Monday, December 4, 2017

Advent a time for showing our devotion


Homily: 1st Sunday of Advent – Cycle B
          It’s no secret that we celebrate a lot of funerals here at All Saints.  As the number of funerals that I’ve celebrated continues to grow, I’m growing in my understanding of how, as a priest, I can best care for the spiritual and emotional needs of the family who is grieving the loss of a loved one.  Being present with them while their loved one is dying is, of course, important.  Meeting with them to pray with them, to let them tell the story of their loved one, and to help them plan the funeral Mass after their loved one has died is also very important.  What I have observed, however, is that the “behind the scenes” work of preparing for the funeral Mass is a great work of spiritual and emotional care for those in grief, as well.
          It seems to me that, when a family arrives at the door of the church with the body of their loved one, if they find everything prepared and that we have been waiting for their arrival, they will be comforted: comforted because they know that they have been cared for.  This sign of devotedness, I would argue, is some of the best spiritual and emotional care that I can provide.
          In ancient times, when the head of a household would go on a journey, he would measure the level of devotedness of his household servants by how ready they were to receive him when he returned home.  If he returned and found the house in order and his servants ready to welcome him, he would know of their devotedness.  If he returned, however, and found the house in disorder and his servants scrambling to make preparations to receive him (or, worse yet, ignoring the fact of his return altogether), he would know of their lack of devotedness.  In that culture, it would have been a sign of great disrespect to be unprepared to welcome an expected traveler.
          Jesus, therefore, uses this example to admonish his disciples about his second coming.  In a sense, he is saying to them: “It’s true, I'm going; but stay alert because I'll be back and I'll measure your devotedness to me by how ready you are to receive me.”  So strong is his admonition that he specifies that there will be no part of the night that will be “off-limits” for his return and so they should not let down their guard for one moment.  In this we should hear echoes of the parable of the wise and foolish virgins.  Even though they all fell asleep as they awaited the bridegroom’s return, only the wise virgins prepared for it and brought extra oil.  When they bridegroom returned and they were ready to receive him, they were welcomed into the feast; for they had shown him their devotedness.  The foolish virgins, who had to run off to buy more oil, had proven their lack of devotion and so were left outside and shunned by the bridegroom: so unloved had he felt by them that he even refused to acknowledge that he knew them.
          Thus, as we begin this Advent season, we are renewing this admonition for ourselves.  First and foremost, we are reminding ourselves that our master—the head of the household, the bridegroom—is away and we are awaiting his return.  Then, we are reminding ourselves that, if we are truly devoted to him, we must not let our guard down and begin to forget about our preparations, even if it seems like he is long-delayed in his coming.  Because the fact of the matter remains that he could come at any time; and that, in spite of the fact that God is, indeed, “rich in mercy”, he will not have mercy on those who had been forewarned so clearly through these parables.
          And so, the question comes to us: “Are we so devoted to Jesus as to be ready to receive him when he returns?”  In other words, are we actively preparing and watching for his return? or are we going about our own business, ignoring the fact that he could return today?  If the answer is “yes, I am actively preparing and watching for his return”, then great!  Keep up the good work!  If the answer is “well… not so much”, or, flat out, “no”, then here is your wakeup call!
          Hopefully, if you fall into this latter category (which, I would guess, most of us do), you feel some anxiety about it.  If so, then that’s a good sign!  It’s a sign that you have devotion to Jesus, even though you might be failing at demonstrating it right now.  In fact, even if you do feel like you are actively preparing and watching for Jesus’ return, you should feel some anxiety, also; because we all know that, no matter how much you prepare to receive someone you care for, you’re always a little anxious that it isn’t going to be good enough, right?  If you have no anxiety at all, however, it shows that you are either presumptuous (kind of like the foolish virgins) or that you really don’t care at all (which, then, begs the question: what you’re doing here?).  I’m going to continue, however, under the assumption that all of us here do have a devotion to Jesus at some level, but that we are less than prepared to receive him if he should come today.  If that is the case, then I think that the prophet Isaiah gives us a good “stepping-off point” to begin our Advent.
          Isaiah was frustrated that his people had wandered far away from the Lord, and so he cries out to God and asks him to come and fix it all!  Now, although this comes from a place of frustration, it also expresses a great faith: that the Lord is powerful enough to fix even this, their greatest mess!  Isaiah expresses his desire that, when the Lord comes, he would find his people busy about his work and mindful of him—that is, showing a devotedness to him by being prepared for his coming.  Isaiah knows, however, that they aren’t, but he calls on the Lord, anyway.  In other words, he doesn't panic and try to get everything fixed up by himself before the Lord comes, but rather he sends a note to say: "Hey, I know you're on your way, but the place is a mess and it may not get fixed up before you get here.  In fact, you're going to have to help us clean it up.  Know that we wanted to get it cleaned up for you, though!"
          We, too, should begin our Advent this way: by crying out to God and asking him to come, even though we're not as prepared as we'd like to be.  This, in itself, is a sign of devotedness: that is, that we are being watchful for his coming.  Having begun in this way, we will then be moved to do what we can to make preparations.  And what are those preparations?  Well, we heard them last week: that the hungry are fed, the thirsty are given drink, the strangers are welcomed, the naked are clothed, the sick are cared for, and those in prison are visited.  Jesus promised that, when we do these things to anyone, we do them to him; and so to perform these acts of mercy is great sign of devotedness to him.  Still more, however, when we do these acts of mercy we are making God’s kingdom present among us; and what better way can there be to prepare for the coming of our King, than for his kingdom to be vibrant and shining when he comes.
          My brothers and sisters, through the words of Saint Paul to the Corinthians, God has promised us that he has given us every spiritual gift that we need to make ourselves ready to receive our Lord when he comes.  Therefore, let us begin today to show our Lord our devotedness once again, so as to be ready to receive him with joy when he comes.

Given at All Saints Parish: Logansport, IN – December 3rd, 2017

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