Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)

Isaiah 52:7-10; Hebrews 1:1-6; John 1:1-18

The readings speak of a mighty and powerful God, and yet that is not the image of the divine that we celebrate today. No, today we remember that God chose to be one of us exactly as we are: fragile, vulnerable, and thoroughly dependent. Does that say more about God's beauty or our own?

Fourth Sunday of Advent

Luke 1:39-45

"Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled." There is a certain measure of irony in reading these words just two days after the great non-event that was December 21, 2012. How many of our brothers and sisters truly believed that divine prophecy would be fulfilled last Friday? Which among them are more disappointed: the ones who waited for the final disaster, or the ones still waiting for the awakening of the cosmic consciousness? More importantly, who are we to believe that we, not them, are the ones to whom God has spoken? If Mary had entered your house, would you have blessed her or laughed at her? Blessed is she who was foolish enough to have faith in God's word alone. May we all be such fools.

Third Sunday of Advent

Zephaniah 3:14-18; Isaiah 12:2-6; Philippians 4:4-7; Luke 3:10-18

Rejoice! Rejoice! Rejoice! And then along comes John the Buzzkill. But maybe that's what we need. It's certainly what we got this weekend. As much as we want mass slaughter to be senseless, it is not. The Baptist told us what we must do, but we didn't like his advice, so we ignored him. And look at where that path led, to a world drowning in violence and suffering. Is it really a shock when some of that bile gets vomited back upon us? We need a good slap from the Baptist to help us wake up, for how can we welcome the Incarnation while feigning incomprehension about what we have done to their creation? Yes, we should rejoice today, but not because Santa Jesus is coming to make all the bad things go away. No, we should rejoice because our Brother is coming to give us Good News: We are family! Perhaps it is time we started living that way.

Second Sunday of Advent

Philippians 1:4-11; Luke 3:1-6

"Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths." The Incarnation approaches, but can he find her way into your heart? Advent is not about gazing dreamily at the creche, waiting for Jesus to fall down the chimney and stuff our stockings with grace. No, there are obstacles in God's way. Whether we put them there, or just acquiesced while society did it for us, we need to remove them if we want our lover to find their way to our door. Love never just happens; it is always a choice.

First Sunday of Advent

Jeremiah 33:14-16; Psalms 25:4-14; Luke 21:25-36

"People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world." Why? It's Advent! Jesus is coming! Why should anyone fear Christmas's arrival? Because God is not Santa, and grace is not a shiny new toy. Sometimes the gift we need most is one that will turn our lives upside down. Just ask the Israelites if the fulfillment and justice they got is the same as what they expected. But I say this is reason to rejoice. I don't want to drown in "the anxieties of daily life" and all the Black Friday's that they spawn. Do you? If that's the best we have to offer, then I'd say we're past due for a little flip. So let our Advent mantra be this: "To you, O Lord, I lift my soul ... and for you I wait all the day."