First Sunday of ADVENT 2021

God’s word can find us anywhere — at home, at work, while traveling, even in prison, as Jeremiah discovered:

The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still confined in the court of the guard (Jeremiah 33:1).

Prison is bad enough, but as we hear, it gets even worse for Jeremiah, who is forced to serve his prison sentence in the middle of a foreign invasion. Jeremiah began his ministry in 626 BC … a very long time ago!

In addition to these horrifying external realties, Jeremiah also carries the burden of the message, that Judah’s situation is going to get worse before it gets better. And remember, his message is to the people who worship, who are in the temple … people like us … what is the message?

Reform your ways … and your actions …

So, the back story underlines the faithlessness of Judah’s leadership and its disregard for its societal responsibilities, because they:

- Worshipped God in deed only

- Claimed to know the living God, but they were not faithful

- Worshipped God with their lips, but their hearts were far from God

As a result, their actions and their inactions, invited death and destruction into the city’s once mighty walls.

Judah’s faithlessness courts a terrifying encounter with the Hidden God, whose anger undoes creation, human and non-human alike.

- City devolves into a state of chaos, desolation, and lifelessness.

- Once bustling, Jerusalem has been returned to a kind of pre-creational tohu wavohu (Genesis 1:2).

- Without form – unseen and unformed – chaos and darkness

In the words of Psalm 104, “When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust” (Psalm 104:29).

But … the story doesn’t end here. Even while Yahweh roars in anger outside Jerusalem’s walls, he simultaneously offers the promise of a new future, from within the walls of Jerusalem in the person and words of Jeremiah.

I am going to bring it recovery and healing;

I will heal them and reveal to them abundance of prosperity and security.

I will restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel and rebuild them as they were at first.

I will cleanse them from all the guilt of their sin against me, and;

I will forgive all the guilt of their sin and rebellion against me.

God’s forgiveness creates a new future for Jerusalem. This new future will be one:

-in which hidden promises are revealed;

-in which God’s shadowed face will come gloriously into view, and;

- in which justice and righteousness will prevail in the land.

This is what Advent is all about ... our generous response to God’s invitation to be God’s faithful people.

Advent is about the prophets of our time, coming here into our church and preaching to us, challenging us to look deeply into our own hearts, our own, not someone else’s, to see if we have become like the ancients, who:

- Worshipped God in deed only;

- Claimed to know the living God, but they were not faithful;

- Worshipped God with their lips but their hearts were far from God.

Hmm …

Usually, I take the week before Thanksgiving off for vacation. While COVID made it impossible to do so the last two years, this year I was able to take a little break … and I went to Rome … the place I was trained, where I still have friends, and favorite spots to visit and incredible memories.

If you’ve been there, you know that there are magnificent Churches, inspiring pieces of art everywhere, the best pizza in the world and so many other reasons to visit.

Each time I go, I seek something new to inspire me, to touch me, to bring me deeper into why I became a priest in the first place … I guess I seek a sign that I made the right choice with my life and my vocation to the priesthood, cause in these days, sometimes I wonder.

I said that the beginning of this homily that “God’s word can find us anywhere” … On one of our days’ walks, we were at the Vatican and I had to use the restroom … and if you’ve been to Rome, you know that bathrooms are few and far between, and not nearly as hygienic as we have become accustomed to here.

Anyway, at St Peter’s I remembered that at the right side of the colonnade, as you enter the square, there are public bathrooms. Not having much of a choice we walked towards them … and it was at that moment that I had my sign … the living presence of God’s word slapping me in the face with a mighty force …

Because in that little, cordoned off space outside the bathrooms, Pope Francis had ordered a complete change to the layout … yes, the bathrooms were still there, thank goodness, but there were also showers, medical assistance, covid testing and food, all being provided for the poor and homeless of Rome.

This was the sign that God wanted me to see … not the magnificent Churches, not the incredible art, not the best pizza, nor even the cleanest bathroom, but the work of the Church, inspired by the Spirit and ordered by the Pope … to care for the least. BAM!

It was a powerful moment to remind me, that I cannot become like the faithless of Judah’s leadership, worshipping regularly, but disregarding my societal responsibilities … and neither can you.

So, as we begin this Advent season, we will continue to invite one another to care for and share what we have with those less fortunate … we will surely do the traditional things that we have done in the past, but we will also focus more strategically on deepening and expanding our opportunities for response … Lest we too become complacent and return to the chaos of a world unfaithful to God …

God’s living word preaches on, here and now, in the person of Jeremiah who foresaw the dawn of a “new day” … let’s seize that day, today and every day!

RSM##

What Book are You Writing?

If you consider the thousands of different books available in the world, the adage, “So many books, so little time” takes on a completely new meaning.

I love books. In fact, when I moved here to Summit, the movers commented about all the boxes, Father, you have so many books, have you read them all? The answer is yes, because I believe that in reading books, you are also writing your own – creating your story. C.S. Lewis once said, “We read to know we are not alone.”

Surely, all book lovers have their own favorite genre — in fact, probably multiple favorite genres. The genre system first began as a classification process for ancient Greek literature, including poetry, prose, and performance. Each genre has a specific, distinct style relating to theme, content, tone, details, and intensity. More simply, though, you know that all books can be broadly classified under two main categories: fiction and non-fiction.

We know that a work of fiction is one that is derived from the imagination. The great thing about fiction is that it could be inspired or partially borrows from real-life situations. Fictional books are often synonymously categorized under the umbrella term of a “novel.”

The polar opposite of fictional books, nonfiction books are based on facts, true accounts of history and real events. Also, unlike fiction books, nonfiction books have relatively few genres. The most common nonfictional works are biographies, autobiographies, almanacs and encyclopedias. Some of the fictional genres are:

1. Classics - Humorist writer Mark Twain once said, “Classic – a book which people praise and don’t read.”

2. Tragedy - written in a serious style, it focuses on human suffering or tragic events, brought into motion most often by a heroic individual.

3. Science Fiction - An umbrella term dealing with the advanced concepts of science, technology, time travel, space exploration, extra-terrestrial life, alternate timelines, cyberpunk and end of the world. These books often veer off into the world of fantasy, adventure, mystery, supernatural and dystopian fiction.

4. Fantasy - Works of speculative fiction, which generally revolve around magic, the supernatural and witchcraft. A lot of fantasy writers use mythology, theology and folklore as inspiration.

5. Fairytale - Take the form of short stories, usually involving fairies, dwarfs, princesses, goblins, unicorns, elves, talking animals, trolls, dragons and other magical creatures.

6. Adventure - These usually follow a reluctant hero leaving a familiar world behind to embark on a dangerous quest, where s/he encounters challenges, temptations and revelations. Helped along by mentors, guardians and friends, the hero navigates the unfamiliar world of adventure, defeats evil and returns home, successful and transformed.

7. Crime & Mystery - These usually revolve around a mysterious death or a baffling crime that needs to be solved. Usually, the book’s main protagonist is a detective who solves the mystery by logical deductions. The best mystery usually focuses on the starkly different views of morality and the societal aspects that the hero and the antagonist represent.

8. Historical Fiction – These are based less on accurate historical facts and more on imagination, taking place in a setting located in the past and paying attention to the mannerism, society and other details of the period depicted.

9. Humor – These are novel-length works of comedy, wherein the writer seeks to amuse or entertain the reader in a carefully woven narrative. This category needs to be divided into several sub-genres, including shock comedy, horror comedy, irony, satirical and parody.

10. Satire – These feature the abuses, vices, maltreatment, corruption and shortcomings that seek to shame societies, individuals and governments into improvement. Most satirical fictions feature dark humor and irony, although its greater purpose is actually constructive criticism of the society.

11. Romance - Although romance is a style of heroic prose and verse narrative involving awe-inspiring incidents. These days the genre mostly focuses on a loving relationship between two people. Often, these books end in “happy endings,”.

12. Horror – Horror seeks to provoke feelings of fear, disgust, shock, terror and loathing in the reader, horror books have roots in ancient mythology and folklore. The ancient Romans and Greeks focused on evil, death, afterlife, the demonic and these principles embodied within a person. These elements were manifested into creative works featuring witches, ghosts, vampires, werewolves and other monsters.

And, as I said earlier, nonfiction genres are much fewer than fiction books. As with fiction, they often have cross-genre status, including biographies, autobiographies, almanacs and encyclopedias.

What is the book you are writing with your life? Is it,

- Tragedy? Science-fiction? Fairytale? Horror? Romance or humor? Or what?

Each day, believe it or not we add another page, another chapter, another genre to the story of our lives. And it’s important to be aware because not only are others reading it, so too is the Lord.

Today in the Old Testament reading we hear that God too is writing a book, one that invites us to include our story in it – our life story in God’s great collection. The Book of Daniel, chapter 12, sounds the trumpet of warning today, saying,

At that time, there shall arise Michael, the great prince, guardian of your people; it shall be a time unsurpassed in distress since nations began until that time. At that time your people shall escape, everyone who is found written in the book.

The chapter is Daniel’s final vision, describing final conflicts, where ultimately some will pass to everlasting life and others to shame and everlasting contempt. The text is that of the angel’s words to Daniel, warning him to warn his people.

The authors of the book of Daniel were the maskilim, the wise, of whom Daniel is one. And the job of the maskilim is to make the people understand.

Isn’t that the job of the wise and the learned of our day too? More personally, we are all called to be among the wise and the learned, to be well read … to warn perhaps, but better, to inspire one another … to realize that we are all called to be accountable to our God for our lives ... to be accountable to our God for the way we cared for one another … to be accountable to our God for all God has given us including creation.

And that accountability comes in our writing … writing the story of our lives, each and every day.

So despite all of us having a chapter or two of tragedy, or romance, or satire, or humor, or for some even crime and science fiction, the story of our lives is important to our God … because it is a classic, and contrary to Mark Twain’s words, God does read it every day … and God’s encourages us to live a meaningful life … one based on and modeled after the life and the story of his son Jesus.

In these weeks, in these days of fall, the readings will look to the end times, the last days, reminding us that all this will all end someday, and we will be called back to our God …

This week, let’s works harder as individuals, as families, as a community of faith to model our non-fiction lives on the life of Jesus, so that this adventure, this romance, between God and us will come to a very happy ending ... in heaven.

Blessings!

#RSM

THEOLOGY OF ACCOUNTABILITY

Dear Friends:

How we live our lives matters to God!

In workplace terms, our performance matters. Moreover, God's Word reminds us that we will have to give an account to the Lord Jesus for all that we have done and left undone. In workplace terms, this is called accountability. Performance and accountability are profoundly important to the Christian life, and we cannot dismiss them as secular concerns of no importance to God.

My priest friends sometimes like to describe my pastoring style as promoting a "theology of accountability." I think they're right because, in my heart, I am keenly aware that what we do, and don't do, matters. I believe that this is true in our personal, professional, and parish lives.

As Christians, we know that we have been uniquely created, gifted and talented like no other person ever born. And to repeat a familiar phrase, we were created to know God, love God, and serve God in this life to prepare to meet him in the next.

Professionally, so many of us have been given opportunities like no other. Whether we work in the world of business, finance, law, medicine, private or service industries, so many of us have been given so much. This reminds me of the Scriptural passage, "to whom much is given, much will be expected."

And while many of us are truly accountable personally and professionally, I respectfully bring to your attention the responsibility that we also share for the care and support of our parish. We've inherited an incredible parish, one that has walked the faith journey with thousands of people for almost 175 years through the tough, tragic, and tame times. Unfortunately, I believe that too many here in our midst take what we now have for granted, presuming that what was and what is will always be. Nothing could be further from the truth unless each person is accountable to the next for our individual responsibility for caring for, supporting, and serving our parish.

While it may be easy to see the need for financial support, our accountability goes much deeper, demanding a sharing of our time and our talents as well.

In a week or two, members of our parish finance council and trustees will address our congregation, with two goals: (1) reporting as to where we are; (2) taking a deeper look at where we need to go and what we need to do to get there. In anticipation of that address, please take a look at our 2020-21 Annual Report, which you should have received in the mail. If you didn't, please call the parish office so we may send you one.

Long after I am a permanent resident of St Teresa's Mausoleum, I pray that St Teresa of Avila will still be a thriving, energized, and faithful parish. One that continues to walk the faith journey with people, but that all depends on us here and now.

Saint Paul, who constantly faced situations that could result in his death, reminded his contemporaries that at the final judgment, each person would be "recompensed according to what he has done in the body, whether good or evil." These words also apply to us.

When we analyze Paul's teaching in its entirety, we find it is in harmony with that of Jesus and even the teachings of the Old Testament. For all of them, faith that does not express itself in good works is no faith at all. Indeed, faith, obedience, and accountability are closely intertwined. While here on earth, what we do in the body cannot help but reflect what God's grace has done for us.

As we approach Thanksgiving, and the season of giving, let's recommit ourselves to live our lives in ways that matter to God – personally, professionally, and parochially.

Thank you for all you do for St Teresa's.

Blessings!

RSM