2021/12/26 - Holy Family... like a chipped plate

Before Mass: 

Today we actually have the convergence of THREE feasts at one…. First, obviously, it’s Christmas – it’s one of those holy days that’s so big, we actually celebrate it for 8 days.. it’s call the octave of Christmas.  Second, it’s Dec 26th - the Feast of St. Stephen – he was one of the first deacons of the Church and he was officially the first martyr.  You can read about him in the book of Acts in the Bible.  It’s actually because of Stephen that I can do some of the things I do… deacons were ordained to serve at the table… so that’s why I’m up here in the sanctuary and I am considered to be ‘minister of the cup’.  Also, Stephen was inspired to preach the Gospel – and that’s why Deacons are ordained to read the Gospel and preach the homily.  In Stephen’s case, that’s also what got him stoned to death… something I don’t really want to repeat, by the way.

However, today’s major emphasis is on the Feast of the Holy Family… and that’s what we’ll talk about in the homily.  What makes a Holy family 'HOLY'?  I want to give you a nugget before we read the readings so you can listen with a different perspective.

To be HOLY is to be ‘set apart’.  Remember that: to be Holy is to be set apart.  Each of the readings give us some insight for how PEOPLE are set apart for God…. So listen for that today.

 

Homily

This week I was getting out a plate to make a salad and as I turned I misjudged the height of the counter and accidentally chipped a piece off of this plate.  While I was sorry I did it – luckily for me, this plate already had three chips in it, so it wasn’t that big of a deal.  It wasn’t like the plates on the bottom of our stack which we hardly ever use… they’ve been set apart for use when we have company – I guess so our company doesn’t see that the man of the house is a clutz and chips the dishes.

Most of us probably have a similar set of plates – those special Christmas plates which only get used for one Christmas dinner each year – and even then the kids don’t dare touch them… they use the paper plates. 

One family was digging through their great grandmother’s things after she passed away and they stumbled across a box of unopened china – matching the set that was in the china cabinet...which never got used....  The box said it was packed in 1894…. Yet it was never opened.  Those plates were set apart because they were too priceless… too fragile… so they never got used for the purpose for which they were intended…for three generations.

Contrast that with another family I know who use the good china at EVERY meal… they recognize that EVERY time the family gets together is a special occasion.  They learned that the hard way:  See – one of the young boys of the family had died several years back – and the Mom realized that her son had NEVER used the special plates.  Her son had never felt like any occasion was special enough – that HE wasn’t special enough to get out the fine china.

Mom unpacked those boxes immediately and put the dishes into the kitchen cupboard where, to the bewilderment of everyone else in the family, they used it for EVERY meal… even for a bowl of ice cream!  At first they were all really nervous – and the first time one of them broke – everyone stared at it in horror, wondering what Mom would say.  She simply grabbed a broom and started cleaning it up and said – that’s what they’re for – to be used.  Just get you another one.  

Here’s my theory:  I think God sees US as like fine china.  Every one of us is priceless and fragile, so He has set us apart.  However, whereas normally WE set things apart and almost never use them, God is more like the Mom in my story…. He has set us apart to be used every day.  Not because we aren’t special… we are infinitely special to him… but because he wants us to fulfill the purpose for which we were made… to show everyone else how special they are.  You and I have been set apart.

Like I said before Mass, to be Holy literally means to be ‘set apart’.  You and I ARE Holy, because God has made us so.  Listen again to the line in the second reading – ‘See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God.  And so we are.’  I love how he said that...'and so we are'.  It's like, God said it - so it is.

Did you catch that?  We are children of God… how did we get that title?  Baptism… just like Samuel was taken to the temple and dedicated to the Lord and Jesus was taken to the temple on the 8th day for dedication, you and I were likely brought to the Church as infants and baptized… dedicated to the Lord.  Baptism is basically an adoption ceremony where you and I are adopted as a son or daughter of God.  In baptism, we are made HOLY… we are set apart… not because of anything WE did or anything we deserved – but because of God’s action.  That partly explains why we baptize infants.  While it might seem to make sense that we should wait and be baptized when we’re old enough to make the decision for ourselves, in reality, that's bad theology.  This is an act of GOD and not OUR actions. 

Yet – as we grow up – we do decide whether we want to LIVE our lives as a child of God.  We decide our actions and what we believe.  How do we fulfill the purpose for which we were made?  How do we continue to set ourselves apart for God?  Let’s look back at THE Holy Family.

Besides the fact that THE Holy Family is made up of the son of God and two saints… what made them ‘holy’?  

What really sets Jesus, Mary and Joseph apart is each of their of deliberate decisions. They each willingly decided to live out the purpose for which God had created them.  Joseph chose to accept Mary and her unborn Son as his own and dedicate his life to protecting them. Mary chose to bear the Christ and put her life at the service of Him. And the Son of God chose to become flesh, to become a member of a human family.  In short, their family’s holiness is reflected in the fact that they didn’t put their own desires first.  They counted others as more important than themselves.  

That’s different.  That’s not like normal humans… at least not like our culture teaches us.  Like them, Your family and mine are also called to be set apart.  The family unit is the place where each of us is trained to put others first.  As you know, infants are completely selfish when they’re born… they have no way to think of others – but as they grow up, we teach our kids to think of others rather than themselves.  In short, we teach them to ACT holy.

As members of the family of God, you and I are all set apart to look out for others.  John reminded us in the second reading, we are called to love one another.  THAT is how the family of God is recognizable to the world… because we love one another.  That includes our immediate family – our parish family – but much more even.

This past Monday, several dozen folks from our area headed to Kentucky to assist with the disaster clean-up.  As you would expect, the devastation was jaw-dropping.  We were in what WAS a wooded subdivision in Bremen Kentucky… but some houses were completely gone… others were off their foundation, and some were half-torn-away.  The trees were gone or down by the hundreds.  The homeowners were shell-shocked – which was understandable considering their entire life had been turned upside down literally in just a few minutes.

We stood in one yard looking at the immensity of the job and just didn’t know where to start.  By lunchtime we had at least 60 people working in two yards – and by the end of the day, we had most of that mess cleaned up.  Feeling like we had made a dent, all we had to do was turn around and see dozens more yards in this neighborhood needing just as much work… and then you think about the fact that this stretched for over 200 miles.  It’s unfathomable.  We’ve seen tornados in our area, so we have personal experience of the devastation… but the scale in Kentucky is unbelievable.

I bring that up because of the people.  It felt like family.  People were so appreciative that we’d come from so far to help.  At lunchtime, two ladies drove up in a four-wheeler ‘Hey you want lunch’?  They unloaded enough food to feed an army….and left to get more.  Then another 4-wheeler came by asking if we needed any food… then an hour later another lady came by INSISTING we take some hot food… and who can resist smoked pork?!

Like I said – it felt like family.  Everyone was ready to tell their story and hear your story.  Thankfulness was in every conversation.  Every person there was like this chipped plate… every one was special, but every one was being used by God to fulfill the purpose for which we were made… to love one another....to show everyone else how special they are.

So we ate - and shared stories - and worked hard together.

It felt like family.  A Holy Family.  

 

2021/12/12 - Darkness does NOT win

Gaudete!  Rejoice!  Humbug…What’s there to rejoice about anyway?  That’s how the Israelites would have responded when this prophecy was first proclaimed by Zephaniah.  The whole world was going crazy and the country was in deep trouble….

Things were going from bad to worse – the leaders of the country had abandoned morality and instead they honored the gods of money, power, sex, and personal freedom.  Child sacrifice to false gods was becoming normal.  Most people had abandoned the faith handed down to them from their parents.  People who still followed religion were looked down upon and ridiculed.  Zephaniah could read the writing on the wall….It was obvious that God was not going to let this continue – that bad things were going to happen… not as punishment, but as a consequence… and as a way for God to bring the country back to himself.  

That’s what the prophecy from Zephaniah is about… in most of the book, he is warning of the impending doom – begging them to change their ways.  You see – he is prophesying BEFORE the exile… before the darkness has closed in.  But in the snippet we hear in today’s first reading, he’s looking BEYOND the upcoming darkness to the time when the Messiah would come.  He’s looking BEYOND the upcoming exile to the time when God the Father would rescue His people.  Rather than let His people sit in complete despair, God offers this ray of hope – like a flashlight – or a candle– so that when the darkness comes, they have this hope to hold-on to.  The darkness will not last forever… the sun will rise again.  The Lord is Near – our God is in our midst.  THIS is good news.

Obviously, this message was meant for Israel… not us, right?... We can’t imagine living in a country that has abandoned morality… that sacrifices its children to the gods of money, power, sex, and personal freedom.  We can’t imagine living in a country where people have walked away from the Faith – walked away from the TRUTH - and those who do follow religion are ridiculed.  

If you’ve watched any news in the last couple of years, you know that Zephaniah’s prophecy applies to every age – including ours – where the darkness is creeping in.  It is a message of hope.  It reminds us to Stand fast – even rejoice in our sufferings because the darkness does not win.  The Lord is Near – our God is in our midst.  Do you think God gets all anxious watching the nightly news?  God’s GOT this! The light will return… He already has a plan to rescue us even before the darkness closes in.

31 years ago this week, an earthquake devastated the northwestern section of Armenia, killing an estimated 25,000 persons. In one small town, immediately after the earthquake, a father’s first thought was ‘MY SON!’.  He rushed to the local elementary school, only to find that the school had been flattened and there was no sign of life.

But without hesitation, he started digging… it never occurred to him NOT to dig. This father concentrated his efforts on the spot where he believed his son's classroom had been.  He kept repeating what he had often told his son, "No matter what, I'll always be there for you when you need me!"

Many other parents flocked to the area.  Many didn’t even bother digging… it was hopeless… there’s no way anyone survived that collapse.  Some did help – but after an hour or two, gave up.

So, he proceeded alone – through the day and into the night… for 8 hours... for 12 hours... 24 hours... 36 hours. Then in the 38th hour, as he heaved away a heavy piece of rubble, he heard voices. He screamed his son’s name, "Armand!"  "Dad! It's me”!  Then, he heard his son turn to the other kids in the hole saying – “See- I told you he would come!”  

Moments later, the dad was helping his son Armand and 13 other frightened, hungry, thirsty boys and girls climb out of the debris. Out of the darkness and into the light!  They were as good as dead, but he had brought them back to life! The father embraced his son and said – ‘sorry it took so long, son…were you scared?  Armand said – ‘it was so dark and scary – many of the kids were crying… but I told them – ‘My Father promised no matter what, he’d always be there if I needed him. – so he WILL save me...and if he can save me he can save you too.’   

God - OUR Heavenly Father, is in the rescue business. THAT is the Good News.  You and I were trapped in darkness of our sin until Jesus came to save us.  What’s more, that promise from the father continues for us today even as the darkness closes in around us… The Lord is Near.  That’s where the Peace beyond all Understanding comes from that Paul mentioned in the second reading.

What’s that look like anyway, this ‘peace beyond all understanding’?  

It means that when the world is falling in around us, when it makes no sense at all to still have hope – we can trust that Our God IS IN OUR MIDST!  God has a plan to rescue us from the darkness even before it gets dark!!