My friends, this weekend brings us ever closer to that significant remembrance of a time in history when our Loving God chose to enter into our existence, to become one of us and to, in fact be, “One-With-Us,” Emmanuel at Christmastime!  And it is worth taking a few moments to lift up the difference between becoming, “one of us”—becoming human, and becoming, “One-With-Us,” as brother, friend, model, and Messiah, even. 

    Becoming “one of us,” becoming “human” is perhaps more of a “social thing,” as in taking on an identity.  Becoming “One-With-Us” is more about establishing a “relationship” with us.  I think we can all see that if the “human experience” for Jesus was no more than, “taking on an identity,” we wouldn’t have nearly as much to be joyful about today as we do in the fact and the reality that Jesus/God chose to be “One-With-Us” in all that we experience—suffer and struggle with, find joy in—in other words, Jesus wants to be close to us and One who we can turn to in our daily lives. 

   Through this relationship, if we can keep our eyes on him, we will have a wonderful model of how to live out our own lives.  In addition to keeping our “eyes” on Jesus for a “path to follow,” it will also be necessary to “open our hearts,” rather than our minds, when we decide to follow him. Engaging our “hearts” allows us to do the good in our world that we might never come to with our minds alone.

   Unfortunately, most religions, our own included, are about first engaging our minds, through rules and regulations—dogma, in carving out, “a path to follow.”  This is an okay place to start, but we shouldn’t stay there.  Rules, laws, and dogma are about black and white issues of faith when so much of life falls into “gray” areas, where if we are to do the right, good thing, we will have to look beyond the law, perhaps even break it, to do that needed thing. A prime example out of Jesus’ life: In his time women weren’t allowed in the main body of the synagogue, so Jesus took the “liturgy” out to the hillsides! 

   Merely following rules and laws is the safer way to go—it keeps us out of trouble.  Immanuel Kant, 18^th Century German philosopher said, [We] “must awaken from dogmatic sleep.”  I am not sure what was going on for Kant when he uttered these words, but as an Enlightenment thinker, he was concerned about our “moral responsibility” toward others in the living of our lives. 

   We get a very clear picture from Isaiah in today’s first reading about how we will identify the Messiah in our midst.  This One will bring goodness to the poor, will heal the broken-hearted, proclaim release to those imprisoned physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  Even a cursory look at these traits tells us that engaging one’s heart is going to be more important over all than merely responding from our heads.  A prime example of this is the conflict in the Middle East.

   Isaiah, as God’s prophet says of himself, he must speak because, “God has wrapped me in a mantle of justice!”  In addition, he proclaims that, [God-Yahweh] “is the joy of [his] soul.”  Evidently this prophet in being in “relationship” with God has found solace in the path he has chosen in order to speak of “joy” with regard to it.  We might consider ourselves whether our relationship with God brings us joy. 

   Earlier I stated that looking at the traits that will let us know that the Messiah is in our midst indicate that One who will live out such traits will need to engage their heart.  In John’s gospel today, we hear of another John, the Baptist, speaking of Jesus as “Light,” as opposed to darkness.  If Jesus is One who will shine a “light” on the injustices of this world, calling for all of us who would follow him to do the same, then it should be clear what we must be about. 

   The Baptist said in today’s gospel reading, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness…make straight God’s road.”  We can be sure that for John the Baptist to make such a statement, justice was not being dealt out equally to all. And in my experience, the only way that there can be justice for all is that we engage our hearts, which in effect allows us to truly care for the plight of others in our world. 

   Through the two-year synodal process of Pope Francis, he is making the supreme effort of “engaging his heart,” as he encourages other leaders within our Church, to truly listen, to perhaps—“color outside of the lines,” making our beloved Church more inclusive, more loving—less steeped in dogma and more so, in love. 

   It is also worth mentioning that the Baptist knows who he is, and who he is not—no arrogance, no hierarchy in him—only one who is [unworthy] “even to untie” [the sandal strap] of the One who is to come.  Those within our Church leadership who still need “phylacteries and titles” to be recognized, need to stand in the “Light” of Jesus and his messenger. 

   The Bishops of this country, including our own local bishop need to refocus on the tenets of the Second Vatican Council, along with Francis, and begin to color outside of the lines, as their brother Jesus did, in order that they won’t stay stuck in old-time theology more about power and control, but open themselves and their hearts to the message of love that Jesus demonstrated so well in his life.  If they could do this, the Catholic church might once again be something that we all could as Paul said to the Thessalonians in today’s 2^nd reading, “Rejoice” [in!] Paul also tells us, “to avoid any semblance of evil”—we aren’t doing that when we don’t include all at our tables of worship, or make our loving God, small, in our image. 

   Paul concludes today by imploring us all, “to pray constantly and give thanks for” [all].  I would encourage us to do the same in our final days of “expectant waiting” this next week.  Amen? Amen!