Joseph's Dream

Murillo's Nativity

Advent is a season of hope. We can spread that contagious hope.

In the word of God, Isaiah speaks about an ideal leader. Isaiah might be asking us how we exemplify these baptismal gifts in our everyday lives: wisdom (to recognize what truly matters), intelligence (to see what's true), courage (to stand up for what's right), empathy (for the needy), good judgment (to do the right thing for the common good), and wonder and awe (to worship the great God of this universe).

St. Paul in his letter to the Christian community in Rome calls for reconciliation and harmony. Paul asks us to practice virtue: the key organizing principle of a good society!

In the Gospel according to Matthew, John the Baptizer appears with a message of immediacy. He proclaims a turning away from a self-centered to an other-centered, God-centered life, because the kingdom of heaven is at hand. He says, to the many people coming to him, “I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I…He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

Our mission – the theme of Advent -- is all about preparing for the messiah by living a God-centered, other-centered life.

During Advent the Word of God focuses on Isaiah, John the Baptist, and the Virgin Mary. All three, in their experience of God, delivered a special message.
Isaiah spoke about a liberator, a savior for us.
John the Baptist pointed to Jesus as the Lamb of God. The lamb, of course, references the Passover meal. Jesus is the Lamb who through his death and resurrection creates a future for us, transforming us.
The Virgin Mary is the living temple of God, the ark of the covenant, because she carried within herself the Word made flesh, Emmanuel, God with us.

Joseph also appears briefly in Advent in the infancy narrative. Joseph had a dream in which the angel said, “Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife.”

Think about what couples dream when they learn they will be parents. Their first dreams are usually for a safe birth, a healthy child. Then, that their son or daughter will excel. Along the way, dreams may change. Mom and Dad may pray for their child to pass tough courses, recover from an illness, overcome an addiction. Sometimes disappointments or tragedy may change our dreams. But as Joseph learned, the most important things we can dream for children are that they will know we love them dearly, we accept them unconditionally, and we are always praying for God’s grace.

As we prepare for the birth of the Eternal Word of God at Christmas, let us pray for the grace to see God’s presence in all things; to do things as best we can; and to accept people as a gift from God (even if they're not quite the gift we hoped for).

Living a God-centered, Other-centered Life

Pope Francis Baptizing a Child in the Sistine Chapel

Baptism is a transformative experience. God lives in us and we live in God. That’s our indelible identity. God empowers us, by his grace and favor, to live godlike lives, as sons and daughters of God our Father and co-heirs to the promise of eternal life.

And in this celebratory event, we are invited to renew our baptismal promises so that we can live ever more transparently, trying as best we can to do the right thing.

The beginning of the new year is a perfect time to do this. We may have already reflected on all that happened in 2018, for example: What am I thankful for? Or perhaps, we might sigh with relief, good riddance.  In any case, what do I look forward to in 2019? What will I do differently? Let's look to the word of God as a guide.

The word of God takes us back to the sixth century before Jesus, to the Hebrew exile in ancient Babylonia (known today as Iraq). The passage is a poem, a song, about a “servant” who will be a light, a doer of justice, a liberator, a faithful keeper of God’s covenant. The early Christians saw in this Hebrew “servant” Jesus, who proclaimed a transcendent purpose for us: eternal life with God by living a god-like life here and now.

In the Book of Acts of the Apostles, the author describes Peter, fired up by the grace of God, proclaiming Jesus as God’s anointed One, the Messiah. And you and I should be fired up by the grace of God, trying to live a life of virtue.

In the Gospel according to Luke, John baptizes Jesus in the waters of the Jordan River. And the power of God overwhelms Jesus and he begins his public ministry, proclaiming a new purpose for us.

John the Baptist’s calling was clearly to point to Jesus as the Messiah. And what is John doing? He is baptizing. He’s inviting people to turn their lives around, to live a God-centered, other-centered life. We might ask whether we reflect Jesus Christ in our relationships.

To understand baptism, we first have to understand who we are in relationship to God. The Book of Genesis captures this. In the beginning, man and woman walked with God; they had friendship with God and friendship with one another. But in spite of knowing what God wanted, they lost that friendship. They hid from God, each blaming others. Sometimes, we play the blame game, don’t we.
Ever since, the human family has cried out for God’s friendship again.

So God became flesh. God, through Jesus Christ and with the power of the Spirit, re-establishes our friendship.

Thus, baptism initiates us into a new community of fellowship, of grace. This makes very straight-forward demands and freedoms. Put very simply, our God is all-mighty and all-present, a God of love; and our response to God’s love is gratitude.

This planet of ours, and the people on it, reflect the image of God. And everything God has created – God’s people especially -- is worthy of reverence.

Letting Faith in God Illuminate our Lives

Murillo's Holy Family

The Advent season is about waiting. We do plenty of waiting, don’t we? So did the ancient Hebrews.They often waited for the Messiah to rescue them. Yet the Messiah often seemed hidden.

We often pray for God to rescue us from a crisis of one kind or another, to appear and make things right. Some would say that is everyone’s story.

God seems silent sometimes. But our faith proclaims loudly that God is indeed among us. He is closer than we are to ourselves. Do not be afraid, Jesus proclaims; I am with you always.

The word of God gives us Baruch, in the sixth century before Jesus. Times were catastrophic for the Jews; everything they thought would endure suddenly disappeared. Yet, Baruch spoke of hope: a faithful people who will reflect the glory of God.

Paul, in his letter to the Christian community prayed that we will possess true wisdom, to distinguish what matters in life from what doesn’t, so that we will always do the right thing.

In the Gospel according to Luke, John the Baptizer proclaims repentance: prepare our hearts for the Lord. Yes, ask God to help us to hear the word of God in our hearts and turn toward a God-centered, other-centered life.

During Advent the word of God focuses on three biblical personalities: Isaiah, John the Baptist, and the Virgin Mary. Each delivered a special message.
Isaiah spoke about a future Messiah, a liberator, a redeemer, a savior for us.
John the Baptist pointed to Jesus as the Lamb of God, who through his own death and resurrection creates a future for us.
The Virgin Mary is the living temple of God, the ark of the covenant. She carried within herself the Word made flesh, a child, Emmanuel, God with us.

The word of God in Advent also briefly references Joseph, who had a dream in which the angel said, “Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife.”

I ponder couples’ dreams when they learn that they will be parents. Their first dreams are usually for a safe birth, a healthy child. Then they may dream that their son or daughter will excel. Along the way, things may change very quickly. Parents may pray for their child to pass courses, or recover from an illness or a serious accident, or overcome an addiction.

As Joseph learned, the most important things we can dream for those we love are these: that they always will know that we love them dearly, we accept them unconditionally for who they are, we are ready to forgive them their so-called peccadilloes, and that we are always praying that God will grace them.

All these are manifestations of faith. As I view the beautiful windows in our church, and value the light illuminating them, I think of a quote President Bush read at the National Cathedral:
...without faith, we are but stained-glass windows in the dark.

But with the light of our faith, we illuminate the same splendid multi-colored stain-glass window into a "work of art" for all to see. May the light of our faith make our lives a "work of art" for all to see Jesus as our way, our truth and our life.