Joseph and Mary had such wonderful dreams and plans for the future. Following Jewish custom, they would be engaged for one year before living together as husband and wife. Then one day their dreams came crashing down because of two terrible facts: Mary was pregnant and it's wasn't Joseph's baby.
Joseph was filled with so many conflicting emotions and thoughts. Doubt, anger, hurt, resentment, confusion, betrayal, sadness and fear. Fear of what his family and friends would say when they found out. Fear of being thought a fool. Fear of being judged by religious leaders. Fear he had trusted and loved the wrong woman. But most of all, fear of what would happen to Mary when people found out. The Law of the Lord was clear. Such women must be stoned to death.
How many sleepless night did Joseph spend, tossing and turning, tortured by these thoughts and awful possibilities? Then he made up his mind to divorce her secretly so as not to expose her to the Law.
It was at this point that the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child within her is conceived by the Holy Spirit."
Joseph rose from his sleep and took Mary as his wife and the rest, as they say, is history.
As we prepare to celebrate Christ's birth, consider there are people in our church today whose dreams have been shattered and whose future is in doubt. Some of you may be angry, hurt, resentful, confused, sad and filled with fear. The gospel message for you today is the same as to Joseph and the same as to Mary, "Do not be afraid." You are exactly where God wants you to be and no matter what happens, God will be with you.
Do not be afraid of losing your job. Do not be afraid of losing your health. Do not be afraid of losing your life. God will be with you. This is the message of Christmas. This is the hope born in a manger in Bethlehem.
I have never been to Bethlehem, but I hope to go there someday. My friend and colleague, Father Joe Fedora, lives and works in Peru, in South America. He sent me a Christmas message two weeks with the good news. He said:
"Guess what? I´m going to Bethlehem and I´m planning on spending lots of time there! I’m traveling light; I can’t afford to be weighed down by things I won’t need. One carry-on should do it. Getting there shouldn’t be a problem; I’ve been there before and, besides, I’ve lots of angels and stars showing me the way. Once I arrive, I’m going to take off my shoes and maybe even kiss the ground. And then I´m off to the manger – the AIDS ward and soup kitchen and prison – to hang out with Jesus. I’m going to Bethlehem and don’t even have to leave Lima.
“When I was sick…
When I was hungry…
When I was in prison…”
(Mt.25:30-40)
Where will you be spending the Holidays?
May the angels and stars in your life show you the way to Bethlehem.
Merry Christmas!
Love, Joe
So as we prepare to celebrate Christmas and hope that all the parties and presents will take away whatever pain we may be feeling, remember Bethlehem is only a car, a bus or a subway ride away. A homeless shelter, an old folks home, a hospital. All these are the stable of Bethlehem because in all these Christ may be found.
And when you find Christ, or rather, once Christ finds you, you'll no longer be weighed down by fear. Do not be afraid to take Joseph, and Mary and Jesus into your hearts and into your homes. Do not be afraid. God is with you.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Myth Conceptions (Second Sunday of Advent, Year A)
Last week I spoke a little about the true meaning of the word "myth" and I want to go deeper into this today. As I mentioned, "myth" in popular usage is one step away from "fairy tale." But in a religious or sociological context, myths give our lives meaning and help us develop common goals based upon shared visions or dreams.
Even secular society needs and uses myths. The lofty words of our Declaration of Independence, stripped of myth language, would be basically "England, Get out!"
Instead, we read and recall with pride these patriotic phrases: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal and that they are endowed by the Creator with certain unalienable rights and among these rights are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
But this is pure myth! It is not evident that all men are created equal, as anyone who watches the evening news or drives through a poor neighborhood can attest. And while we wish our rights are "unalienable", we hear of people being deprived of their rights every day. And being created presupposes a Creator who endows us with these rights. The myth being since God granted these to humans, no person--let alone government---has the right to deprive people of them. Pure myth!
None of the above is scientific or provable, or it can be argued, even logical! But these secular myths resonate in our hearts and inspire us to strive and struggle to do and be better until such a vision is realized on this earth.
And we people of faith have access to a vast treasury of myths from which to draw inspiration and meaning. Take, for example, these beautiful words in our first reading from the prophet Isaiah 11:1-10
On that day, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse,
and from his roots a bud shall blossom.
The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him:
a spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
a spirit of counsel and of strength,
a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD,
and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD.
Not by appearance shall he judge,
nor by hearsay shall he decide,
but he shall judge the poor with justice,
and decide aright for the land’s afflicted.
He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.
Justice shall be the band around his waist,
and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.
Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
the calf and the young lion shall browse together,
with a little child to guide them.
The cow and the bear shall be neighbors,
together their young shall rest;
the lion shall eat hay like the ox.
The baby shall play by the cobra’s den,
and the child lay his hand on the adder’s lair.
There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD,
as water covers the sea.
On that day, the root of Jesse,
set up as a signal for the nations,
the Gentiles shall seek out,
for his dwelling shall be glorious.
These words still resonate within our hearts and give humans inspiration even after 2,700 years! They speak of a future toward which we can all aspire. Yes, the wolf and the lamb living peacefully together is surely a myth in its noblest sense, and one that humankind would be infinitely poorer without.
The promise and coming of the Messiah, along with the Exodus from Egypt, are powerful myths that have sustained the Jewish people for millennia. Indeed, without these myths to hold them together, they would never have survived the loss of Temple, monarchy, land and freedom. Their myths gave them their identity so they would never forget who they are or why they are here no matter what people did to them.
And we too celebrate our rich treasury of myths surrounding the birth of the one we hail as the Messiah, not just for the Jews but for people everywhere in the world. Advent is our season of waiting so we can enter into the spirit of our Jewish brothers and sisters to anticipate that no matter what happens to us or to our world we hold onto this promise from God for a better tomorrow.
It took 200 years for our country to realize its promise that all men and women are created equal. And it has taken us 2,000 years to live out the promises of Christ in the gospel. We have come far but we have so much more work to do. But thank God for our sacred myths that give us here on earth the visions of a heaven toward which to strive.
And so in answer to our atheist neighbors we say, "Of course, we KNOW it's a myth and that's exactly why we celebrate!" May the light of our holy myths dispel your darkness!
Even secular society needs and uses myths. The lofty words of our Declaration of Independence, stripped of myth language, would be basically "England, Get out!"
Instead, we read and recall with pride these patriotic phrases: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal and that they are endowed by the Creator with certain unalienable rights and among these rights are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
But this is pure myth! It is not evident that all men are created equal, as anyone who watches the evening news or drives through a poor neighborhood can attest. And while we wish our rights are "unalienable", we hear of people being deprived of their rights every day. And being created presupposes a Creator who endows us with these rights. The myth being since God granted these to humans, no person--let alone government---has the right to deprive people of them. Pure myth!
None of the above is scientific or provable, or it can be argued, even logical! But these secular myths resonate in our hearts and inspire us to strive and struggle to do and be better until such a vision is realized on this earth.
And we people of faith have access to a vast treasury of myths from which to draw inspiration and meaning. Take, for example, these beautiful words in our first reading from the prophet Isaiah 11:1-10
On that day, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse,
and from his roots a bud shall blossom.
The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him:
a spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
a spirit of counsel and of strength,
a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD,
and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD.
Not by appearance shall he judge,
nor by hearsay shall he decide,
but he shall judge the poor with justice,
and decide aright for the land’s afflicted.
He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.
Justice shall be the band around his waist,
and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.
Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
the calf and the young lion shall browse together,
with a little child to guide them.
The cow and the bear shall be neighbors,
together their young shall rest;
the lion shall eat hay like the ox.
The baby shall play by the cobra’s den,
and the child lay his hand on the adder’s lair.
There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD,
as water covers the sea.
On that day, the root of Jesse,
set up as a signal for the nations,
the Gentiles shall seek out,
for his dwelling shall be glorious.
These words still resonate within our hearts and give humans inspiration even after 2,700 years! They speak of a future toward which we can all aspire. Yes, the wolf and the lamb living peacefully together is surely a myth in its noblest sense, and one that humankind would be infinitely poorer without.
The promise and coming of the Messiah, along with the Exodus from Egypt, are powerful myths that have sustained the Jewish people for millennia. Indeed, without these myths to hold them together, they would never have survived the loss of Temple, monarchy, land and freedom. Their myths gave them their identity so they would never forget who they are or why they are here no matter what people did to them.
And we too celebrate our rich treasury of myths surrounding the birth of the one we hail as the Messiah, not just for the Jews but for people everywhere in the world. Advent is our season of waiting so we can enter into the spirit of our Jewish brothers and sisters to anticipate that no matter what happens to us or to our world we hold onto this promise from God for a better tomorrow.
It took 200 years for our country to realize its promise that all men and women are created equal. And it has taken us 2,000 years to live out the promises of Christ in the gospel. We have come far but we have so much more work to do. But thank God for our sacred myths that give us here on earth the visions of a heaven toward which to strive.
And so in answer to our atheist neighbors we say, "Of course, we KNOW it's a myth and that's exactly why we celebrate!" May the light of our holy myths dispel your darkness!
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