Friends, am I alone, or does it seem that time just goes faster and faster?  Here we are at Ordinary Time once again—a series of weeks of our Church Year that takes up nearly 2/3 of that time.  As I always say, Ordinary Time is full of its own challenges, even though it doesn’t encompass a special theme like Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Eastertime. 

   All of today’s readings are about “call,” and by that we mean, “our individual calls” as Jesus’ followers, to “shine our lights,” to basically, be our best in this world, for ourselves and for others.  Now, this may seem like a simple message, but for any of us who have ever tried, we know that it takes work, patience, and long-suffering, at times, to find that balance in giving to others without giving ourselves away, totally.

   For many of us, we might have some old messaging about “giving totally” and that this is a good worth striving for.  This old messaging was often devoid though, of “caring for ourselves”—someone, in fact, that we must consider when giving to others—a cup never filled eventually runs dry—so, BALANCE, my friends. Remember that even Jesus went off occasionally, to be alone, to pray and no doubt, just to rest.

   Let’s look then to today’s Scriptures to see the wisdom that our brother, Jesus, lived by.  The prophet Isaiah tells us in the 1^st reading that it is God’s wish, basically, that we will be “light” to the nations.  And he also goes on to say that this doesn’t just mean, [restoring] “the tribes of Jacob” …evangelizing as it were, but God wants The Word of God, “to reach…the ends of the earth.” 

   Now to me, this means that there will have to be “actions” to go along with the “words,” or the words won’t mean that much. I find it interesting that in the past several years in our Catholic church, there has been much talk about “evangelizing” or in everyday parlance, “getting more people into the seats,” not realizing that perhaps it’s the “message” or lack of, that is keeping them away.  The words of the psalmist today seem to speak to this: “Here I am, I come to do your will.” 

   This reminds me of a phrase that was common among the first of the Roman Catholic women priests in this country, me included— “Here I am, I am ready!”  I even made a set of banners for my ordination liturgy with these words affixed because that was my stance then, as it is today, nearly 15 years later—to be present and “ready” to do the work God is calling me to.  In fact, my friends, it needs to be the work of us all—to present ourselves, and to be ready, to do God’s will in our world. 

   This is further affirmed in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians where he says, [we are] “called by God’s will to be an apostle of Jesus, [the] Christ.” And in John’s gospel, we hear the testimony of the Baptist, that indeed. “Jesus” is the one that we are to follow. 

   I think that it is interesting that even John, the Baptist doesn’t, at first, recognize Jesus, “as the One.”  This tells me that as we live out our lives, trying “to see Jesus” in our world, we may not, at first, recognize him either, and will have to be patient with ourselves, asking our brother, Jesus, to help us, “see what he sees” in those we encounter from day to day—seeing past the imperfect human qualities, to the best that is there.

   John only knows Jesus when he saw, “the Spirit descend upon him in the form of a dove,” as he was told would be the sign. We too will have to get past the surface designations; skin color, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion and more, to see Jesus within, and that should be our prayer, asking our heavenly brother to help us get past all that can get in the way of seeing clearly. 

   I would like to share now, a good story, as we all like a good story! This is one I heard recently that speaks well to seeing beyond what might initially, meet-the-eye—and perhaps throw caution-to-the-wind, in order to do the right thing.

   Steve Hartman of CBS News, known for finding good stories, shared this one recently.  It seems a family—mom and dad and four children arrived from Ghana to make their way in this country. One day, the dad heard some beautiful music and tracked it to the attic of the home they were renting to find his young son playing on an old keyboard he found there.  The wonder was, the boy had never had a lesson and yet was producing some very exquisite music! 

   The boy’s dad, wanting to encourage what he was hearing, bought him a bigger/better keyboard to play on.  This remarkable story made it to the news where another man heard it and interestingly enough, was a piano tuner.  This set of circumstances, the boy musician would call a miracle, as he did later when Steve Hartman interviewed him about his magnificent ability to play.  The piano tuner was so taken with the boy, whose talents he recognized to be of “Mozart quality,” that he threw caution to the wind and used his family inheritance of $15,000 to gift the boy with a grand piano.

   The boy was beyond joy as he expressed his gratitude.  The boy’s father expressed tears of wonderment that a total stranger could show such generosity! It seems that these “strangers’” families will be united forever as the piano tuner said he will tune the piano every month, “as long as he lives” and has arranged too for piano lessons for the boy.  Talk about shining one’s light! 

   My friends, not all of us will be called to such generosity, or at least, in the same way, but we will each be called to, “shine our own particular light” in some way.  We can’t just talk about the titles we claim for ourselves—that of “Christian, human,” whatever it might be—we have to act! 

   Today, the words of the psalmist are indeed good ones to reflect on as we move into a new Church Year with Ordinary Time: “Here I am, I come to do your will.”  The psalmist’s words remind me of Barack Obama’s words in a speech after he left the White House, indicating that, to his mind, his work wasn’t over, that there was still so much to do, not only for him, but for all of us! He said simply to his audience, “We all need to lace up our shoes, put our feet on the ground, and get going!

   Another interesting way to look at this life task is through the words of one of my favorite authors, Anna Quindlen, in her A Short Guide to a Happy Life. She speaks knowingly of the wisdom she has gained over the years, as she realized that “she is no longer the center of the universe,” simply stating that, in raising three good children, being a faithful friend to her good husband, and to her other good friends and acquaintances, it is only important that she, “show up, listen, and try to laugh.” 

   The clarion calls of the psalmist, of Isaiah, Paul, Jesus, Barack Obama, and of Anna Quindlen, are there for each of us today, asking that we answer, “Here I am, [I am ready!] to do your will—whatever that might be!  Amen? Amen!  

   My friends, this feast officially marks the end of the 12 Days of Christmas, and it officially came on Friday of this past week.  Our Church wisely, I believe, usually moves significant feasts to Sundays so as us common folk don’t miss their significance, being that most of “the faithful” don’t attend Mass on a weekday, as a rule.  So, we might ask, what is so special about the Feast of the Epiphany so as to raise it to the importance of a Sunday?  Sit back and I will tell you! 

   The word, “epiphany” comes from the Greek, meaning, “manifestation.”  In everyday parlance, we might say, “Epiphany,” or as most of us think of this feast, “The Coming of the Three Kings,” is an “aha” moment.  Further, we might say, “aha” moments are about when, “we finally get it!”  But we can leave that idea for a moment and see what the Scriptures tell us. 

   Isaiah gives us the familiar words that we hear each year at this time, “Arise, shine, your light has come!”  We all know from our earliest religious training that the “light” Isaiah speaks of, is our brother and companion for our human journey, Jesus, who became the “Christ” for all believers—across the board.  It is important for us the understand that “Christ” is not Jesus’ last name, but a concept much bigger for a God who includes us all, beyond religion. 

   Paul in his letter to the Ephesians, basically tells them the very message that we at All Are One believe, and proclaim by our very name, that, “everyone is welcome!”  Paul’s exact words are, “the Gentiles are heirs, as are we!”

   The gospel from Matthew tells the story of three, apparently, “wise men,” who traveled a great distance and ultimately had an “aha” moment in the stable in Bethlehem.  We don’t know by anything definite in the written Scriptures, why these men set out on such a journey, but we have to believe that they were people of faith, much like each of us as we say our own “yeses” to things that we don’t totally understand.  Besides being astrologers, they may have also been students of Scripture in whatever ways holy texts were available at the time and from within, simply heard that, “they should arise.”  They seemed too, to have a sense that, “manifestations in the heavens” (the Star) often had a counter part on earth (the birth of Jesus). 

   But, for whatever reason, they did arise and go, thinking perhaps, as we do today, “we need to check this out!”  Earlier, I spoke of these wise men having an “aha” moment in the stable in Bethlehem—they went looking for a king and found one—only what they found, caused them to reconsider what “kingliness” is really all about.  They found that a true king, queen, or leader shows that character not in the “who”—their lineage, but in the “how” they act in the world.  What an “aha” moment this must have been for them!

   In the first reading today from Isaiah the prophet, after encouraging the people to “arise,” gives them a second command, Scripture scholar, Diane Bergant says.  That second command was to “shine,” or in other words, act upon what you have come to know.  Prophetically, Isaiah gives us our marching words, “though night still covers the earth and darkness the peoples…

   My friends, Jesus our light has come, has shown us the way—how we must act so as to dispel the “night” and the “darkness.”  In this New Year, 2023, so new—so young, we only need listen to the news to agree that the “night” and the “darkness” haven’t yet been dispelled.  Just as the Wise Men witnessed something so great, so astounding at the simple, lowly crib in Bethlehem, we too must, through our attention to Scripture and in our own personal prayer, discover that our life here is about so very many, “aha” moments if we can open our eyes and ears wide enough to recognize them.  Some of the “aha” moments for me this past week are the following:

• The International Group of Roman Catholic Women Bishops, placed an ad in the New York Times decrying recent comments in the America magazine by Pope Francis, that basically, “the door to women’s ordination is closed.”  We can applaud these women for acting on their well-formed consciences (something the Church tells us to do) to speak truth to a blatant lie formulated by men seeking power instead of love within our Church.  Pope Francis needs an “aha” moment in this regard. 
• The condition of a young, 24-year-old Buffalo Bills football player, by the name of, Damar Hamlin, is being watched and prayed for by many in our nation.  This past week, during a game, he collapsed on the field suffering a cardiac arrest.  He had to be resuscitated then and there and has been fighting for his life ever since.  After several days of being totally sedated so that his body could mend, he is now making steady progress.  My reason for mentioning him here is not because of his prowess on the field, but for his good work off the field, using his status and position to assist the lives of children who have less, as was once his case.  Damar apparently had an “aha” moment on his way to fame. 

• For nearly a week the new 118^th Congress, have struggled to elect a new speaker. It has been contentious and has blocked the work of the people because a small, but significant number of the members have forgotten, if they ever knew, why the people sent them there in the first place.  The group that was blocking action, while finally electing their speaker after 15 unprecedented votes, are, in my mind, still in need of a collective, “aha” moment in order to truly do the work of the people, going forward. 
• This past week also marked the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.  I believe he was on the cusp of his “aha” moment during the years of the Second Vatican Council when he was known for his more liberal thinking with regard to proposed changes within the Church.  Unfortunately, he got “lost in the weeds” in the shadow of the long pontificate of John Paul II. 

   My purpose here friends, is not to speak against others, but to remind us all that, being a Christian is no, as they say, “walk in the park.”  Following Jesus will take the best we have to give—and no doubt, many “aha” moments throughout our lives.

   So, as we officially close the Christmas Season with our liturgy here today, it would be good to spend some moments, “at the crib” in our personal lives, contemplating its true messages.  Primarily, we “should get” the concept of our loving God wanting “to be one-with-us—wanting to be close.  As we then, in future liturgies move through this new Church Year, let us strive to keep our eyes on the one, Jesus, our brother, for whom being a “Christian” is really all about!  Each new Church Year calls us again to this one task and this one task alone—trying to emulate his life in our own.

   We shouldn’t allow ourselves “to get lost in the weeds” as the holdouts in Congress demonstrated so well this past week, and as Pope Benedict XVI too, demonstrated in his papacy.  We all, must keep going back to the source, our brother Jesus, trying to model our lives after his. 

   There are those in our Church, if they could have their way, would have us go back to pre-Vatican II times, to a time when much of Church life was pretty, “black and white”—do 1-2-3 and heaven would be assured.  Sister Joan Chittister, a prophet in our times, is known for proclaiming— “we need to go back further” [past the rules and regulations] “to the memory of Jesus of Nazareth.”  Now that would be a collective, “aha” moment!  Amen? Amen!

   My friends, with each new year, we are blessed with a fresh opportunity to look at our lives, being as honest as we can, admitting what has worked, what has not, and then deciding what we may want to change, by way of course correction, toward becoming our best selves –someone who will make our own personal life better as well as the lives of all that we touch in 2023.

   In my younger years, I called these proposed changes, as you probably did too, “New Year’s resolutions,” and in those years, I often times, let them go by the wayside before January was over. 

   At this point in my life, the changes that I am talking about are smaller, more doable ones, perhaps.  They are about “focus”—trying to be present to the moment –where I am and who I am with.  They are about respecting others and their opinions—working on being more kind, having more mercy in regard to others and their feelings, being conscious of truth and truth-telling, and being aware of the consequences when I am not. 

   I think most of us have been in the situation of “the elephant in the living room,” the topic we are all aware of, but no one wants to bring up for fear of hurting others, friends, and family, yet it is a constant, unwelcome guest.  Maybe 2023 might be the year that we can address this issue with the idea of bringing in more “light” as Michelle Obama speaks of in her new memoir, The Light We Carry.

   The readings for this first Sunday in the New Year, 2023 are encouraging in this regard.  We are told in both of the first two readings from Numbers and Galatians that we are “children of [our loving] God,” who wants an intimate relationship with us. 

   Paul instructs us to call God, “Abba,” meaning, “Loving Parent.”  This loving God is understanding and merciful toward our human condition, the psalmist says.  This God is all about “blessing” us, giving us a second chance, to become all that each of us was meant to be— “a light in our world.” 

   Often times, we are like Mary, Jesus’ mother, and ours, by extension, if we choose.  She calls us “to treasure all things and reflect on them, in our hearts.”  In our busy lives, we can sometimes get, “too busy” and miss opportunities to be that unique “light” that only we can be in any situation, the light that our brother Jesus asks us to be.

   The older I get, the more I realize that life is short, and thus, so precious.  I am compelled to “speak the truth,” as kindly, but firmly, as I can, especially to “considered,” powers-that-be.  It is the very least that can be expected of “God’s children,” of followers of our brother, Jesus.  Will this always be easy?  No, it will not! –but it is still the right thing to do! 

   Today’s feast is of Mary, Jesus’ mother.  She can be our mother too, or our sister, whichever relationship we might choose.  She has much to teach us about resiliency, and patience in dealing with what life brings.  Her “yes” in faith to a life which she had no actual idea about, going in, and all that it would bring, mirrors our lives too.  The Scriptures tell us that, “she treasured all… [that she didn’t understand] and reflected on [these things] in her heart.” 

   If we were to resolve in the New Year, to “reflect” in our hearts, all that is going on around us, at least, some of the time, this would be a great step toward becoming our best selves—toward “shining” our own, particular light. 

   As I said above, we might also consider our relationship with Mary, as a sister—a good, big sister who has had many wonderful, life experiences to share with us, if we are truly willing to delve into her life.  We can then take what we have learned from her and apply it to our own lives, pondering perhaps the wisdom of the elders among us, while they are still here. 

   Unfortunately, our knowledge of this strong woman of faith, may have been watered down over the years, by Church fathers who apparently have no need for, nor desire, for women who are strong, and who have been gifted by our God, with ideas and abilities to make our Church better, stronger, and something that the next generation truly wants to be part of! I believe Roy Bourgeois said this best, “Who are we, as men, to say that our call from God is authentic, but God’s call to women is not?” (Roy was a member of Maryknoll and served as a priest for 40 years until he was expelled for participating in a woman’s ordination). 

   Thus my friends, we have a new year upon us, a bright and shining opportunity to see and hear and ponder life as it comes to us—always keeping the examples of Mary and her son Jesus in the foreground so as to be the best we can be, for ourselves, and for others.  Amen? Amen!

   My friends, in the nearly 15 years of my priestly ministry, I have come each year to the Christmas Season wanting to share a story that uplifts and makes very plain the true meaning of this miraculous season—the great action of our God for each of us.  Only twice have I come across stories that are spot-on in depicting what Emmanuel, “God- with-us” really means. 

   I’ve shared both stories several times over the years, because a really, good story can be heard and appreciated more than once! Both stories that I am referring to are about men who learned God’s true intention in the Incarnation through the experience of their own lives. 

   One man had the job of shining shoes on a street corner of his hometown and always wished for more of this world’s material goods.  Through what we might call, “a Christmas miracle,” he had the opportunity to obtain several wishes granted him to experience not only material riches, but power and control over others—over everything really, or so he thought. 

   Not a believer in any higher power, nor a praying man, he discovered one day, as he was seemingly “ruling over everything,” that many of his subjects were praying “to God,” and not wanting anyone to be higher than himself, he made his final wish and that was to be like God if God were to appear on earth, and “miraculously” found himself back at his shoe-shine-stand. Not in power, but in lowliness the Scriptures say. 

   The other story is similar in that an unbelieving man who could never quite get his “head around” the Christmas story—that of God coming to earth, “to be one-with-us,” discovered one night, as he tried to save a flock of geese who got lost in a storm, and get them to shelter, the true meaning of the Incarnation. It seems that the geese were afraid of the man trying to shoo them into the safety of his barn, and only when he disguised himself and took on the “look” of the geese, walking as they did, flapping his made-up wings, would the geese begin to follow him to safety. 

   Too many times friends, over the span of our lives, well-meaning tellers of the Christmas story have tried to explain it from their heads—theologically, instead of from the heart, where the message originated in the first place, and have caused the message, the story, to stop there.  An angry God, needing to be appeased, sent his own son to die for the failings of humankind.  Such a story I think leads us all to “beat our breasts,” feeling guilty and not really very joyful. 

   Yet the Scriptures throughout Advent and Christmas time speak of joy—the joy of a young woman, Mary, who said her “yes” in faith to the God of Love in her heart.  The joy, no doubt, of her partner, Joseph when he learned that he too was called to be part of the Incarnation.  The joy of an older woman, Elizabeth, who recognized the presence of God within her younger relative and proclaimed that joy, “How [is it] that this should happen to me…that the mother of my [God] should come to me?” 

   And yes, there are those Scripture passages, like the reading from Titus that Elliot did for us tonight so wonderfully, that still cling to the idea of Jesus’ coming being all about “salvation…to redeem us.”  It is important when we hear such readings to go that step deeper that I always encourage for us to get to Jesus’ true message.  The “salvation” that has always been offered is NOT about “redeeming us,” but “showing us the way,” to be our best selves.  “A light,” Scriptures say, “shining in [our] darkness.”

   Jesus was incarnated among us, looking, and acting like us, just as in the story of the geese, so that we could more easily, and clearly, hear and trust and believe how much God loves us. 

   Even though Church fathers try to lift up Jesus’ “kingliness,” his “sacrificing” for us, which cuts into the joy of this blessed season; we would do well to listen to the words of the “mothers” in this season instead, who exult in the “fruit” of their wombs and their ability to share this simple, yet so precious gift of life with our world.  And incidentally, this is the work of Christmas—sharing the Good News that God is, truly, “with us.” 

   That our God would love us so much to become poor, simple, and one-with-us, in order that we could have a clear example of how best to live our one, amazing life, is cause for the greatest joy, really, in my mind.  The power and control that the shoe-shine man sought in his life, only to find out in the end, were not what would make him happy, no doubt caused a “sea-change” in him if he was able to wrap his heart, rather than his head around the concept. 

   The Christmas story, friends, if we really delve into it, asks us too, like the shoe-shine man, to consider a God, not of power and control over us, but one who loves us in an over-the-top way, simply because, WE ARE, and for no other reason.  Choosing to become one-with-us in our simple, poor, and imperfect humanity so that we would not miss this point—of God’s profound love, or ever be afraid of this life force within us, is a cause for great joy! 

   The joy that we instinctively feel at this time of year, as we reach out to others, within our families and among our friends, is the true mark of “God-with-us,” whether we be Christians or of any other religious group.  Our God, who is love, is always, “chasing after us,” as one Scripture translation tells us, wanting to be part of our lives, in all the rejoicing and sorrowing times, and asks us to reach out in the same way in order that people could truly see the face of our loving God and in that way, know that they are loved and cared for too.  The truth of it is friends, most of us only know that we have a God of love, if they experience that love through us.  This is the work of Christmas and should continue all throughout the year.  May we each know God’s wonderful love now and always—and that is our challenge, to make sure that anyone and everyone we encounter knows that they are loved—through us! Amen?  Amen!

My friends, the 3^rd Sunday of Advent, known to most of us as, “Gaudete” Sunday, comes from the Latin meaning, “rejoice.”  Prior to the 2^nd Vatican Council, the four Sundays of Advent had a somewhat different meaning than today.  In those days, the Advent wreath candles were purple, meaning “penitence” with a pink one to designate Gaudete Sunday, meaning that Christmas is almost here, and we can now switch from a penitential mode to one of rejoicing. 

   A little more of the back story now, to help us understand where we are today.  In those pre-Vatican II times the liturgical colors for Advent and Lent were purple to signify times of penitence. With the 2^nd Vatican Council, when St. John XXIII “opened some doors and windows” to let the fresh air of the Spirit in, all the Seasons of the Church Year, along with many other areas of Church practice and ritual were looked at to see if indeed the “signs and symbols” were saying what the true meaning of each was. 

   The example of making the Seasons of Advent and Lent quite similar was examined and found wanting.  Thus, Advent’s liturgical color became blue, which symbolizes royalty, more so, creation, and is in deference a bit to Mary, Jesus’ earthly mother. 

   I have written and spoken before of the importance of the rituals in the Catholic church and of how I have always found them so meaningful for establishing the focus for each Season of the Church Year. That is why I am so irritated by the practice of the last 15 years or so of reverting to the use of purple for Advent instead of blue as, in my mind and others, it simply “muddies the water” in clearly understanding the meaning of this season. 

   This of course can be linked to the 28-year long papacy of John Paul II who did not agree with many of the changes of Vatican II that brought “fresh air” into the Church, and spent his long years, “at the helm,” taking us backward. 

   An interesting fact that I wanted you to be aware of is that three years ago when I wrote about this same issue—the ritual color for Advent, church supply catalogs offered blue and purple candles as choices.  Today, those same catalogs offer only purple candles for Advent wreaths.  Curious, but we will leave that for now.

   This Advent, I am participating in an on-line retreat with Jesuit, Dan Schutte.  It is wonderful! The retreat is comprised of a 15-minute reflection by Dan for each week and each reflection concludes with him singing one of his own musical pieces. As he sings, there is a changing backdrop of different people and other aspects of creation—and quite beautiful!

   I am a bit behind, having only done the first week, but already his theme for Advent is clearly all about, “joy” –nothing about, “penitence.”  He speaks of the great love of God, or as I am fond of saying, “over-the-top” love for each of us. He reflects on Jesus’ words, “I have come that you may have life and have it to the full.”  A cause for joy? I think so! 

   Isaiah, in today’s 1^st reading speaks of joy—in fact, he uses the word, “joy” 5 times in this reading. The 1^st part of this passage is all about, “beauty” –all that our God has given us to “enjoy.”  Isaiah goes on to say that when the Messiah comes, much good will accompany this one, “those who are lame will leap like the deer,” and so on…

   James, in the 2^nd reading is speaking about the Second Coming, as these first followers of our brother Jesus, thought that his coming would be sooner rather than later.  He instructs them, his readers, “to be patient.”

   I will skip over the notion of the Second Coming as I feel there is merit in staying at the crib for a while to learn the lessons it has to teach us, which we will be exploring as time goes on.  James’ advice, of “being patient” is good to reflect on so that we don’t hurry too fast to Christmas and beyond as the hierarchy of the Church seems to do, or at least, confusing the messages. 

   The Advent time of waiting has many “jewels” that we shouldn’t miss.  There is the beautiful story of our sister/mother, Mary of Nazareth to reflect on—a woman, strong, resilient, compassionate, who said, “yes” to God for all of us.  Unfortunately, the hierarchy of the Church gets caught up in “sin” and “sinful” humanity in the December 8^th “feast” day of the “Immaculate Conception,” which basically states that Mary was conceived without original sin and at the same time, eliminates Jesus’ humanity—if Mary is without sin, then she is not human, pure and simple.  Why my friends, would Church fathers do this? –of all the beautiful and wonderful character traits that they could lift up—why, pray God, this one? 

   And the simple answer is—to control the story.  When the seemingly “wise men” of the Church discovered, sometime in the later 19^th Century that women weren’t merely, “the receptacles” for new human life, but actually contributed equally as the men did to that human life, Mary had to be declared without sin to become the first home for the Christ Child. 

Such a statement makes me wonder how much these men of old and into the present have ever really studied who our God is, and why God came among us! Our God does not think as badly of us as we and our leaders seem to. 

   Jesus, in fact, states in Matthew’s gospel today just what his Abba God believes.  Jesus is lifting up John the Baptist, saying, and I quote, “I solemnly assure you. History has not known a person born of woman greater than John the Baptist.  Yet the least born into the kin-dom of heaven is greater than he.”  What is he saying here?  Basically, our brother Jesus is saying—no one is greater than John and in fact, everyone is! 

   This is one of those two-sided, deeper than the surface statements Jesus makes throughout Scripture, and to me, it says, we are all, basically equal in God’s eyes, loved, appreciated, worthy, and wanted. 

   Dan Schutte says it like this, and I paraphrase, God made each of us in God’s image and each of us hungers—deep down, with an unquenchable human desire for love.  We try to fulfill this human need in many different ways, he says—some good and some, not-so-good.  We are all aware of some of the not-so-good ways—food, alcohol and other drugs, power, and control over others, and we all know the things we turn to in time of need. And of course, this is about abusing any of the above-mentioned things. 

   Intellectuals, scientists, and the like will name, “something greater than us,” stating simply that humans seek fulfillment in this “greater someone or some entity.” Spiritual folk speak of “God” as this greater entity that each of us move, instinctively toward.

    Dan continues saying that “God hungers for us as much as we hunger for God.  God and we complete each other.” Then he formulates the question that we may be internally asking, “Are you saying that God longs for me?”  His response, filled with emotion, “Absolutely!” 

   Now, such a god sounds quite wonderful to me—an intimate, loving God who wants only good for me, and not bad.  It was such a God who chose, out of “bigness of heart” to send Jesus, “not to save us,” but to let us know how much we are continually, “longed for.” I would guess this is why Jesus wept over Jerusalem shortly before his death—because the people there and us by extension, just didn’t get it! 

   A final question for this 3^rd Sunday of Advent—a Sunday of Joy—why is it so hard for us humans to believe in an intimate God of love and caring and in the musical selection of Dan Schutte, Beyond the Moon and the Stars, [One] “who chose to dwell with us, for no reason other than love?  Advent, Schutte continues, calls us to joy, everyday and seems to be saying that we need to be more concerned about the good that is all around us—in people and the rest of creation, and then all the religious language about sin and unworthiness simply won’t matter because it rings, untrue. 

   Friends, I believe in a God who “lifts us up,” not one who “pulls us down,” and when our Church hierarchy doesn’t get the message right, I become angry, and saddened.  The rituals and rites and liturgical colors of our wonderful Church are meant to carry us through the Church Year, from beginning to end, something like the following:

• Advent prepares us for a God who is continually “coming to us” –creating and re-creating, and the color for this action is blue.
• Christmas-time all the way to Epiphany is a time to rejoice in how much our God loves us and the color here is white/gold.
• Lent reminds us that we don’t always get it right and calls us to repentance and a desire to do better and the color for this is purple.
• Easter-time is once again about rejoicing in God’s, over-the-top love for us and the color is white/gold. 
• And finally, Ordinary Time, which covers the greatest section of time in the Church Year calls us to the hope of being our best selves, following the way shown by our brother Jesus, and the color for these actions is green.

   All of the rituals, colors, signs, and symbols were originally put in place and freshened up during the 2^nd Vatican Council for a reason—to make following Jesus all the more meaningful.  To ever use any of the above for power and control over others, or to keep them, “in place” is simply wrong!

   So, my friends, today is all about, “joy!” Let’s try and keep that focus.  All of our Advent preparation, amid the sometimes rush should be about, “a quiet joy at first, that continually grows through the four weeks of Advent.  Advent is a rich time as it draws us to the crib and all that we can learn there—that is why there are 12 days of Christmas!  Amen? Amen!