Advent, 4th Sunday, Year A (2004)
15/12/07 11:19
Advent 4-A (December 19, 2004)
Good morning, everyone!
Christmas is less than a week away! So on your handouts, let’s answer the question, “What do you really want for Christmas?” Now focus on that word “really.” We’re not talking about the superficial stuff – new toys, new clothes, a new Nintendo or Game Boy. What are the deeper things we really want – not just at Christmas, but in life: inner peace, less stress, more time for family, less worry and frustration, and end to war and violence in the world? What are the big things we really would like to see at Christmas?
People want different things at Christmas. And different people look at Christmas in different ways. Last week at the Spanish Masses, I told the story of a young woman, about 20 years old, who went to the Mall to visit Santa Claus. Now Santa usually doesn’t attend to adults, only to children – but this time, he made an exception and allowed the young woman to stand in line, and to sit on his lap, and to tell him what she wanted for Christmas. “Santa,” she said, “I want a special gift for my mother.” Santa Claus was impressed. “What is it that you want Santa to bring your mother for Christmas?” he asked. She replied, “Santa, this Christmas, I would like you to bring my mother a son-in-law.” What that young woman really wanted for Christmas was NOT a gift for her mom – she was looking for a boyfriend and a husband!
Last week, I received an e-mail about a school teacher who asked her students how they celebrated Christmas. One little boy, Patrick Murphy, replied, “Me and my 12 brothers and sisters go to Midnight Mass, we sing hymns, we come home and put mince pies by the back door and hang up our stockings, then we go to bed and wait for Father Christmas to come with toys.” The teacher asked another student, Jimmy Brown, and he replied, “Me and my sister also go to church with mom and dad and we sing carols and after we get home, we put milk and cookies near the chimney and we put up our stockings, then we hardly can sleep as we wait for Santa Claus to bring us our toys.” The teacher realized there was a Jewish boy in the class, and not wanting to leave him out, she asked, “Isaac Cohen, what do you do at Christmas?” Little Isaac replied, “Well, we go for a ride and we sing a Christmas carol.” Surprised, the teacher asked him to elaborate. He replied, “Well, it’s the same very year. Dad comes home from the office. We all get into the Rolls Royce and drive to his toy factory. When we get inside, we look at all the empty shelves and we sing, ‘What a Friend We Have in Jesus.’ Then we all go to the Bahamas for vacation.”
On your handout, it says, “Our Advent Tour Guides So Far.” This is our fourth and final Sunday of Advent, so let’s review briefly what we’ve heard and learned over the last few weeks.
First, we heard from Isaiah, the Old Testament prophet. He’s the visionary, the dreamer. “In that day, the wolf and the lamb will lie down together, and the leopard and the goats will be at peace…. Babies will crawl safely among poisonous snakes.” – Isaiah 11:6, 8 -- Isaiah invites us to hope and dream and believe that the world can be a better place – a place of peace and calm and harmony, instead of war and strife and violence.
We also heard from John the Baptist, the New Testament prophet who paved the way for the coming of Jesus. Matthew’s gospel tells us, “John the Baptist began preaching out in the Judean wilderness. His constant theme was, ‘Turn from your sins… turn to God… for the Kingdom of Heaven is coming soon… Prepare a road for the Lord.” – Matthew 3:1-3 -- John the Baptist tries to wake us up, to help us become aware that we are the ones God has assigned to make the dream and vision of Isaiah a reality. And it begins when we are willing to change and to turn back to God, and to turn away from the false values of the world.
Finally, last week, on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, we heard from Mary, the mother of Jesus. In Luke’s gospel, Mary cries out, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” – Luke 1:38 -- Mary is the one who inspires us, like a mother, who invites us to trust in God and surrender our fears and worries, and to embrace a humble and simple confidence that God is with us, if only we say our gentle “yes” to God, just as she did when the angel Gabriel announced that she was miraculously pregnant with a baby who was to become Savior of the world.
Now today, our final Advent tour guide, for this fourth Sunday of Advent, is Joseph. This is interesting, because we hardly ever get a chance to talk about Joseph. Most the time, we’re focused on Mary – so today, it’s time for us guys!
There’s a joke – Does anyone know why Moses wandered 40 years in the desert? Because, since he’s a man, he refused to stop to ask for directions. But today – all jokes against men aside – no men-bashing today! We’re going to look at Joseph, a man of great holiness, a mentor and role model for all of us men here, and we’re going to contrast Joseph to another man, King Ahaz, whom we heard about in the first reading today.
Let’s set the stage, first, but looking – as it says on your handout – at two possible worlds: The world as it is (the world of slavery) and the world as it could and should be (the world of freedom).
I’ve prepared a video, which I also used with the Spanish community over the previous few weeks. Let’s watch – and you tell me what is being portrayed, the world as it is, or the world as it could and should be. [Show video of “Jungle Book” juxtaposed to “A Day Without a Mexican.”]
[Invite a teen up, handcuff him – to symbolize slavery. On video, ask congregation to join in as you view various slides. They are to scream out, “Slavery” or “Freedom,” depending on what is depicted on the video slide. Then applaud the teen volunteer and let him or her return to their seat.]
Lots of things can enslave us. On your handout are some examples:
Addictions. Drugs, alcohol, gambling. Addiction means we have no control. Rather, something seizes control over us. And often, we are in denial and don’t even want to admit that we are enslaved. But addictions ultimately will kill us. What’s the answer, the antidote? Support from others – from family, from other Christians in our small faith community, in support groups and treatment programs like AA and NA and Al-Anon. Don’t try to solve an addiction problem on your own. You will fail! That’s why God gave us a community, a church, so we can help and support one another. The Bible says, “Support and love one another.”
Anger, bitterness, resentment – they also can enslave us. The antidote is forgiveness. “Don’t grumble about each other,” says the Bible. Instead, forgive one another. Forgiveness is NOT allowing someone to continue to mistreat or abuse us – but it is about letting go of the anger that controls us. Not too long ago, I counseled a couple who were having difficulties in their marriage. A few years prior, the husband had cheated on his wife, and obviously, this had caused great anger and bitterness and pain on the part of the wife. Two years later, both came to me. He had really tried to change and repent. She acknowledged the positive changes in him. But she still found it difficult to let go of the past. Whenever he would do something wrong, she would remind him of his past misconduct. She had not yet let go of her anger and bitterness and frustration. Finally, they started taking their problem to God in prayer. They would hold hands, facing each other, and ask God to heal the past, ask God to heal the wounds, as God to help rebuild their love and trust in one another, to bring forgiveness and a new start, a new world. And, finally, God was able to heal their marriage. In fact, that couple would tell you today that their marriage is stronger – not because of the unfaithfulness, but because of the prayer.
False values can enslave us. The lust for money, possessions, things instead of God. Last week, I heard a story about a salesman who had just taken a new job. He was driving his new boss around, and they were near his house, so he said to his boss, “Would you like to stop and visit my family, meet my wife and kids, maybe grab a bite to eat?” The boss replied, “I have absolutely zero interest in your family, your wife, your kids, or anything about your personal life. All I care about is if you make the sales and bring in the money. That’s the bottom line. Nothing else matters.” The salesman was stunned by his boss’ callousness and shallowness. But lots of people live in that world of slavery. The antidote is generosity, giving. The Bible says, “God loves a cheerful giver.” When we give instead of just take, God blesses us a hundredfold.
A fourth area of slavery is hurry. We never slow down to smell the roses. The antidote is rest, and time with family and friends and loved ones. The prophet Jeremiah tells us to find rest for our souls.
Finally, a fifth area of slavery: Frustration. Some people have just fallen into the hole of cynicism and negativity. They are unhappy with themselves, with their world, with their circumstances and situation in life. God’s antidote is prayer. Turn to God for strength and guidance. St. Paul says, “Don’t worry. Instead, pray and God will give you direction and peace and guidance.”
One of the themes in Advent is that God invites us to choose freedom over slavery, the world as it can and should be, not just the world as it is.
In our gospel today, God gives us two promises:
1. God saves us from our slaveries, from our addictions and frustrations, our anger and our hurry, from the false values which our society tries to foist on us. The angel tells Joseph, “You are to name the child Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” Jesus is a rescuer.
2. And secondly, Jesus is God-with-Us, Immanuel, God at our side to help us and walk with us through the valley of our struggles.
Our readings today also give us the example of two very different men: one very faithful (Joseph) and the other not so faithful (King Ahaz).
Let’s look briefly at King Ahaz. He ruled in Judah, the southern Jewish kingdom, with its capital in the city of Jerusalem, about 700 years before Christ. He was a selfish, fearful, weak ruler – unfaithful to God, unfaithful even to family and friends. Assyria, a powerful nation to the north east, was threatening to attack and destroy little Judah. But Ahaz sells out his people in order to save his own hide. He pays a bribe to the Assyrians and agrees to make Judah a vassal state, a slave state, to the Assyrians. In our first reading today, the prophet Isaiah invites Ahaz to trust in God – but Ahaz is too fearful, and refuses. That’s where the name “Immanuel” comes from – Isaiah tries to assure Ahaz, God is with you. God will protect you and the people of Judah against Assyria, if only you will trust in God. But Ahaz is unwilling or unable to trust in God.
We even see that Ahaz was a bad parent. In 2 Kings, the Bible tells us: “Ahaz… even sacrificed his son by burning him alive. Sacrificing children was one of the disgusting things done by the nations that the Lord had fourced out of the Israelites’ way.” – 2 Kings 6:3 -- He was so fearful, so eager to appease Assyria and its false gods, that he sacrificed on an altar of fire his own son!
Now contrast Ahaz to Joseph. Let’s read the story of Joseph: “Joseph, her fiancé, was a just man.” A just man doesn’t just follow the crowds or do what is popular. A just man stands up for right and wrong. “He decided to break the engagement quietly.” He didn’t want to hurt Mary. He was wise, discrete, caring.
Joseph had a dream. In some sense, he was like the first Joseph in the Old Testament, who also was a dreamer. He was a bit like Isaiah – able to dream big and envision a better world, not just the world as it is.
Joseph was a holy man. He prayed. He listened to God. He sought to do God’s will, not his own. He was faithful – to God and to his family. The Bible tells us, “When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord commanded.”
The world needs more men (and women) like Joseph, and fewer people like Ahaz.
This Advent – first Isaiah, then John the Baptist, then Mary and now Joseph – all trying to wake us up, spiritually. What do you REALLY want for Christmas? What is your dream, your vision? What world are you willing to choose – the world of slavery or the world of freedom, the world as it is, or the world as it can and should be? And are you willing to take the risk to start to make that dream and that vision a reality?
Last week, I was reading about risks. Did you know that 1 in 400 people hurt themselves in bed, sometime in their life? Or that almost ever other day, someone dies from falling out of bed? Or that every year, 1 in 7,000 men suffer an accident while shaving that is serious enough to require a trip to the emergency room? Or that 1 in 6,500 people get hurt each year on the toilet? Or that 1 in 2,600 people get hurt while getting dressed, because of a zipper? All of life is a risk. Doing nothing at all is a risk – we risk wasting our lives and living in slavery instead of freedom.
That’s why we have these four weeks of Advent – to remind us to take the risk of freedom, to live like Joseph and not like Ahaz.
On your sheets, it says the real dream and vision of Advent is about three things:
1. Faithfulness, Fidelity. Joseph was faithful, Ahaz was not. Faithful to God. Faithful to his spouse. Faithful to his children. Faithful to his community. Advent invites us to choose to be faithful. Lord only know, the world desperately needs more people who are faithful!
2. Hope. Daring to dream and to believe in the world as it can and should be, not just as it is. Joseph dreamed. Ahaz didn’t.
3. Love. God’s love for us – a God who saves us, a God who is always with us, Immanuel. And our response of love – love of God, love of others. Joseph really loved. Ahaz only loved himself.
Let’s read on your handout about God’s love, from the book of Lamentations: The unfailing love of the Lord never ends! By his mercies we have been kept from complete destruction. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each day. I say to myself, "The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!" – Lamentations 3:22-24, NLT
In our second reading from Paul’s Letter to the Romans, Paul shows us how to respond: Paul,, a slave of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God… -- Romans 1:1 (NAB)
You see, we are not called to be slaves to addictions and anger and the false values of this world – but we are called to be slaves to Jesus Christ, his apostles, his witnesses, his missionaries, set apart to create that better world.
God’s name: The one who saves, the one who is with us, Immanuel.
But God also has given each of us a name: Child of God.
Advent invites us to live up to that name, to follow the example of Joseph, not the example of Ahaz.
What do you REALLY want for Christmas? Do you really want to follow Jesus?