus says the Lord GOD: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. 12 As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. 13 I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited parts of the land. 14 I will feed them with good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord GOD. 16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice. 20 Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21 Because you pushed with flank and shoulder, and butted at all the weak animals with your horns until you scattered them far and wide, 22 I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged; and I will judge between sheep and sheep. 23 I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd.
24 And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them; I, the LORD, have spoken.
Psalm 95:1-7a
95:1 O come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! 2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! 3 For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. 4 In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. 5 The sea is his, for he made it, and the dry land, which his hands have formed. 6 O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! 7a For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
Ephesians 1:15-23
1:15 I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. 17 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, 18 so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. 20 God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. 22 And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
Matthew 25:31-46
25:31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40 And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ 41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
What a lot of sheep in the scriptures for today! In spite of what many people think, West Virginia is not made up totally of backwoods hillbillies who have farm animals running in and out of their houses. In fact, West Virginia DOES have some major metropolitan areas. I’ve lived in one of those metropolitan areas my entire life. It is for that reason I never really “got” the parable of the sheep and the goats. Yes, I was in 4-H, and no, I didn’t raise any kind of critter for the County Fair. The amount of knowledge I have about most farm animals comes to me second hand from reading books and watching television. I have no experience with sheep or goats, and what I know about them could really fit into a thimble.
I know that we get wool from sheep, and some people get milk from goats. Female sheep are called ewes, male sheep are rams, and baby sheep are lambs and are cute. Lambs show up on cue in the spring around Easter time, and Jesus is the Lamb of God. One serves mint jelly when serving lamb. When someone is called a “lamb” it is considered to be a compliment. Goats have horns and beards and are said to be stubborn. A female goat is a nanny, a male a buck, and a baby a kid. Sheep and goats can mate and produce (usually sterile) offspring. There are pigmy goats (cute too), and fainting goats (weird.) Sheep and goats are often in the same fields and herds, being watched by a shepherd.
Because of my lack of knowledge of animal husbandry, I had to do some research when commenting on the scriptures appointed for Christ the King Sunday. From my childhood on, it has always seemed to me that the goats in the Scriptures got the raw end of the deal, and I wanted to find out just why this is. I mean, what’s wrong with the goats? This is what I learned:
Sheep are gentle, quiet, animals and do not give their shepherds a lot of problems. They are not aggressive; they are very docile animals. The word “docile” as described in the Webster’s dictionary means, “easily managed or handled, readily trained or taught.” Sheep love to follow the shepherd, and can often be quite affectionate.
Goats, on the other hand, tend to be more independent, are rather aggressive and quarrelsome, and goats are pushy, self-sufficient, and headstrong. They rear and butt in order to establish dominance. Goats will easily revert back to their wild conditions if given the chance. Goats are naturally smelly animals.
Overall, a goat’s reputation is less than positive. Even goat metaphors are negative. For instance, “Look at the old goat” refers to an old fool or dirty old man. “You get my goat!” applies to a person who irritates another. The nursery rhyme, “Mary had a little lamb, its fleece was white as snow; and everywhere that Mary went, the lamb was sure to go” gives a positive view of the little lamb, but when the gypsy girl, Esmeralda, in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, has a pet goat that performs tricks, the people want to hang the girl because they presume she’s using witchcraft. The Jewish Heritage Online magazine reports: While goat’s milk was reported to have some medicinal benefits, goats were regarded as “armed robbers who would jump over people’s fences and destroy their plants.” The ancient rabbis were said to have told this story:
There was once a certain pious person who suffered from heart trouble, and the physicians said the only hope for his recovery was for him to drink warm milk every morning. A cow was not available to this fellow but his family was able to come up with a goat. After some days the sick man’s colleagues came to visit him, but as soon as they noticed the goat they turned back and said: An armed robber is at the house of this man, how can we come to see him? They then sat down and inquired into their friend’s conduct, but they did not find any fault in him except this sin of the goat….
Anyway you look at it; goats tend to be seen in a negative way.
So what about the shepherd? The shepherd is the man or woman who takes care of the sheep and goats. It’s that simple, and even I knew that. Christ as shepherd is a pretty easy analogy to understand. We are his flock and he takes care of us. What I didn’t realize or know is that the analogy runs deep in the literature of the ancient world. In Mesopotamia, the region along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, the model for kings was the shepherd. The king-as-shepherd was to “rule kindly, counsel and protect the people,” and “guide them through every difficulty.” Babylon’s Hammurabi, credited with the world’s first written law code, was described as a shepherd of his people. In ancient Egypt, the shepherd’s crook was used “as an insignia of kings, princes, and chieftains.” In the Iliad and the Odyssey from ancient Greece, ship captains are called “shepherds of ships.” Plato uses the shepherd analogy to define justice in the Republic, and in the “Statesman” uses the shepherd to symbolize the work of a good ruler. And of course today, the shepherd’s crook is a symbol of our bishops, representing them as the shepherds of Christ’s flocks.
Having learned all of this, what then, does the parable of the sheep and the goats mean for us? How do we apply this to our lives? Remember, all the nations are gathered before the judge, before the throne of the Son of Man, before the King, THE Shepherd, and the Shepherd separates them
– the right from the left, the sheep from the goats,
and he judges them
– and those on the right are saved, and those on the left are
condemned.
The judgment is made on the basis of the compassion, the love, or the
lack of it, that is shown by those who are gathered before the throne of judgment.
“I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you took me in” the Son of Man tells those on his right. To those on his left he says the exact opposite. “I was naked” he tells them, “and you did not give me clothing, I was sick and in prison and you did not visit me.”
Awesome words these. Words of great clarity. Words with a powerful message for those who have ears to hear it.
Yet, in the end, despite our knowledge of the story and of its message, the message about the vital importance of our acts of sharing and caring, especially with those who are numbered among the least of us – the poor, the hungry, the imprisoned, despite our knowledge of this parable there are elements to it that are not often talked about, or if talked about which are glossed over.
I speak of course, about the surprise expressed by the sheep and the goats when they hear the Son of Man say – “I was hungry and you fed me. I was thirsty and you gave me drink.” or “I was naked and you did not clothe me” and “I was in prison and you did not visit me”
Why is that? Why are they surprised?
What is it that both the sheep and the goats seem to be missing when they perform their good works – or when they fail to?
I think that they are missing a sense of how the sacred penetrates and is interwoven in the ordinary – indeed in the less than the ordinary, in those places – those persons – that we might consider far from holy – far from being a part of Christ, much less Christ embodied.
Remember the words that Jesus uses.
He doesn’t talk about how blessed are we when we visit our friends who are sick, or how wonderful it is when we give good things to our family members and our fellow believers, or how nice it is when we clothe the folks who are just like us.
No. Jesus talks about the least among us – the least within this world, those whom conventional wisdom might even regard as accursed,
– the poor,
– the thirsty,
– the sick in the wards and in the deserts and jungle floors,
-those who are in prison
– perhaps sex offenders
– perhaps murderers
– perhaps only those who have stolen so that their families may eat.
We don’t know. But we do know that they are the least amongst us. Those persons whom we might think don’t count. Those people whose opinions we might regard as unimportant or invalid, because of their age – or their sex, their gender identity, their socio-economic status, educational level, or sexual orientation. Those people whose cries we might ignore because of their race.
And that the Son of Man, that Jesus the Christ, claims to be among them – indeed IN them. And that is surprising is it not – at least to most of us? In fact, it might even be considered to be outrageous.
There is no question raised in this parable of what creed either the sheep or the goats had believed; or whether they had sworn allegiance to one whom the Bible calls the Son of Man – the Good Shepherd – the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
There is only the surprise that this exalted one – who is – in fact – Christ Jesus himself – has been present in every person they had ever met, and most especially, in the needy ones and the least important ones – the ones that Jesus calls “the least.”
And that judgment is based on whether we treat this king, this son of man, present in these the least, well; or ignore him in his suffering and his want and his need.
That is – to say the least – a bit disconcerting. We sometimes think that religion is about believing “stuff”, and that if we believe the right “stuff” we are safe.
But it seems not to be so. Rather our faith seems to be about awareness,
about having our eyes opened to the real world, and responding compassionately to it. Whether or not we are “aware” that the Christ is there.
The parable is calling to us to see the Christ in the squalling child who is getting in our way, and to hear God in the voice of the beggars who so often come and sit with us on Sunday in their dirty and smelly clothes – waiting for a chance to get a free lunch. The parable is calling us to see the Christ in those who irritate us, who have done us wrong. In those whom we don’t particularly care for. The parable is alerting us to the importance of compassion and to the fact that the Son of Man is present in the needy of our world, that Christ is present in each and every human being with whom we come into contact, regardless of who they are, how they act, how they have treated us, or what they believe.
To encounter the least of the brothers and sisters of the Son of Man, however, we don’t need to go to Calcutta, or the Sudan or to one of the
overcrowded prisons in our land do we?? Aren’t there many who are marginalized, many whom we are regarded of little significance of not being equal to those close to us right here amongst us – here in our hometowns, in our parishes, or even in our own families?
Remember the first and the greatest commandment – the one about how we are to love God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind?
Consider what John the Divine, John the Apostle, the disciple of Christ says about that love in his First Letter. He writes in Chapter three, verse seventeen:
If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in
need, but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in
him?
and again in the 4th chapter, verses 20 and 21:
Anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen,
cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us
this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.
The sheep – those on the right – have shown love for their brothers and sisters, and in doing so they have shown love to God, and so they enter the kingdom prepared for them. Their faith is alive – even if they have not grasped the fullness of it. Even if they have not recognized how the Son of Man is everywhere about them. One might say the law has been written on their hearts and guided their actions, if not their thoughts and words.
But think of it. Think of the fullness of it. If our eyes were opened to the depth of the real world and not the shallow world of conventional wisdom, then we would see God present in everyone and everything, especially in the needy and the least important ones.
And that would be even more transforming, – not only for the sheep, for those who are doing good, and for those to whom they are showing the compassion of God, – but also for the goats, for those who may have the right creed and doctrine but who may have judged the least among us as not being deserving of their love and care, as not being people in whom the Holy One dwells.
What a priceless thing if the sheep are not surprised – by the presence of the Son of Man in everyone – and in joy remind those who may risk being judged as goats that all people are wonderfully made and all need to be treated as we would treat the Son of Man.
Provocative isn’t it? It raises a thousand questions in your minds I am sure.
How far should we go in our caring? Whom should we care for – and whom, if any, should we not care for? How can we prioritize our caring so that the truly needy get what they need while those who would suck us dry do not. Or should we even worry about that?
I can’t answer these questions for you. It is something that each of us needs to struggle with on a case-by-case, day by day basis.
But I can tell you that Christ is all around us. That Christ is in the least among us. In the single welfare mothers – and the AIDS patients, and in the prisoners in our jails and in the homeless upon our streets.
Think about this one last time with me. Think of it some 2000 years ago when the Son of Man – the one who is King of King and Lord of Lords, wandered as a poor preacher in a poor land, having no home to call his own, much less a throne of righteousness.
Think of when the Son of Man was tried for blasphemy and flogged 39 times as a common criminal and then was hung on a cross to die as one who was accursed. Think about how the Son of Man came among us – that first time – as we prepare for his coming with Advent starting next week. Think about the circumstances of his life and his death.
The prophet Isaiah, some 700 years before the birth of Christ puts it
this way:
He had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was
despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and
acquainted with infirmity; and as one from whom others hide
their faces he was despised – and we held him of no account.
Where is Christ to be found today? Where is the Son of Man? He is most certainly here among us, and in you my brothers and sisters. But he is also here in ways we do not so easily grasp.
I understand the surprise of those sheep on the right of the Son of Man – and of the goats on the left. I understand because it is so easy to not see him in those who are reckoned to be the least among us. I understand because I have some decisions to make.
Do I want to be a sheep or a goat? I most definitely want to be a sheep, and I can think I am a sheep, but literally act like a goat. Am I feeding the hungry? Giving drink to the thirsty? Taking in a stranger? Clothing the naked? Visiting the sick and imprisoned? Recognizing the Christ in every person? Respecting every person? Looking for the good in every person? If I am not, then who am I? Clearly the goat, not the sheep.
If we think we are sheep, we should be acting like sheep. We have all talked and talked about serving Christ in some way, but like goats we often have gone our own way, too caught up in our own needs and desires. The buck stops here (pun intended!)
As we celebrate Christ as King, and prepare for Christ’s coming during the season of Advent, the beginning of the liturgical year, let us make a new (liturgical) year’s resolution, to love and care for our fellow human beings, to treat every person with whom we come into contact with dignity and respect, to serve our Lord with gladness, to exorcise our individual goats, and to truly become the sheep of Christ’s pasture. Amen.
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