My friends, Holy Family Sunday, referring mainly to Mary and Joseph and Jesus is a wonderful time to consider what “family” means to each of us—the families that we grew out of, and perhaps the families that we helped to establish and maintain as adults, and into the present.  And, from a certain viewpoint, to consider how each family is a “holy” family.

   The original “holy” family is a good example for all of us to follow in our own “holy” families.  We know from their actions that Mary and Joseph loved each other—always the best place to start when forming a family. 

   Now, you might be asking, how do I know that Mary and Joseph loved each other? –as the Scriptures don’t tell us that.  If we take the Christmas story at face value, and accept the fact that Joseph had nothing to do with the conception of Jesus in Mary’s womb, then his action of taking her as his wife was indeed a loving thing to do. In the times that Joseph and Mary lived, a man in his position could either divorce a woman with child—not his own, make the “sin” known publicly, and open her up to the possibility of death by stoning, or he could do what Joseph did. It only makes sense that Joseph loved Mary before she “was found to be with child.” 

   Again, you may be wondering why I am spending time on this purely human component of whether this couple, that we have heard about all our lives in religious lore, loved each other or not, when the teaching authority of the Church never mentions this aspect either. 

    On Holy Family Sunday, as well as any time during our Church Year, really, it is most important, in my mind, at least, to remember, and never forget, that our loving God chose to become one-with-us, in our humanity, living life, as each of us does, attempting to be our own, “best selves.” 

   As we look around our own personal “world”—life, we might say, it is clear that most of us don’t accomplish that task as well as we might like to.  A further look around the world-at-large shows us the same.  So, having a model like Jesus to follow, in living to be our best selves is truly important.  Also, in moving into a loving relationship with another human being, Mary and Joseph are good models to follow. 

   We see from the gospel story today that this couple was faithful to the Jewish laws and precepts that they grew up believing in, by presenting Jesus at the temple, even though they were, “on the run” from Roman authorities—but to Mary and Joseph, this was an important action that they must do!  And the Spirit of their God worked through Simeon and Anna to confirm the truth of the miracle that had befallen them in Jesus.  So, we could say, with quite a bit of assurance, that Joseph and Mary were people of character, as well as a couple who loved each other. 

   And into the home that Joseph and Mary established, the baby, later child, Jesus, grew “in wisdom and grace” the Scriptures tell us.  Another aspect of their characters was the fact of the “faith” with which Mary and Joseph lived their lives.  Again, if we think about the story as given us in the Scriptures, only faith and trust in a Loving God makes it possible to believe such a thing.  And we only need to put ourselves into the story to see how we might have reacted to the tale that Mary told. “Love and faith can move mountains” our brother Jesus said during his public ministry, and it would seem that both had to be present, along with other strong character traits to make this “Holy Family” function as it did—to be able to eventually give Jesus to the world, a man of love who witnessed this example within the family he grew up in.

   Scripture also doesn’t mention whether our brother Jesus had siblings, but more than likely he did. In some exegesis on this topic that I once read, and the author I can’t remember at present, stated that we can’t find the answers to every question in Scripture because generally that which was understood wasn’t written down, only that which was different.  In other words, it would have been natural for more children to have followed Jesus’ birth for a loving couple such as Mary and Joseph, so it wasn’t written down. 

   The other chosen Scripture readings for this feast from Sirach and Paul to the Colossians, lay out more elements that make for good families to somewhat show us the way, in general terms.

   Sirach basically tells us that “respect for parents” should be part of a family; but also this must go both ways—respect for children coming from their parents as well. 

   Paul goes on to say to the Colossians that, [parents should not] “nag” their children.  He also addresses the original “relationship” between two people “committed to each other” that they would submit to each other [equally] and that they should “love each other.”

   So my friends, knowing that most of my brother priests would be addressing this “Holy Family Sunday” on a more ethereal level, I wanted to speak in a more human way about the purely, everyday lives that I believe Mary, Joseph and Jesus lived,  in what we might call, “the growing up years” for Jesus, as he more than likely came to terms about who he was and what was expected of him, a little at a time.  Again, we must remember that God, in Jesus chose to come into humanity as a human, to truly know our existence, and to show us how to live it well. If Jesus is to be emulated by us, than he would have needed to have lived the same life that we do.  And to me, that is a great love story!  And one that I can try to emulate!  Amen? Amen!

Dear Friends,

This is wishing each and everyone a happy and merry Christmastime! Our world isn’t all that we would hope for by way of equality, and justice in the very simplest of everyday needs, as well as a semblance of peace in our war-torn world, but yet, today we remember the coming of our brother Jesus into our midst–one who is continually coming, if we allow it, into our lives, showing us the way to work for that equality, justice, and peace.

I offer the following homily for your reflection. Have peace, love, and joy–Pastor Kathy

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My friends, first of all, a merry Christmas to each of you!  Every year as Christmas approaches, I look for a “good story” to share that says, in plain, everyday language what Christmas is all about—what it means to be a Christian, a follower of our brother Jesus, who became the Christ, and as Father Richard Rohr says in his Christmas meditation, “is forever incarnating in the human soul and [into] history.”

   This year, it dawned on me—I didn’t need to go looking for a story, because the story was right in front of me, the Christmas Story, and if I told it perhaps in a new way, it would be most meaningful!

   This age-old, and really timeless story, spoken of as the “Incarnation,” is a simple, yet profound “love story.”  It is about God, first loving us, coming into our existence, in a form that we could recognize, living with us, and among us, showing how to truly live our one, wonderful life, enjoying it, and sharing it with all the others who come into our lives. 

   The wonder of God choosing to be, “one-with-us” is probably best said by Paul in his letter to the Philippians, chapter 2: “His state was divine, yet he did not cling to it, but became as all humans are…”  To me, this speaks of a God who wants to be close—that is the whole point of the “Incarnation”—God choosing to take on our existence, put on our human skin, so to speak, live, love, and struggle as we do, to be our best selves, for the good of the earth and all people, ourselves included. 

   There is a wonderful story that I have shared in the past about a flock of geese lost in a Christmas Eve storm, and of a farmer who wanted to get them into the shelter of a barn until the storm passed.  After trying to shoo them, and round them up, to no avail, he realized that he needed, to get down among them, on the ground, somehow looking like them, in order for them to trust him, and follow…that’s what the Incarnation is really all about—simple.

   I think we can get caught up in all kinds of religious jargon and theories about why God would choose to be “one-with” the creation that God had made.  As is the case, in other mysterious things that we can’t truly understand, the reasons that make the most sense, are often the simplest!  God loves us as all good parents love their off-spring, and wants us to get it right—therefore, shows us the way. 

   Later in our Church Year, we will concentrate more on the fact that living, as Jesus did, proclaiming equality for all, is not always easy and there will be some suffering that goes with that, but at Christmastime, it is more than enough to focus on the great love behind this Incarnation! 

   Sister Joan Chittister says, “Only Christianity, of all the religions, argues that the Creator has taken on the flesh and blood of creation in order to bring us to [in fact] assert the divine in ourselves,” or as I often tell you, “the best that each of us has to offer!”  The poet, Elizabeth Barrett Browning says of it, “Earth is crammed with heaven!” 

   Theologies of old used to teach that we should “long for heaven”—that our time as humans, basically isn’t as important, and thus came, the practices of “hanging our heads,” and “beating our breasts,” awaiting a time when we would die, go to heaven, and be reunited with God. But when Jesus “graced” our earth, as the letter to Titus referred to him in the 2^nd reading today, Jesus said, and I paraphrase, heaven is here, now, among you! 

   That’s what we celebrate now at Christmastime, that Jesus/God is among us—with us—now!  It seems though that through religious history, we humans manage to get this really simple message of love wrong. 

   Today, along with it being the Eve of Christmas, the Church calendar also tells us that it is the 4^th Sunday of Advent, and that our time of “expectant waiting” is almost over!  The readings for this 4^th Sunday of Advent, from Samuel, Romans, and Luke, first establish the House of David, with a shepherd boy as its head—the line that Jesus, the Messiah will emerge from, with Paul naming him as this long-awaited One.  The gospel reading clearly names the earthly parents of Jesus as belonging to the line of David, with one missing piece. 

   The Scripture reading for Christmas Day from Matthew traces the line to Jesus through Joseph, who apparently had nothing to do with his conception in Mary’s womb, who, by the way, also came from the lineage of David, but when the Scripture was recorded, it wasn’t known that women played a roll in conception, and the ultimate look and quality of offspring except that of a vessel for the growth to take place.  So, after 2,000+ years, it seems appropriate to say that our sister Mary provided the human component!

   The other piece that humans got wrong over the years is the purpose of Jesus’ coming as well as what his earthly life would be about.  We see in the 1^st reading from Samuel for the 4^th Sunday of Advent, that David is concerned that the God of the Israelites would have a temple equal to his own, which we know was lavish.  God’s answer to David was to ignore the question about God’s temple, but simply to tell David that he should be a “good king” to his people.  It would seem that even to the present day, the hierarchy of our Church haven’t heard, nor taken this message of simplicity of living and strength of character in serving and leading, to heart. 

   Moving then into the Christmas Eve Scriptures, the prophet Isaiah speaks of the “people walking in darkness, having seen a brilliant light.”  We know that “a child born to us,” who will grow, “in wisdom and grace” is the source of this “brilliant light” –probably the reason that we decorate trees and our houses with much “light” at this time of year, whether we always consciously relate the two or not. 

   A few years back, in a Christmas column, Sister Joan Chittister, reflecting on the “light” that Jesus brings, said, that when we make the conscious effort to follow in Jesus’ footsteps, answering the call to his first disciples, “to come and see,” “We must realize,” [that it may take some of us] “where there are no lights—to hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, and dark neighborhoods.”  We all need “the light” as it gives us the hope that, while everything may not be good in our world, there is much that is good, plus light and hope, faith and love will all give us the strength to carry on in the sometimes-dark places in our lives. 

   The 2^nd reading from Titus speaks of, “the grace of God” [appearing], offering salvation to all.”  Titus goes on to open up what he means by “salvation” naming Jesus as our “blessed hope.” This “blessed hope” –this “brilliant light,” is about so much more than, “saving us from our sins!”  It is rather, about, “showing us the way,” about letting us know that none of us have to walk our earthly journey, alone—our God, because of Jesus, is always with us! This is the hope that should sustain us in the good and not-so-good of our lives.  St. Joseph Sister, Mary McClone, in one of her homilies for Advent, in the National Catholic Reporter, said it well. [We have] “hope-soaked promises in the process of growing in grace.”

   So, my friends, as we gather at this time of relative, peace-light-love, and hopefully, joy, we are called to remember how our brother Jesus came, to-be-one-with humanity, especially in those struggling as evidenced by the fact that his earthly parents could find, “no room at the inn,” much like many poor and suffering people at our southern border.  Our God, in Jesus, graced our humanity by his presence in it, by the example of love that he gave us, not so that we would “fear,” but that we could follow his lead, and do the same. 

   One of the memorable characters in A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, Ebenezer Scrooge’s nephew, Fred, was known for saying this:  I like to think of Christmas when it comes around each year as a kindly time, when people open up their “closed hearts.” This action, I would suggest, is why most people truly love this time of year. 

   Again, as we look around our world and see so much that needs fixing, I was pleased to hear a news piece recently speaking about the war in the Middle East— “we can’t hate our way out of this—we must love our way out!” Yes, and Jesus, I believe would agree! Amen? Amen!

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!

   My friends, here we are at the second Sunday of Advent, and we know that means that the fourth Sunday will be upon us sooner than we think—and even quicker as that same fourth Sunday will be shared with Christmas Eve this year.  Last week I suggested to all of us that we can “wait expectantly,” which is what Advent is really all about, and make cookies at the same time, or whatever other preparations you may be about this time of year!

   Advent reminds us friends, through the Scripture readings that it is good, “to set something aside” for a time, “waiting expectantly” for that special event to happen.  The Scriptures given for this Sunday remind us of this on several levels.  Mark repeats Isaiah’s message as he begins his gospel with another prophet, John the Baptist— “Make a straight path—prepare a way.” One dimensionally, we can see this command as putting our physical house in order because we are getting ready to host guests at Christmastime.  And while we may feel that this is an important part of our preparations, we know that our brother Jesus, and our Loving God, expects us to go deeper. 

   Most of us, at least we women would not think of inviting guests to our homes without preparing the physical space to house them, or planning for guests without preparing enough food, even special foods for the time they will be with us. 

   Our God, through the prophets is asking for no less—in order that we will be ready to hear the radical message of love that Jesus gives to our world, we will need to prepare our hearts “to hear,” to accept, and ultimately share that message with our world.  And we know that this sharing will not always be easy. 

   Isaiah’s words to us today say as much: “…every hill and mountain be laid low.”  To me these words say that we will need some change in our lives to see and to hear Jesus’s message that is, as we said last week, often counter-cultural. 

   That brings us once again to mentioning the ritual color that the Second Vatican Council suggested churches use, going forward, to signify the work and the preparation of the Advent Season—blue.  This color should suggest to us that we are preparing for a “new creation”—Emmanuel—who will bring us new life.  This season is all focusing on Jesus and the “new life” he can bring us if we are open to it.

   As we spoke of last week, this is not a season to “beat our breasts” asking for forgiveness as during the Season of Lent, symbolized by the ritual color of purple.  Advent again, is a time for us to “expectantly wait” and to prepare, and to remember a life coming into our midst, capable of changing in many ways how we live our lives and for whom we live them.  Maybe that is why our present-day Church fathers have, in my mind, wrongly chosen to concentrate on our need for forgiveness, through the ritual color of purple, instead of “new life and creation” in the footsteps of Jesus of Nazareth.  People who feel “worthless and sinful” are easier, I would guess, to control than those empowered by the words of Jesus to extend justice toward all—to give them new life represented by the ritual color, blue. 

   And we would be remiss if we did not mention the wonderful place that our sister-mother-friend, Mary of Nazareth plays in Advent-Christmastime.  The ritual color blue stands to represent her as well and the creative and wonderful life she gave our world. 

   I did find in my search for the reason why our Church went back to the purple, instead of the blue for Advent, an obscure liturgist who suggested that if we used blue for this Season, it would suggest that Advent is “all about Mary.” Now, while it is true that the Season is not all about Mary, I believe we would all agree that she did play a most significant role! But far be it from any hierarchical church man to give a woman, or women in general, any credit for their gifts to our world! 

   We did not meet for the annual feast of the Immaculate Conception this past Friday as is our custom for all the holydays simply because preparing for more than one liturgy in a week is more than your pastor can handle, for the most part. But with this one, there is a double reason, in that it really doesn’t uplift the “Mary” in justice that we should be emulating.  That is why we are singing The Canticle of the Turning today—a real marching song coming from a woman’s heart about the Son she is giving the world—not a submissive, “kept-in-her-place” female, but a strong, decisive woman speaking about justice for all, the justice her Son will bring.  And when I think about her in that way, I realize why hierarchical Church men wouldn’t want to uplift such a woman.

   So friends, let us continue our journey toward Christmas, remembering that our brother Jesus came first and foremost for the lowly, signified by his birth in a stable, to tell us that we are, each one of us, truly loved by our God, no exceptions!  Amen? Amen!

My friends, once again, our Church Year has come full circle and Advent is with us.  Each new Church Year begins separate from our calendar year, ahead of time, to remind us perhaps, that what we do as Christians, as followers of Jesus, the Christ, our brother, and friend, is counter-culture, often times.  Is it counter-culture just because we Christians want to be oppositional? I would say, “no,” but more so because we humans tend to, for the most part, be more comfortable, “hanging with the crowd.” Our “walk” with Jesus demands that we be “uncomfortable” many times when most others choose the comfortable way out. 

   Perhaps a good story can explain this better.  Many of you are familiar with Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who in 1968, established Special Olympics with, I’m guessing, her own sister Rosemary, as well as so many others in our world, with learning disabilities in mind.  These really “special” children found, as they grew, that the world was really not a “friendly” place for them to be. 

   Lynn Schmidt, a political writer, and columnist for the St. Louis Dispatch wrote this past week a counter-culture piece addressing this issue.  The world of sports, in all areas is about competition and ultimately being better than all others, and unfortunately, politics gets involved too.

   The Special Olympics, while named as a competition, is more about comradery and support for all, “trying to do their best,” than about being, “better” than someone else.

   One particular athlete in the latest Olympics struggled to complete a 25 meter walk while using a walker—this is basically 80 feet! All those in the stadium began to cheer for him, as if he were the only one in the arena, to keep going and cross the finish line.  Schmidt said that when he did, “there was not a dry eye.”

   Rather than a crowd cheering for the success of the best among the best in the regular Olympics, this was the people cheering for the “least” among them ability-wise to be a success. So, what does this have to do with the Season of Advent? 

   In the beginning of this homily, I stated that beginning the new Church Year ahead of the new calendar year might be a way to lift up how our entire journey with Jesus our brother, will be counter-culture—we will be continually asked to stand up for the “least” among us instead of the “best.”  And incidentally, this will call us, “to be our individual best! 

   Advent has been deemed for as long as I can remember, a time of “expectant-waiting.”  Our culture, needless to say, does not do well with waiting. This is only too obvious in the way our culture “rushes” to Christmastime, totally by-passing any time of “expectant waiting,” when many of us come out of a Christian background.  We are not, as a culture, “patient waiters,” –we want it all now, and this is certainly driven by our commercialistic society. 

   But still, we as followers of our brother Jesus are called to go deeper.  Many probably look at “waiting” as a waste of time.  Kathleen Norris, mid-west writer with many books to her credit, speaks about “waiting” and “radical waiting” as “life-giving.”  Setting something aside, for a time, preparing for it over time makes us stronger, “gives us vigor,” she says. 

   So, what do the Scriptures have to say?  Each new Church Year rotates between the first three gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark and Luke, and this year, it is Mark’s turn.  As you know, Mark is one of few words: “Stay alert, be constantly on the watch,” is his message. 

   We humans, it seems, have the tendency to look for blame outside of ourselves, when things don’t go well.  This seems to be what is going on in the 1^st reading today from Isaiah.  Even though God has been there for this people over time—showing them the way to go, God seems to be blamed for, “letting [them] wander from [God’s] ways.”  It is Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians that reminds them, and us that, “Jesus … is faithful.” 

   Now being “faithful,” it must be remembered is not about Jesus doing everything for us.  Jesus’ “faithfulness” is about, “showing us the way” by how he lived his own human life—he doesn’t ask us to do anything that he was unwilling to do.  You will recall that last week we celebrated, “not a king above us,” but a servant among us.”  Thus, as Jesus was counter-culture, our “walk” with him will call us, often, to that larger, deeper look at what is needed in our world.  Will that always be easy? No, it will not! But we have great shoulders to stand upon! 

   Evidently Paul’s community in Corinth was, as we say, “walking the talk,” as Paul was thanking God for all the “gifts” bestowed on them through Jesus, the Christ. I find myself likewise thanking God for giving us each other as a community wherein we can challenge each other to be our best, for ourselves, but for others as well. 

   So, in conclusion friends—let Advent into your lives these next 4 weeks, allowing for some quiet moments, even a few each day, to “expectantly wait,” amid some quiet preparations, thinking about how great a gift the Incarnation is! 

***An Advent disclaimer:  These next 4 weeks are not “Lent-light”—a pre-Vatican II concept, represented now, in most, if not all Catholic churches with the ritual color of purple.  One would be hard-pressed to find a diocesan church that doesn’t now use the color purple for these 4 weeks.

    We are a Vatican II parish, so our ritual color for these 4 weeks is blue, used in deference to Mary, our Sister/Mother, but also as a sign of joy as the time draws near that we recall—God-With-Us, Emmanuel.  If you use an Advent wreath during this time, you should use 3 blue candles, and 1 white candle—the white representing the “joy” that our time of waiting is almost over.  The green of the wreath is all about, “hope” in our loving God.  May this time of “expectant waiting” coupled with quiet, anticipatory preparation be a rich time for each one of us.  Amen? Amen!