Saturday, January 7, 2012

The Baptism of the Lord, 8 January 2012, Mark 1:7-11

The Baptism of Jesus
Today’s celebration presents Jesus being baptized by John in the Jordan River. The celebration marks the end of the Christmas Season and the beginning of Ordinary Time. It is the only Sunday of the year that belongs to two seasons.

Why?

This feast belongs to two seasons because it is the beginning. Jesus accepts His ministry, His reason for being. This is the beginning of the teaching, preaching and healing that make up the public ministry of the Lord.

The ancient Christian witnesses see a great significance in this particular Epiphany or showing of the Lord. The words of the Father, the presence of the Holy Spirit, demonstrate God’s action among His people. Jesus in His human nature has accepted the plan devised by the Father to care for his people.

How does this apply to us? Simply this: This Sunday leads us to consider God’s plan for our lives and how well we allow this to coalesce with our own plan for our lives.

Most of us grew up with goals and ideals we wanted in life. Maybe we wanted to go to college and get a great job and then get married and raise a beautiful family. Maybe college wasn’t part of it, but the rest may have been. Maybe some of us wanted to enter into a life of service to the Lord and to his people. But even within this, there were certain goals we may have had–achievements as a priest, advancement until were named Pope, etc.

As time goes on, we all refine our goals. Maybe a person doesn’t just want to become a doctor, but wants to become a cardiologist. If you were blessed with marriage and then doubly blessed with children, you quickly wanted more in life than just to have a husband, a wife, or a family. For example, when your love became infinitely more than infatuation, you were determined to do anything, make any sacrifice for your spouse. When you brought your children home from the hospital, you quickly moved from wanting to have them to wanting to have the very best for them. Perhaps you hear about those who travel around the world routinely, and wish that you could do that, but in truth, you would rather provide the best for those who continually steal your heart and complete your life.

This is good, all good. This is sacrificial love. Your love of sacrifice for others, your spouse or your children, is itself the very existence of God’s love in your home, your little church.

Sometimes we ask ourselves a questions whose answers are beautifully obvious: Why was I created? Or What is God’s plan for me?

His plan is that you and I make a difference in the world by gifting the world with a unique reflection of His Love that only each of us could provide.

You and I are not mere numbers in a vast planet of people, perhaps even in a vast universe of rational creatures. You and I are much more than this, infinitely more than this. You and I are Christians. We are lovers, Divine Lovers. We love the Divine and the Divine loves through us. We exist to love, to love God with our whole mind, heart and soul and to love others as God loves them.

There are people in the world who will meet God by meeting you. There are people in the world who will meet God by meeting me. They are people who are searching. They are searching for meaning in life. They are searching for reasons behind their joy and pain, their sadness and hurts. They seek lasting happiness. They search for answers and they rely on us, you and I, to help them find these answers.

We Christians believe that life is not just a matter of biology. Life is not just a matter of survival. Life is not just a matter of chance. We Christians believe that life, authentic life, consists in serving God by making the Presence of Jesus Christ a reality in the lives of others.

That is why we embrace the work of the Lord until the last day we live. That is why each stage of our lives presents us with a challenge, a new way to serve the Lord.

We live for the Lord. We die for the Lord. We embrace the mission of the Father.

Today we join Jesus at the Jordan River. With Him we also accept the mission the Father has set aside for each one of us. And we thank God for making us part of His plan for His people.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, 1 January 2012, Luke 2:16-21

Nativity at Night by Geertgen tot Sint Jans, c. 1490
I'm pretty sure you did it too. Around about 11:30 last night, I sat and scrolled through the contacts on my phone, ticking off the names. Then I composed a message, a text to my family and friends wishing them a happy New Year.
In the middle of our facebooking/twittering/blogging world, it seems as though the humble text message is the medium of choice for the New Year.

What did you write on your texts? I wrote: "Happy New Year! Wishing you and yours choice blessings for 2012!"

We wish each other peace, joy, happiness, blessings for the New Year. These are the words of the first reading from the book of Numbers:

May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord let his face shine on you and be gracious to you.
May the Lord uncover his face to you and bring you peace. (Num 6:24-26)

The blessing of God that we receive is Christ Jesus, born of Mary. God's blessing is God himself. That is what today's feast day is all about.

The title of today's feast comes from an ancient council of the Church, the Council of Ephesus in 431. The council was called to settle a dispute between bishops over the divinity and humanity of Christ. The proper title for Mary would determine whether Jesus was divine or human. The possible titles for Mary were 'Christ-bearer' which would have leant more heavily on Jesus' humanity, or 'God-bearer' which would lean more heavily on Jesus' divinity.

('God-bearer' coming from the greek 'Theotokos'; 'Christ bearer' being 'Christotokos').

This is important because if Jesus is not really God then salvation cannot come from him. If Mary had been called 'Christ-bearer' then it would have left the question open as to whether salvation comes from her Son, Jesus.

As you listen to this, you may well be thinking to yourself that we don't really need to know all of this stuff about Mary and Jesus. That you're just here to go to Mass.

My friends, it is good to take stock as we enter into a New Year. The structure of Church that you have grown up with is in decline. The number of priests in Ireland has been declining for decades. However, over the next couple of years we are going to hit a kind of terminal velocity downwards in terms of the numbers of priests. This is something that I am growing in awareness of all the time. I also am aware that most of our congregations are not really aware of this. We would rather keep it out there, away from ourselves.

In the middle of this decline in the number of priests, the easiest option can seem to be to let go. Let the whole enterprise crash. We are tempted to label the dying body of the Church with 'Do Not Resuscitate'.

And, with that, without ever fully knowing what we had in our midst, we could let go of the wonder that the Church is. This wonder that has adapted to all kinds of political, cultural and economic situations throughout its two-thousand year history. This wonder that has managed to survive through periods of great persecution wherever it has gone.

We are at a point of great change. If you're wondering why you go to Mass on Sunday, maybe it would be important to start forming some concrete answers to that question in 2012. Don't just leave it to the experts. Begin or begin again the process of learning about your faith.