From the Pastor

It’s the sabbath day; in the local synagogue Jesus is invited to preach. The people are deeply impressed. In their astonishment, they ask each other what it can all mean. Jesus is a prophet like no other; His teaching is teaching with a difference: for He teaches with authority. Other religious leaders simply pass on what they’ve learned from others, but Jesus’ teaching seems to well up from within himself. And He displays this authority not only in His words but also in His actions. It’s been said that in St. Mark’s Gospel Jesus does not merely appear on the scene, He explodes onto it. His appearance is dramatic. Who can ignore a man like this? Indeed, who is He? Where does His power come from? 

So Mark’s Gospel isn’t only a drama: it’s a challenge. What do I make of Jesus Christ? Who is He for me? Who is He, not just in theory but in practice; not just on Sundays but in the living of my daily life? And what about evil spirits? Did Jesus come to conquer them? In our modern, scientific world, we perhaps smile a little at the very mention of such beings. We might ask what drives human beings to do these things as: wars, crimes, destroying history, terrorism?! If today’s Gospel highlights the authority of Christ’s teaching, it is perhaps not surprising that the responsorial psalm should urge us to “listen to His voice! Harden not your hearts.” And if we listen, what shall we hear? Many things, but it will all come down to this: your God loves you, you are God’s child; God has prepared a place for you in God’s kingdom. Do not be afraid, God can conquer every evil that threatens your happiness. Live for God and for your sisters and brothers. When the people in the synagogue heard Jesus preach, they said: “Here is a teaching that is new.” And when we truly listen to Him – not merely with our ears but our hearts – then His teaching is always new, always carrying an appeal and a freshness, as though we were hearing it for the first time. It is always Gospel, always good news.

The word “Gospel” means good news, and St Mark’s intention behind his Gospel is to persuade his listeners and readers that, despite the persecution they were undergoing, it really was “good news.” He does this by showing Jesus in action. There are far fewer of the teachings of Jesus in St Mark’s Gospel than in the other Gospels. He talks about Jesus teaching but, apart from the parables, the Jesus we encounter is the person who heals and nourishes and calls people to follow Him. The kingdom is Mark’s description of the presence of God, brought about through and in the person of Jesus, and it is the person of Jesus who is the good news. Simon and Andrew, James and John are going about their daily activities, fishing and preparing to fish. With his joke about now being made “fishers of men” rather than of fish, Jesus calls them and, immediately, they follow Him. There is no debate or discussion, seemingly not even farewells. The meeting with Jesus is sufficient for them to get up and go.

We are all at different stages of our lives. Probably few of us are at the point where we are looking for what is missing in our lives. Some of us may, like the people of Nineveh in the first reading, have become stuck in a rut that we would like to change but lack the willpower or conviction. Others of us may, like the apostles, be happily dealing with our daily lives without giving too much thought to what Christ might be asking of us over and above that. Others may have experienced that change that comes about through the encounter with Christ and are trying to tread a path that expresses that deeper commitment. At the start of a New Year, at the start of a reading once again of a different Gospel, it is a good time to renew our awareness of what our belief in Christ means. As with the experience of the apostles, it is not so much a question of reflecting on ourselves but asking what we think Christ is asking of us. Who is this person who wanders into our lives and asks us to follow Him? And can we get up and follow Him, even though we don’t know where He is leading us? During this year St. Mark’s Gospel will help us to discern that path.

In today’s Gospel, we have the arrival of the angel Gabriel, who invites Mary to rejoice that she has been chosen to be the mother of Jesus. Classical artists tend to depict Mary as a docile young woman, often kneeling in prayer as she accepts the awesome invitation. Mary is also eminently practical and asks the angel to explain how this will be possible since she has no husband. Mary is testing the wisdom of the message she has received. She is being invited to risk her reputation and perhaps even her life. She would also have known that her parents would have been disgraced in their community because of their daughter’s shame. The angel, in reply, is able to offer compelling evidence that the invitation to Mary is genuine. We know that the story of Jesus unfolded to reveal all sorts of joy and sorrow, contradictions and challenges, leading to His death on the cross of a criminal and, ultimately, His resurrection in glory.

We use all sorts if imagery for holiness and commitment. Our readings today use the imagery of the dwelling places of God. David doesn’t get to finish the work and it falls to his son, Solomon, to complete the building of the Temple in Jerusalem. God’s promise to David was to make David himself the house. His family line would be forever blessed, and this was achieved through the birth of Jesus. We use the image of the house for many aspects of our lives. Our political institutions are often named “houses.” “House of David” meant the entire chosen people of God can be both our physical place of public worship and the house of our hearts. Wat type of house can we make for God this Christmas, at the end of the year in which our own homes may have been places of refuge and safety but also places of restriction and confinement, away from family and friends? What did we learn about the things that make our houses good places to be? How can we be more fully the house of God as we go forth to love and serve the Lord this Christmas? We remember that the first house of God was a stable and that he had to rely on the shelter offered by strangers. Are we able to take this as our model for the Christian life?

There is always an element of surprise in the meetings between Jesus and new disciples. Usually they are surprised by Jesus, but sometimes it is Jesus who is surprised. Jesus is amazed at the centurion’s faith, but He is also amazed at the fact that only one of 10 lepers, a Samaritan, should come back to thank Him. Perhaps this is why Jesus didn’t come in an age of mass media. We don’t meet the Christ as these people did, but we can pray, and we can be amazed by His presence in our life. We understand that He is present in our own meetings with other people, particularly people we might not trust, people such as the Romans and Samaritans this day. If we meet anyone in faith then Christ is there, and the meetings of Christ with John the Baptist and so many other figures in the New Testament are models for our own encounters with other people. John the Baptist at this moment thinks he knows what is his encounter with the Messiah will be like. He is wrong, as the Christ asks to be baptized, showing humility rather than power. Yet there is i-one piece of wisdom that John has, even before he meets Jesus. He knows what he is not. Only Jesus says, “ I am”, in the Gospel of St. John. 

In prayer, we can begin to find out who we truly are. Who are we in the eyes of God and of humanity? To discover the answer to this question we need to be in God’s presence. It is from God that we come, it is to God that we return. The answer to a question, “Who I am?” must always include God. We are God’s children, the redeemed God. John the Baptist, therefore, can only answer in the negative to those who ask him who he is. He is still waiting for the Lord to truly come into this world. Prayer, as the 2nd reading tells us, is to make us ready to meet Jesus. Even John the Baptist, despite his lifetime of prayer, was not yet ready to meet the real Christ. We have neglected Him, we have not prayed constantly, we have not given thanks to God, yet Christ is among us; and at the end of our lives, and at the end of human history, we will meet Him. The more we pray, the more we live a life of thanksgiving, the more joyful that meeting will be.

The liturgy on this 2nd Sunday of Advent features St. John the Baptist. For many people, however, the saint who is most closely connected with Christmas, after Mary and Joseph, is not John the Baptist. It is St. Nicholas. Jolly St. Nick in his bright red suit presents a contrast with the austerity of the Baptist who was clothed in camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist. Even so, St. Nicholas can serve as part of our Advent reflections. He was the 4th century bishop of Myra in Lycia (a part of Turkey). A popular story about him revolves around a poor man who couldn’t provide dowries for his 3 daughters. As each girl reached marriageable age, Nicholas secretly left a bag of gold for the father so that he could arrange the weddings. Over the centuries Nicholas became a symbol of the gift-giving which is part of the Christmas celebration.

The bishop’s name is Greek (“Nikealos”). The first part of his name,”Nike,” means “victory”. It is the name that was given to Greek goddess of victory. Our government has employed it to designate a missile, and sporting goods company has used it for its products.

There is a second part to the name; it is “laos” which means “people”. This meaning should help us to recognize that the great victory of Christ was for the benefit of His people. The legends about the goodness and gift-giving of St. Nicholas have been symbolized in the Dutch version of his name, Santa Claus. This name represents some of the most delightful experiences of childhood, but even for adults it suggests jolliness and good-natured generosity and a man clothed in a bright red suit rather than camel’s hair.

But Santa Claus doesn’t push the Baptist aside during Advent. By his preaching John hoped to move people away from the basis of sin, which is self-centeredness. Santa Claus symbolizes unselfishness. He represents what the Baptist intended to accomplish. He is the gift giver who never receives a gift.

Behind all the legends of the good St. Nick is a yearning for a manifestation in a human person of the unselfish goodness which the eternal Son of God brought to our world. Preparing for Christmas means trying to become what Santa Claus represents, a personification of the kingdom of Christ. We are imbued with the Christmas spirit when indifference is turned into justice, when hatred is overcome by love, and when violence gives way to peace. Is there a Santa Claus? He is found in every person who shares in Christ’s victory over sin.

The problem is that Advent is often imprisoned in the world of shopping and the commercial build-up to Christmas. Recorded carols and office parties anticipate the feast but do not provide any room to prepare for the real significance of the coming of Mary’s boy child in Bethlehem.

Today the coming of the Christ child at Christmas is set against the context of the final coming. We are reminded that the child in the manger will not be just another Christmas baby but the Word made flesh. He is the Son of God, creator of the world. And He is the Son of Man who will come in glory on the clouds of heaven to call the whole of His creation at account. Like Israel before us, we prefer to stay in our comfort zone, live with our sins, and hope that God will get off our backs and go away.

How can we prepare for the coming of Christ at Christmas? First, by placing Him in the perspective of His final coming as judge and Savior. But second, by being alert. Being alert like the servant in today’s Gospel who waits for his master to return, not knowing at what time he will come. And yet being alert also means that we must be ready for the risen Christ to come to us now. As Christ comes to us in this Mass through His word and His real presence in His body and blood we ask Him to make us ready for His coming at Christmas. And as we celebrate these days of Advent we pray for the courage to change, to give God more room in our lives and be alert so that we may obey the Lord’s command to stay awake as we wait His coming.

Faith is a mysterious thing. Many devout parents have to bear the sorrow of knowing that the faith that they love and cherish hasn’t passed down the generations. Despite their having done everything possible, their children have chosen not to embrace the faith in which they were raised. Families where a vibrant and healthy faith is the norm and prayer a regular practice can still produce atheist children. Ultimately, it’s a mystery known only to God.

In today’s Gospel Jesus preaches in parables and His disciples question why He does this: would it not be better to speak plainly, in black and white? Yet faith doesn’t offer easy solutions to complex questions. Jesus’ first disciples were all Jews, and they had to come to terms over time with the painful truth that many of their fellow Jews did not become believers. The evangelization of the pagan world emerged from the conflicts and challenges encountered by the first generation of disciples. In the Gospel Jesus blesses those who never had the advantage of being exposed to the teaching of the prophets and yet believe God’s good news. Our response to grace is part of the freedom given to us from the beginning of creation.

It is a great blessing to us have heard the message of Jesus and responded to it in faith. Why some people believe and others don’t is a mystery known only to God. It is not our place to judge, but we are invited to do what we can to make the faith available to others. For some people, we are the only Gospel that they will ever hear. We are the only letter from God that they will ever read. Each of us is called to be a disciple and an evangelist in our own way. Even if we never see the fruits of our labors, we can trust that the closer we come to Jesus, the more like Him we will become.

The word “yoke” has become a metaphor for something oppressive: the “yoke of slavery” and servitude. Jesus is concerned about people “who labor and are overburdened”. He had in mind some of the strict followers of the Jewish faith, whose religious life had become a burden. Scholars enumerated 613 laws which they enjoined people to keep. The idea was that by striving to keep these laws you made yourself pleasing to God. The overburdened people awaited a Savior. And Jesus invited those overburdened people, who had no hope of observing all the laws, to “Come to Me”. Come to me and follow me, rather than all those rules and regulations devised by the religious leaders. “Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Those words sum up the ultimate purpose of our Catholic life; it is to find rest for our souls.

Shouldering Christ’s easy yoke, and learning from Him, is what He tells us to do. And we can do this in all sorts of ways. First of all, by experiencing His gentleness and humility so that we can love Him and realize His love for us. He does not want life to be a burden. He may suggest we let go in some ways, changing our priorities. Perhaps in saying “shoulder my yoke” Jesus is offering to help us with our burdens… “Come to Me” rather than seeking solace or relief in the ways of this world, for, as St. Paul says today, “your interests are not in the unspiritual, but in spiritual”. Jesus answers our prayers when we ask His help, and He gives us the strength to carry on with a peace that comes from the Spirit of Christ living in us.