[ 2019 December 15th
– 4th Sunday Advent ●
Isaiah 7:10-14 ● Psalm 24 ● Romans 1:1-7 ● Matthew 1:18-24 ● ]
Title: Christmas / Hope
[_01_] I heard somebody say, yesterday, that we
wish that every day could be Christmas. Perhaps, we wish every day could be
Christmas because Christmas signifies peacefulness, harmony, generosity,
giving. The coming of God into our lives
is symbolized – signaled – by these outward actions.
But, we do not often wish that every
day could be the 2 or 3 days before Christmas, because so many people lose
their patience and sense of humor.
Have you lost your sense of humor? This
will be a test (this homily) because I am not good at telling jokes.
[_02_] This is a fictional example of an airplane
journey from Miami to New York City – it’s a xyz.AIRLINE and they say
people from New York and the tri-state area do not have a sense humor,
especially at this time of year. We’ll see.
This is a xyz.AIRLINE flight and
in the first hour or so of the flight everything is going well.
It
was almost in New York. And, then there was a tremendous explosion from the
right wing of the aircraft and the pilot and co-pilot come over the loudspeaker
to say::
“Ladies
and gents, we got a problem with the numbah 3 (‘tree’) engine on the right wing
of da plane. Please do not panic as we have four (faw) engines. We have … [explosion]…. We also now got
a problem with engine numbah one….. but
we have 2 very good engines… [explosion]…
we have 1 engine but I assure (uh-shaw) you that we can fly the aircraft
with only 1 engine. [explosion]. (Pause)
Ladies
and gents we are about to land on the water (waw-tuh).
We will
speak to you from the water, please do not panic.”
The xyz.AIRLINE pilot and co-pilot, of
course, makes a spectacular landing on the water.
And, their voices come over the loudsspeaker
again and say:
“Thank
you ladies and gents for following our instructions. Now please listen very carefully to what we
are about to say.
All those
of you who can
swim, please line up on the right wing of the aircraft. All those of you who cannot swim, please line up on the left wing
of the aircraft. And, we will speak to
you from the water.“
So, the passengers do everything the
captain/pilot says. And, finally they see the pilot and co-pilot in a little
life raft / rubber boat rowing to the front of the airplane and say a
loudspeaker and they say:
“Ladies
and gents, again I congratulate you for following my instructions. Now please
listen very carefully to what I am about to say.
First,
those of you on the right wing of the aircraft, New York is this way … (pointing) It is only 3 nautical miles, the water
is warm and the current is with you. Good luck.
Now,
those of you on the left wing of the aircraft, Thank you for flying xyz.AIRLINES ! ”
[_03_] It is quite common to associate hope and
hopefulness with what we can do with our own power and potential energy: in
this case: can you swim?
Hearing this xyz.AIRLINE fictional
joke recently, I was reminded of the most famous water landing of our era and
area, of our time and territory: USAir flight 1549 in 2009 (“Miracle on the
Hudson”) in which the real-life passengers did line up on the 2 wings (remember
the photos?) and wait for instructions and rescue and what to do. In that
real-life case, the pilot and co-pilot and crew absolutely did not abandon them
and he was not in a lifeboat alone. They
were the last ones off the “air-craft” in New-York.
[_04_] So,
is our hope based on what we can do?
Josef Pieper (a scholar of Thomas
Aquinas) writes that our hope is not based on our own power, but rather based
on what is true and what is truly possible. And, this invites to have our hope and
hopefulness based not only on an aspiration for something better but also on
the humility that we are not God, not in control of the outcome.
[_05_] Our country is divided right now, right down
the middle – left wing and right wing -- by the 2019 impeachment proceedings in
Congress. If you read most of the statistics, reports, polling data, your will
find it is 50/50 percentage “for” or “against”
…or 48/48 about the impeachment and whether or not it was the right procedure
to follow.
And, while Congress voted for
impeachment, the Senate is poised to oppose it, on party / partisan lines.
[_06_] What can we do? Make a run for it? Sink or
swim ?
While the fictional pilot and co-pilot
in the xyz.AIRLINE plane example abandons the passengers, I would suggest that we the
passengers would not abandon each other – and we are the passengers might well
find a way to help each other.
How can we help each other?
Would we really abandon the others, on
the other wing?
[_07_] It’s simply based on our own power, but what
is true and what is possible…I’d like to reflect on as Christians what we can
do.
What is our aspiration? We are not in
complete control of the outcome, but there are things we can do.
I’d like to reflect that our lives as
Christians are not defined by our ability to swim away or run away or by any of
the 3 legs of the triathlon -- there is
also bicycling.
But, rather defined by our ability and
choice to .. PRAY – FAST – GIVE CHARITABLY.
Praying, fasting and giving charitably
are not simply for the 40 days of Lent, but apply to any crisis, any difficulty
we have.
Ask not what your country can do for
you, but what you can do – in hope – for your country.
Would you not want to do this,
regardless of which wing you are on?
[_08_] I.e.,
►►►PRAY – offer
petitions, take time in the internal and interior space of your heart and mind
– rather than giving in to anger, to resentment or revenge, to bitterness, but
rather to pray for the members of Congress, the Senate, the President and his
advisers, to pray for those you agree with and those you do not agree with.
(Pray for your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…. Matthew chapter
6).
►►►FAST –
to give up something. Fasting is something we associate normally with foregoing
of food or drink or a full meal or – medically – with the required fast for a
scientific test. The doctor wants, e.g., your ‘fasting’ glycemic (blood sugar)
level.
Yes, fasting is often difficult and a
test of some kind, but it is also a test and trial that we can introduce and
practice in order to gain patience, resolve, peace.
That patience and peace does not come
from someplace else or from someone else but can come from the dwelling of the Holy
Spirit within us.
In his 2015 Pentecost homily (24 May
2015), Pope Francis spoke:
“Strengthened by the Spirit –
who guides, who guides us into the truth, who renews us and the whole earth,
and who gives us His fruits – strengthened in the Spirit and by these many
gifts, may we be able to battle uncompromisingly against sin, to battle uncompromisingly
against corruption, which continues to spread in the world day after day, by
devoting ourselves with patient perseverance to the works of justice and peace,”
Consider a fast from food … or cutting back
on entertainment, media, or news “screen time” … in order to listen to God’s
voice who is love.
Jesus also reminds us that we do not
fast in order get noticed: “when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face
so that when you fast you may not appear to others to be fasting” (Matthew, ch.
6)
►►►ALMSGIVING
/ CHARITY – one of the things we can I
find difficult to do in a confrontation is to listen…to listen to the other
side, Yet, this is also an act of love, charity.
And, as we approach certain family
gatherings, we might have to listen to the other side. We might pray those we
will meet.
It does not mean we have to surrender
what we know is right… or to approve something we know is wrong.. but rather
listening is an act of love, charity, unity, community.
It makes every day a little bit more
like Christmas, like the generosity of Christmas.
And, it will help us reach the shore. [__fin__]
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