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[version_03, 4th Sun Advent]
[__01__] Regarding Luke 1:39-45.
Do you remember our life …?
Do you remember our life together… ?
Do you remember our life together before cell
phones? Before mobile phones? I remember
these conversations I had in the late in the 1990s with colleagues, with the co-workers
I worked in a company, in a department where pagers were common.
Pagers were the
precursors of cell phones. Many of us had to carry a pager. If you were paged
and you get a phone number, find a phone
and call the person back. So archaic! This was the mobile communication state
of the art at the time.
I recall some of
our conversations revolved around the new cell phone that was coming out, and
people were getting phones, and would we get one? Would we need one? Most of us
agreed that we would not get a cell phone. We didn't need that. The US
president didn't have a cell phone.
That was unheard of.
[__02__] Fast forward and interruptions by mobile phones
have become a normal part of life. Back then in the 1990’s, avoiding cell
phones felt like a choice. Now they're an integral part of communication, and
the interruptions seem unavoidable. Is every interruption a choice?
[__03__] The gospel
today, we could say, is about the interruption of service, the service to which
Mary and Elizabeth are called. They're interrupting their lives. And as you
know, as a parent, especially mothers, expecting a child is an interruption. It
is also a vocation and a blessing, yet every vocation brings motions and
movements contrary to our personal desires and preferences.
It is a change in routine to welcome a child into
your life, including the child who's not yet born.
The Gospel story
of Mary and Elizabeth tells about them, the both of them embracing an
interruption. Both are mothers to be Mary with Jesus and Elizabeth with John
the Baptist, and they found a way to find time for each other amidst their
prior commitments, their loving support serves as a lesson for us, reminding us
that life's interruptions often become the actual path we're supposed to
follow, and interruptions can bring purpose.
[__04__] Jesus invites us to see our burdens differently.
“Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy burdened, and I will give you
rest,” He says. Faith isn’t just about prayer but about how we respond to life’s
interruptions. Parents comforting a child, teachers guiding students, and
mentors supporting others show how burdens can transform into acts of love and
service.
[__05__] Christmas
reminds us that the true gifts are always also aren't always visible or
praised. Jesus teaches, when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what
your right is doing. Acts of kindness sometimes go unnoticed, but they hold
profound, profound value and will be and will be repaid by God for the father,
who's, as we read, The Father who sees God, who sees in secret, will repay you.
(cf. Matthew chapter 6)
[__06__] Mary and
Elizabeth prioritized each other, echoing John the Baptist’s words, “He must
increase and I must decrease”. Thus true love often means stepping back so that
others can thrive and prosper. This lesson extends to all of our relationships,
in marriage, in family, in school, in work, calling us to serve others
selflessly.
[__07__] As Christians,
we recall the humility of Jesus. Jesus, Jesus's birth, which is expressed
Monsignor Ronald Knox of England explains it this way, in of a poetic metaphor,
about Jesus's birth and humble circumstances, writing that there is headroom in
the cave of Bethlehem for those who know how to stoop down to see Christ.
We are called to bow
in humility decreasing ourselves so that he may increase.
[__08__] Christmas
has been on the calendar. For months we've expected it, but sometimes it seems
unexpected when it happens actually happens all year long. There's
commercialization on every medium and through every channel, but we're called
to prepare our hearts, not just on the outside, but on the inside. Our response
to God's call and fulfillment is sometimes a disruption to the daily
inclination to achieve my will, my work, even in some cases, to get people to
pay attention to me. Dare say, even to get people to worship me. Now, of
course, officially, I would never say you should worship Me. Don't worship me.
It's not about me.
[__09__] But do
I really direct the praise towards God and others when it comes my way? Am I
really that truly humble player at the end of the game who directs the praise
towards his teammates, towards his coaches, towards other people, or do I try
to soak up the praise for myself, for example, for example, in a little ways I
am guilty of, for example, rereading an email or a text that I thought was
particularly cleverly written. It doesn't get me anywhere to reread a text I've
already written, but I gained some and if I gain some praise or popularity
along the way, am I really willing to turn away and say no after all? I'm not
really opposed to my will being done on earth or at least done, at least in my
neighborhood.
[__10__] Mary and
Elizabeth give us the model to follow, to put God first, service to the
neighbor first, and even to allow themselves not to be easily recognized. He
must increase and we must decrease. The good news of Jesus Christ will extend,
extend this further. Love your enemy. Pray for those who persecute you, rejoice
with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Do you need an interruption
to pay attention to our Savior? Ask and you shall receive, seek and you will
find, knock and the door will be open to you. I pray God will give you what you
need this Christmas.
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