Father Richmond's reflections: December 2012

4th Sunday of Advent (Year C)

Reading 1 Mi 5:1-4a; Ps 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19; Heb 10:5-10; Lk 1:39-45

Let us allow our faces to shine on others as we ask God to let His face shine on us

Beloved in Christ, we have two days more to celebrate the mystery of the Incarnation. Our responsorial psalm today reminds us that Christmas is about reconciliation. Christmas is about God’s love; Christmas is about God’s mercy! We prayed in the responsorial psalm that God would let His face shine on us. The phrase “let your face shine on us” is an expression that the Israelites used to implore God’s mercy. Literally, it means “God please smile at us, do not be angry with us, please forgive us.” This cry for mercy is what each one of us has repeated to God this morning.

Yes, God is faithful, and He will answer us just as He did 2000 years ago. Our first reading is God’s response to the people’s cry for mercy. It is important to pay attention to how God told the prophet Micah that He would answer the people: He would call them to the place of bread (that is what Bethlehem means) and feed them. That Bread, however, will not just be ordinary bread, he will be a human person born of a virgin but also the bread broken for others so that the world will know peace. That is the prophecy that comes true in the Gospel reading. John the Baptist rejoices because of the “bread of Life” he saw in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, that bread is Jesus born in Bethlehem, and He is the same bread broken for us each day of in the Eucharist.

So beloved, right now, right here, today, God will once again let His face shine on us.

But that is not the end of the story. In the second reading, God tells us that what He desires is that we do His will. What is God’s will as expressed through the Christmas story? It is that we become agents of His love and mercy; that we in turn let our face shine on others, especially those who are close to us and so offend us most, husband, wife, children, parents, family, friends, colleagues at work etc. God wants you to look at your husband, wife, children, parents, siblings, any of your loved ones who has offended you and say, “you know what? I know there have been ups and downs but I still love you!”

As we receive the bread of life today, at Christmas, and every other day, the Lord wants us to remember that we are called to be the bread that is broken for others, the blood that is shed so that others will encounter God’s love and His mercy. As we prepare to celebrate Christmas, Let us allow our faces to shine on others as we ask God to let His face shine on us. It is in doing this that we shall become instruments of joy and peace to the world!

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3^rd Sunday of Advent (Year C)

Reading 1 Zep 3:14-18a

Psalm Is 12:2-3, 4, 5-6

Reading 2 Phil 4:4-7

Gospel Lk 3:10-18

Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS. I shall say it again: REJOICE!

Usually, people do not go to Hyvee to buy books. Right? They go to do grocery shopping. That is what I also go to Hyvee for. Two weeks ago, I was in Hyvee to buy a gift for one of my friends who was celebrating his birthday but I ended up buying a book. The title is “God has a plan B” and it is edited by Todd Hafer. What a title! After reading this book, I concluded that the title should rather be “God always has a plan A”. Apart from the title, however, this book helped me a lot in appreciating the readings for today.

In our first reading, God through the prophet Zephaniah tells us to rejoice. In the second reading, God repeats this call through St. Paul: “Rejoice”!; and God actually adds something more: Rejoice Always. Today we, as a university community, join our parishioners who are graduating this semester to rejoice and give thanks to God for the great things he has done.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, you and I know that it is easy to rejoice when things are good, when things go according to our plans and dreams get fulfilled. However, it is not easy at all to rejoice when things get tough! Life is not always easy. There are broken dreams, broken marriages, broken relationships, lost of jobs, lost of dear ones, and at times, evil seems to triumph over good, such as the killing of innocent people, especially those six and seven year old children killed in Connecticut this week. In the face of all these challenges, difficulties, and evils, how does one rejoice at all times?

However, Beloved, our readings tell us that even in the mist of all these troubles, disappointments and evils, WE CAN REJOICE IN THE LORD! God does not want our troubles to take away the joy of Christmas; and that is why he reminds us that regardless of what is going on in our lives we can have peace and joy. How ? There are two things we need to do in order to rejoice at all times:

We need to understand what God means by joy and happiness. God’s understanding of joy and happiness is different from the way the world defines joy. To the world, joy is the absence of pain and suffering, absence of all troubles and problems. For the world, joy is something that provides an “escape” from all pain and troubles.

This is not how Scripture explains joy. For God, joy is the inner peace and satisfaction that we have regardless of what is going on in our lives. The kind of peace that only Jesus Christ can give. So, Christian joy is not an escape. For Christians, joy can exist together with pain, failures, and with the contradictions of life.

For us to rejoice at all times, we need to look up to God as the one who has all the answers to the questions and the problems we have in life. That God has a plan “A” (Jeremiah 29:11). This is the message of the Gospel today. All the people who came to John were looking for joy in life and had questions and anticipations: What should I do? However, they found joy not because the questions vanished but because they knew who had the answers to their questions, God.

Beloved, the story of the Blessed Virgin Mary confirms this truth that we can rejoice even when we have questions on our minds and even when God changes our plans. Mary was invited to be the mother of God when she had already been engaged to Joseph and was waiting for the day when her husband would come for her and she would live the life any newly married young girl in Israel at the time would anticipate. So, God changed Mary’s plans; and that was tough. When Mary heard that God had changed the plans, her first reaction was not jumping and dancing. No, she had a question: How could this be. However, she did not let the questions stop her or take her peace away; She rather looked up to God for the answers and God told her, "Mary, I will overshadow you; this whole thing is not about what you can do, it’s about what I can and will do. It’s not about your capabilities, it’s about my power and ability. I will overshadow you and we shall get this done". That is what brought Mary inner peace and satisfaction as she explains to Elizabeth, “My spirit rejoices not because I have no problems but because I have found the answers to my questions in God. He is my savior!” (Emphasis mine).

Beloved, "God will make a way even where there seems to be no way. He works in works we cannot see. He will make a way for us. He will be my guide and hold me closely to His side. With Love and Strength for each new day, He will make a way!" So, I do not know what you are going through; but I want to repeat the word of God to you: Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS. I shall say it again: REJOICE!

Father Richmond's reflections

4th Sunday of Advent

Reading 1 Mi 5:1-4a; Ps 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19; Heb 10:5-10; Lk 1:39-45

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3rd Sunday of Advent (Year C)

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