Once upon a time there was this young man, Peter Patrick, who could hardly wait to go off to college. Starting half way through his junior year in high school, he decided that his family was ruining his life, almost every day. His father was a tyrant who didn’t know what it was like to be a teenager. His mother was a crab. His younger sister was a spy. His younger brother like a total dork – and a nuisance too. The summer before he want to college was sheer agony. He’d learned in one of his classes that some guy – he thought it was probably a German – said that Hell is other people. The guy was certainly right. Hell in fact is your family especially when you’re young.
So college began. It wasn’t as much fun as Peter Patrick had expected. In fact, it wasn’t any fun at all. He couldn’t find the way to his classes, his adviser was never in, he didn’t know where the mail boxes were, he didn’t figure out how to get his laundry done. The food was terrible. The teachers were creeps. The other students were dorks. The women were stuck-up. Some of his fellow freshmen were drunk every night of the week. The dorm smelled of vomit all the time. There was never any quiet to study, even if he wanted to. College, he finally admitted to himself, was a big mistake. Peter Patrick told his parents, when he called to ask for more money, that he loved it. College was great, college was wonderful. He wasn’t sure he could make it till Thanksgiving. He told all his friends that he loved college. They replied that they did too. It was wonderful to be on your own.
1. Some years ago, the Journal of the American Medical Association published an article by Dr. Paul Ruskin on the "Stages of Aging." In the article, Dr. Ruskin described a case study he had presented to his students when teaching a class in medical school. He described the case study patient under his care like this:
"The patient neither speaks nor comprehends the spoken word. Sometimes she babbles incoherently for hours on end. She is disoriented about person, place, and time. She does, however, respond to her name... I have worked with her for the past six months, but she still shows complete disregard for her physical appearance and makes no effort to assist her own care. She must be fed, bathed, and clothed by others.
"Because she has no teeth, her food must be pureed. Her shirt is usually soiled from almost incessant drooling. She does not walk. Her sleep pattern is erratic. Often she wakes in the middle of the night and her screaming awakens others. Most of the time she is friendly and happy, but several times a day she gets quite agitated without apparent cause. Then she wails until someone comes to comfort her."
After presenting the class with this challenging case, Dr. Ruskin then asked his students if any of them would like to volunteer to take care of this person. No one volunteered. Then Dr. Ruskin said, "I'm surprised that none of you offered to help, because actually she is my favorite patient. I get immense pleasure from taking care of her and I am learning so much from her. She has taught me a depth of gratitude I never knew before. She has taught me the spirit of unwavering trust. And she has taught me the power of unconditional love." Then Dr. Ruskin said, "Let me show you her picture." He pulled out the picture and passed it around. It was the photo of his six-month-old baby daughter.
_______________________2. Baptismal rituals are very different today than they were in the early church. There is a fourth-century rubric that instructs the bishop to enter the baptistery and give this command in a loud voice: "Take off your clothes." Whereupon our ancestors were immersed in the water of the font, with the men and women separated.
Did you ever imagine that those words "Take off your clothes" were part of Christian worship?
Everyone knows the Hans Christian Andersen story of "The Emperor's New Clothes." A couple of smooth-talking swindlers convince an egotistical king that he has just purchased the most gorgeous, elaborate, royal suit of clothes ever stitched together by human hands. Only those who are "hopelessly stupid" or "unfit for their position" can't see the beautiful clothes.
In reality, of course, the weavers have stripped the Emperor naked and he is parading around in his birthday suit. Yet the Emperor is so convinced he is wearing royal robes that none of his servants or secretaries, cohorts or companions will dare tell him the truth. It is not until a little child blurts out the fact, "But he isn't wearing anything at all!" that the Emperor sees and grasps his state of undress.
This week's Colossians text is like that child's voice. It tells us clearly what naked faith looks like, and describes the garments worn by a genuine community of Christ...
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3. Christ in the Temple
There is a famous oil painting called "Christ Teaching in The Temple." The painting gets it wrong. It comes from an era when religious people were still uneasy with the notion that Jesus was like the rest of us. In this picture he is standing in the midst of the elders looking very wise, obviously delivering a lecture. He is talking and pointing and they are listening. He had, no doubt, appeared to instruct them in the law, as if he knew what they didn't. But that's not what the text says. They found him, says Luke, "listening to (the teachers) and asking them questions." He was not the authority; he was the student. He was there to listen and learn. Now it is true that the religious leaders were impressed by how much he knew, and by how he answered their questions. But there is nothing in this text which indicates he was a precocious know it all.
Adapted from When It Is Dark Enough, Charles H. Bayer, CSS Publishing Lima, Ohio.
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4. Truth springs from argument amongst friends.
Scottish philosopher David Hume
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5. Significance of Things Eternal
Parish ministers will tell you that people come to them speaking with regrets like these:
When I was young, my mother was going to read me a story, but she had to wax the bathroom floor and there wasn't time.
When I was young, my grandparents were going to come for Christmas, but they couldn't get someone to feed the dogs and my grandfather did not like the cold weather and besides they didn't have time.
When I was young, my father was going to listen to me read my essay on "What I Want To Be When I Grow Up," but there was Monday Night Football and there wasn't time.
When I was young, my father and I were going to go hiking in the Sierras, but at the last minute he had to fertilize the lawn and there wasn't time.
When I grew up and left home to be married, I was going to sit down with Mom and Dad and tell them I love them and would miss them, but my best man was honking the horn in front of my house so there wasn't time.
Into our hectic world, Jesus comes, and still invites us to exercise the spirit as well as the mind and the body. The best way we exercise the spirit is by giving attention to things of eternal significance, such as listening, loving, and learning from the least expected places.
Richard A. Wing
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6. School Is a Part of Life
A young woman named Donna who got good grades in high school was in her first year of college. She had done poorly on one of her courses. In an attempt to prepare her parents she wrote her mother, "If you see an unfamiliar letter on my report card, remember it's just my first initial. Signed, Donna." As the time neared for grades to be sent home, Donna began to worry. Her worst fears were confirmed one evening when her mother called her. Donna said, "Hi, Mom." Her mother replied coldly, "Hello, Frank."
School is part of life. For the Christian there are two kinds of education. There is education at school and on the job. And there is religious education about our faith. We have just celebrated Christmas. Unfortunately, we don't know much about the next few years in Jesus' life. We can imagine he lived in a home filled with love. We can imagine as a boy he worked with his father Joseph in the carpenter shop, learning a trade although Jesus' real vocation would surface in our lesson for today.
King Duncan
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7. Growing Up Fast
Kids grow up awfully fast these days. It seems like one minute you are trying to encourage your child to go faster on his bicycle, to get up enough speed to stay balanced, and the next you are pleading with the same boy now at the wheel of a car, pleading with him to slow down and live. One minute you're urging a shy daughter to say hello to strangers, and the very next, you're trying to discourage her from responding to strangers on the Internet.
Jesus is growing up fast too. Here we are, less than a week from Christmas, from the baby lying in a manger. Now Jesus is already an adolescent wandering off on his own. Last week Jesus was "prophecy miraculously fulfilled." This week he is questioning the teachers of that very tradition.
The classical confessions of the church hold that Jesus is "fully human, fully God," and in today's familiar story from Luke, we can see both sides. Jesus, fully human, is growing up as all mortals must. In the process, Jesus has scared his parents half to death as all teen-agers do. Jesus is asking questions, as should we all, and he is listening to learn, as all we must. And in this story, we see the twelve-year old Jesus fully divine with everyone amazed at his understanding and his answers. We hear Jesus declaring his unique relationship with God the Father as only the Son can do.
Jesus is growing up fast too. Here we are, less than a week from Christmas, from the baby lying in a manger. Now Jesus is already an adolescent wandering off on his own. Last week Jesus was "prophecy miraculously fulfilled." This week he is questioning the teachers of that very tradition.
The classical confessions of the church hold that Jesus is "fully human, fully God," and in today's familiar story from Luke, we can see both sides. Jesus, fully human, is growing up as all mortals must. In the process, Jesus has scared his parents half to death as all teen-agers do. Jesus is asking questions, as should we all, and he is listening to learn, as all we must. And in this story, we see the twelve-year old Jesus fully divine with everyone amazed at his understanding and his answers. We hear Jesus declaring his unique relationship with God the Father as only the Son can do.
Sid Burgess
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8. Small Things to Be Done with Great Love
It took me a long while to hear this truth from Mother Teresa: "There are no big deals anymore, just small things to be done with great love."
Most of this coming year will be spent in ordinary time. We enter into the season on the church calendar marked as "ordinary time." What a good prophetic note for the New Year: most of the good that will be done will be done in ordinary time, when no one is looking and no one will report it to the paper.
Here comes the New Year, full of ordinary time. We will enter it ready to slug it out for the common good while no one is looking. In the middle of ordinary time, God comes with extraordinary moments that make all others bearable, believable, and worthwhile.
I have always thought that while our nation works out negotiations with other countries, like with North Korea, we only see the leaders in the news. But, if the whole story were revealed, we would see nameless people on both sides of the issue tirelessly speaking to each other through the night in order to work out an agreement. Leaders sit down and sign documents that were slugged out by unknowns in the night during ordinary time.
Richard A. Wing,
Richard A. Wing,
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9. Erma's New Year's Resolutions
The late Erma Bombeck made these New Year's resolutions:
1. I'm going to clean this dump just as soon as the kids grow up.
2. I will go to no doctor whose office plants have died.
3. I'm going to follow my husband's suggestion to put a little excitement into my life by living within our budget.
4. I'm going to apply for a hardship scholarship to Weight Watchers.
5. I will never loan my car to anyone I have given birth to.
6. And just like last year...I am going to remember that my children need love the most when they deserve it the least.
Erma Bombeck, Resolutions for a New Year
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10. Our Children Can Teach Us
Some years ago in a midwestern town a little boy was born blind. His mother and father were heartsick, but they struggled with his blindness the best they could. Like all such parents, they prayed and hoped for some miracle. They wanted so much for their son to be able to see. Then one day when the little boy was 5 years old, the community doctor told them that he had heard about a surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital who was specializing in a new surgical procedure that might just work for their son... that might just give their little boy his eyesight.
The parents became excited at the prospect, but when they investigated further and discovered the cost of the surgery and the travel and the hospital expense involved, they became deflated because they were not people of means at all. In fact, some would call them poor. But word got out in the community and their church rallied to help them. In a short period of time, the money was raised to send them to Boston for the surgery.
On the morning they were to leave for Boston, the little boy gathered his things together including his tattered little teddy bear. It had an ear chewed off, was missing an eye, and was bursting at the seams. His mother said, "Son, why don't you leave that old teddy bear at home? He's about worn out. Maybe we can buy you a new one in Boston or when we get back." But he said, "No, I need it."
So off to Boston they went. He held tightly to that teddy bear all the way. The surgeon sensed how important the teddy bear was to the little boy, so he allowed the boy to keep the bear with him throughout all the many examinations prior to surgery. On the morning of the surgery, the hospital staff brought in two surgical gowns - one for the little boy and a smaller version for the teddy bear - and off to the operating room they went... a little blind boy on a stretcher holding on dearly to his beloved teddy bear.
The surgery went well. The doctor felt good about what they were able to accomplish. "I think he will be able to see," said the surgeon, "but we won't know for sure until we remove the bandages in a few days."
Finally the day came for the doctor to remove the bandages. The nurses and interns stood with the parents as the surgeon slowly unwound the gauze from the boy's eyes. Miracle of miracles! The little boy could see! For the first time in his life... he saw his mother's face, he saw his dad and his doctor, he saw flowers and candy and balloons and the people who had cared for him. For the first time in his life, he saw his teddy bear. It was a joyous celebration!
When it came time for the boy to leave the hospital, his surgeon came into the room. The doctor had grown so attached to the little boy that he had to busy himself with those insignificant gestures that we... when we are trying to surmount a great wall of emotion. They said their good-byes with tears of joy all around... and then the doctor turned to leave. The little boy called him back...
When the time came for the boy to be discharged he had new clothes but the same bear. The head surgeon approached the boy to say goodbye and the boy simply handed the bear to the doctor and said, “Here doctor, I want to pay you for helping me.” The doctor accepted the bear.
For months after that if you had gone to the tenth floor of the white building in the Mass
General Hospital Complex, you could have seen this teddy bear. The doctor had placed it in a glass case in the corridor. There it sat, one ear chewed, stuffing coming out and one eye missing. Under the bear the doctor had placed his profession calling card and below his name was written, “This is the highest fee I ever received for professional services rendered.”The doctor had given a great gift to this child, the gift of sight. The boy then offered to the doctor his most precious possession. In accepting the bear the doctor allowed the little boy to experience the joy of giving.
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11. Long Training: A mother goes to her pastor and explains that her son seems very interested in becoming a priest. She would like to know what this would require. So the priest begins to explain: "If he wants to become a diocesan priest, he'll have to study for eight years. If he wants to become a Franciscan, he'll have to study for ten years. If he wants to become a Jesuit, he'll have to study for fourteen years." [This joke originated back when young men entered seminaries right after high school.] The mother listens carefully, and as the priest concludes, her eyes brighten. "Sign him up for that last one, Father -- he's a little slow!"
12. Dying of loneliness:
In an audience, Pope Paul VI told how one day when he was Archbishop of Milan, he went out on parish visitation. During the course of the visitation he found an old woman living alone. "How are you?"' he asked her. "Not bad," she answered. "I have enough food, and I’m not suffering from the cold." "You must be reasonably happy then?" he said. "No, I’m not," she said as she started to cry. "You see, my son and daughter-in-law never come to see me. I’m dying of loneliness." Afterwards he was haunted by the phrase, "I’m dying of loneliness." And the Pope concluded: "Food and warmth are not enough in themselves. People need something more. They need our presence, our time, our love. They need to be touched, to be reassured that they are not forgotten" (Flor McCarthy in New Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies).
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13. Cancer, heart disease and family relationship:
A few years ago, a study was undertaken to find the U.S. city with the lowest incidence of cancer and heart disease. The winner was Rosetto, Pennsylvania. Soon experts descended upon the city, expecting to see a town populated by non-smokers, people who ate the correct food, took regular exercise and kept close track of their cholesterol. To their great surprise, however, the researchers discovered that none of the above was true. They found instead that the city’s good health was tied to the close family bonds that prevailed within the community. This suggests that there is much to be said for a close and loving family relationship (Robert Duggan & Richard Jajac).
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14. “Daddy, could you please sell me one hour of your time?”
A little boy greets his father as he returns from work with a question: “Daddy, how much do you make an hour?” The father is surprised and says, “Look, son, not even your mother knows. Don’t bother me now, I’m tired.” “But Daddy, just tell me please! How much do you make an hour?” the boy insists. The father finally gives up and replies, “Twenty dollars.” “Okay, Daddy,” the boy continues, “Could you loan me ten dollars?” The father yells at him, “So that was the reason you asked how much I earn, right? Now, go to sleep and don’t bother me anymore!” At night the father thinks over what he said and starts feeling guilty. Maybe his son needed to buy something. Finally, he goes to his son's room. “Are you asleep, son?” asks the father. “No, Daddy. Why?” replies the boy. “Here's the money you asked for earlier,” the father said. “Thanks, Daddy!” replies the boy and receives the money. The he reaches under his pillow and brings out some more money. “Now I have enough! Now I have twenty dollars!” says the boy to his father, “Daddy, could you sell me one hour of your time?” Today’s readings have a message for this man and for all of us, and the message is that we need to invest more of our time in our family life.
14. The Priest and the Bishop
A young priest went to his bishop with this complaint:
"I have great difficulty preaching. I cannot get the people's attention."
"I have great difficulty preaching. I cannot get the people's attention."
After stroking his chin His Excellency suggested: "Say something striking at the beginning of your homily."
"Could you give me an example?" begged the young priest.
"Well," suggested the bishop, "you might start like this: 'I am in love'; 'I am in love with a married woman'; 'Her name is Mary'".
"Well," suggested the bishop, "you might start like this: 'I am in love'; 'I am in love with a married woman'; 'Her name is Mary'".
Next Sunday the priest started his sermon thus:
"The bishop is in love'; He is in love with a married woman'.
After an embarrassing pause the priest continued: "But I have forgotten her name."
Msgr. Arthur Tonne - Jokes Priests Can Tell
-----------------------------"The bishop is in love'; He is in love with a married woman'.
After an embarrassing pause the priest continued: "But I have forgotten her name."
Msgr. Arthur Tonne - Jokes Priests Can Tell
From Sermons.com:
Some years ago, the Journal of the American Medical Association published an article by Dr. Paul Ruskin on the "Stages of Aging." In the article, Dr. Ruskin described a case study he had presented to his students when teaching a class in medical school. He described the case study patient under his care like this:
"Because she has no teeth, her food must be pureed. Her shirt is usually soiled from almost incessant drooling. She does not walk. Her sleep pattern is erratic. Often she wakes in the middle of the night and her screaming awakens others. Most of the time she is friendly and happy, but several times a day she gets quite agitated without apparent cause. Then she wails until someone comes to comfort her."
Humor: School Is a Part of Life
Growing Up Fast
Jesus is growing up fast too. Here we are, less than a week from Christmas, from the baby lying in a manger. Now Jesus is already an adolescent wandering off on his own. Last week Jesus was "prophecy miraculously fulfilled." This week he is questioning the teachers of that very tradition.
The classical confessions of the church hold that Jesus is "fully human, fully God," and in today's familiar story from Luke, we can see both sides. Jesus, fully human, is growing up as all mortals must. In the process, Jesus has scared his parents half to death as all teen-agers do. Jesus is asking questions, as should we all, and he is listening to learn, as all we must. And in this story, we see the twelve-year old Jesus fully divine with everyone amazed at his understanding and his answers. We hear Jesus declaring his unique relationship with God the Father as only the Son can do.
Richard A. Wing, Deep Joy for a Shallow World, CSS Publishing
I said I would really try. That night when I was tucking him in, I said, "Good night, honey, I really like you a lot."
There was silence in the dark. Then he said, "I like you too, Mom.""
Some years ago, the Journal of the American Medical Association published an article by Dr. Paul Ruskin on the "Stages of Aging." In the article, Dr. Ruskin described a case study he had presented to his students when teaching a class in medical school. He described the case study patient under his care like this:
"The patient neither speaks nor comprehends the spoken word. Sometimes she babbles incoherently for hours on end. She is disoriented about person, place, and time. She does, however, respond to her name... I have worked with her for the past six months, but she still shows complete disregard for her physical appearance and makes no effort to assist her own care. She must be fed, bathed, and clothed by others.
"Because she has no teeth, her food must be pureed. Her shirt is usually soiled from almost incessant drooling. She does not walk. Her sleep pattern is erratic. Often she wakes in the middle of the night and her screaming awakens others. Most of the time she is friendly and happy, but several times a day she gets quite agitated without apparent cause. Then she wails until someone comes to comfort her."
After presenting the class with this challenging case, Dr. Ruskin then asked his students if any of them would like to volunteer to take care of this person. No one volunteered. Then Dr. Ruskin said, "I'm surprised that none of you offered to help, because actually she is my favorite patient. I get immense pleasure from taking care of her and I am learning so much from her. She has taught me a depth of gratitude I never knew before. She has taught me the spirit of unwavering trust. And she has taught me the power of unconditional love." Then Dr. Ruskin said, "Let me show you her picture." He pulled out the picture and passed it around. It was the photo of his six-month-old baby daughter.
Now, I like that story for several reasons...
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I selected this lovely hymn this morning, "Once in Royal David's City," because of its reference to the childhood of Jesus. It is one of the few places where you will find any reference to the fact that he grew up the way we have to. The third verse reads, "Jesus is our childhood's pattern; day by day, like us he grew."
The hymn was part of a fascinating project, one of a series of hymns written by Cecil Alexander, back in 1848, to teach children the meaning of the Apostles' Creed. "Once in Royal David's City" was written to explain that article, "Conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary," which in theology is called, "The Incarnation." Alexander interprets "The Incarnation" to mean, "He was little, weak, and helpless, tears and smiles like us he knew." Then she explained in the hymn why it is important for us to know that Jesus was like us. "And he feeleth for our sadness, and he shareth in our gladness."
The hymn proves the dictum, if you can explain something to children, something abstract, that maybe even adults will be able to understand it.
Jesus was like us in all respects, that's the meaning of "The Incarnation." "Day by day, like us he grew." Which is why he is our Savior. He knows what it is like to live our life. "He feeleth for our sadness, and he shareth in our gladness." He is like us.
Our text for this morning, this childhood scene from Jesus' life, is another example of how he was like us. He is just twelve years old when this scene takes place. Today we have what is called a prolonged adolescence. But there was no such thing in Jesus' day. You went literally from childhood into adulthood, and the bridge was called Bar Mitzvah. A boy began his apprenticeship for a trade when he was twelve years old. Girls were betrothed at adolescence, probably about the same age, and then married at fourteen or fifteen beginning their vocation in life as wives and mothers.
Young people today think about vocations generally at the end of adolescence, at eighteen or nineteen, or maybe a little older. There are some people in middle age who are still trying to figure out what they are going to be when they grow up.
In Jesus' time there was no such luxury. You had only one choice. In fact, it is more accurate to say you didn't have any choice. You were destined for a life according to who you were, your gender, your class. For boys, your destiny was probably to be in your father's business.
Jesus is just twelve years old...
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Christ in The Temple
There is a famous oil painting called "Christ Teaching in The Temple." The painting gets it wrong. It comes from an era when religious people were still uneasy with the notion that Jesus was like the rest of us. In this picture he is standing in the midst of the elders looking very wise, obviously delivering a lecture. He is talking and pointing and they are listening. He had, no doubt, appeared to instruct them in the law, as if he knew what they didn't. But that's not what the text says. They found him, says Luke, "listening to (the teachers) and asking them questions." He was not the authority; he was the student. He was there to listen and learn. Now it is true that the religious leaders were impressed by how much he knew, and by how he answered their questions. But there is nothing in this text which indicates he was a precocious know it all.
Adapted from When It Is Dark Enough, Charles H. Bayer, CSS Publishing Lima, Ohio.
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Truth springs from argument amongst friends.
Scottish philosopher David Hume
__________________
Significance of Things Eternal
Parish ministers will tell you that people come to them speaking with regrets like these:
When I was young, my mother was going to read me a story, but she had to wax the bathroom floor and there wasn't time.
When I was young, my grandparents were going to come for Christmas, but they couldn't get someone to feed the dogs and my grandfather did not like the cold weather and besides they didn't have time.
When I was young, my father was going to listen to me read my essay on "What I Want To Be When I Grow Up," but there was Monday Night Football and there wasn't time.
When I was young, my father and I were going to go hiking in the Sierras, but at the last minute he had to fertilize the lawn and there wasn't time.
When I grew up and left home to be married, I was going to sit down with Mom and Dad and tell them I love them and would miss them, but my best man was honking the horn in front of my house so there wasn't time.
Into our hectic world, Jesus comes, and still invites us to exercise the spirit as well as the mind and the body. The best way we exercise the spirit is by giving attention to things of eternal significance, such as listening, loving, and learning from the least expected places.
Richard A. Wing, Deep Joy for a Shallow World, CSS Publishing Company
_____________________Humor: School Is a Part of Life
A young woman named Donna who got good grades in high school was in her first year of college. She had done poorly on one of her courses. In an attempt to prepare her parents she wrote her mother, "If you see an unfamiliar letter on my report card, remember it's just my first initial. Signed, Donna." As the time neared for grades to be sent home, Donna began to worry. Her worst fears were confirmed one evening when her mother called her. Donna said, "Hi, Mom." Her mother replied coldly, "Hello, Frank."
School is part of life. For the Christian there are two kinds of education. There is education at school and on the job. And there is religious education about our faith. We have just celebrated Christmas. Unfortunately, we don't know much about the next few years in Jesus' life. We can imagine he lived in a home filled with love. We can imagine as a boy he worked with his father Joseph in the carpenter shop, learning a trade although Jesus' real vocation would surface in our lesson for today.
King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
___________________________________School is part of life. For the Christian there are two kinds of education. There is education at school and on the job. And there is religious education about our faith. We have just celebrated Christmas. Unfortunately, we don't know much about the next few years in Jesus' life. We can imagine he lived in a home filled with love. We can imagine as a boy he worked with his father Joseph in the carpenter shop, learning a trade although Jesus' real vocation would surface in our lesson for today.
King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
Growing Up Fast
Kids grow up awfully fast these days. It seems like one minute you are trying to encourage your child to go faster on his bicycle, to get up enough speed to stay balanced, and the next you are pleading with the same boy now at the wheel of a car, pleading with him to slow down and live. One minute you're urging a shy daughter to say hello to strangers, and the very next, you're trying to discourage her from responding to strangers on the Internet.
Jesus is growing up fast too. Here we are, less than a week from Christmas, from the baby lying in a manger. Now Jesus is already an adolescent wandering off on his own. Last week Jesus was "prophecy miraculously fulfilled." This week he is questioning the teachers of that very tradition.
The classical confessions of the church hold that Jesus is "fully human, fully God," and in today's familiar story from Luke, we can see both sides. Jesus, fully human, is growing up as all mortals must. In the process, Jesus has scared his parents half to death as all teen-agers do. Jesus is asking questions, as should we all, and he is listening to learn, as all we must. And in this story, we see the twelve-year old Jesus fully divine with everyone amazed at his understanding and his answers. We hear Jesus declaring his unique relationship with God the Father as only the Son can do.
Sid Burgess, Question Time
_______________________________________
Small Things to Be Done with Great Love
It took me a long while to hear this truth from Mother Teresa: "There are no big deals anymore, just small things to be done with great love."
Most of this coming year will be spent in ordinary time. We enter into the season on the church calendar marked as "ordinary time." What a good prophetic note for the New Year: most of the good that will be done will be done in ordinary time, when no one is looking and no one will report it to the paper.
Here comes the New Year, full of ordinary time. We will enter it ready to slug it out for the common good while no one is looking. In the middle of ordinary time, God comes with extraordinary moments that make all others bearable, believable, and worthwhile.
I have always thought that while our nation works out negotiations with other countries, like with North Korea, we only see the leaders in the news. But, if the whole story were revealed, we would see nameless people on both sides of the issue tirelessly speaking to each other through the night in order to work out an agreement. Leaders sit down and sign documents that were slugged out by unknowns in the night during ordinary time.
Richard A. Wing, Deep Joy for a Shallow World, CSS Publishing
________________________________________________
Erma's New Year's Resolutions
The late Erma Bombeck made these New Year's resolutions:
1. I'm going to clean this dump just as soon as the kids grow up.
2. I will go to no doctor whose office plants have died.
3. I'm going to follow my husband's suggestion to put a little excitement into my life by living within our budget.
4. I'm going to apply for a hardship scholarship to Weight Watchers.
5. I will never loan my car to anyone I have given birth to.
6. And just like last year...I am going to remember that my children need love the most when they deserve it the least.
2. I will go to no doctor whose office plants have died.
3. I'm going to follow my husband's suggestion to put a little excitement into my life by living within our budget.
4. I'm going to apply for a hardship scholarship to Weight Watchers.
5. I will never loan my car to anyone I have given birth to.
6. And just like last year...I am going to remember that my children need love the most when they deserve it the least.
Erma Bombeck, Resolutions for a New Year
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I Like You
In her best-selling book called, Traveling Mercies, Anne Lamott, who by the way is a member of a Presbyterian Church, writes about her seven-year-old son, Sam.
"At seven, he is separating from me like mad and has made it clear that I need to give him a bit more room. I'm not even allowed to tell him that I love him these days. He is quite firm on this. "You tell me you love me all the time," he explained recently, "and I don't want you to anymore."
"At all?" I said.
"I just want you to tell me that you like me."I said I would really try. That night when I was tucking him in, I said, "Good night, honey, I really like you a lot."
There was silence in the dark. Then he said, "I like you too, Mom.""
It's hard to be the parent of a seven-year-old, as Anne Lamott is quick to point out.
Nor is it easy to be the parent of a twelve-year-old, particularly when that twelve-year-old is none other than Jesus Christ, the Son of God. This morning's Scripture from the Gospel of Luke is the only story in the Bible about Jesus' boyhood, and what a wonderful story it is. At one level the story affirms the greatness of Jesus which was even apparent in the years of his holy adolescence. Holy adolescence - now that's an interesting concept, don't you think!
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From Fr. Jude Botelho:
This first reading is a commentary on the fourth commandment: ‘Honour your father and your mother.’ We often think that this commandment in terms of obligation of younger children to obey their parents. But there is another essential part of it: the obligation of grown up children to ensure that their aged parents are able to live out their final years in comfort and dignity. This is of great relevance today. The author of Ecclesiasticus asserts that kindness to parents is especially pleasing to God, who accepts it as atonement for one’s sins. He also adds: “Whoever respects his father will be happy with children of his own.”
-Glenstal Bible Missal
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From Fr. Jude Botelho:
This first reading is a commentary on the fourth commandment: ‘Honour your father and your mother.’ We often think that this commandment in terms of obligation of younger children to obey their parents. But there is another essential part of it: the obligation of grown up children to ensure that their aged parents are able to live out their final years in comfort and dignity. This is of great relevance today. The author of Ecclesiasticus asserts that kindness to parents is especially pleasing to God, who accepts it as atonement for one’s sins. He also adds: “Whoever respects his father will be happy with children of his own.”
Dying of loneliness
In an audience Pope Paul VI told how one day, when he was Archbishop of Milan, he went out on parish visitation. During the course of the visitation he found an old woman living on her own. ‘How are you?’ he asked her. ‘Not bad,’ she answered. ‘I have enough food, and I’m not suffering from the cold.’ ‘You must be reasonably happy then?’ he said. ‘No, I’m not’, she said as she started to cry. ‘You see, my son and daughter-in-law never come to see me. I’m dying of loneliness.’ Afterwards he was haunted by the phrase ‘I’m dying of loneliness’. And the Pope concluded: ‘Food and warmth are not enough in themselves. People need something more. They need our presence, our time, our love. They need to be touched, to be reassured that they are not forgotten.’
- Flor McCarthy in ‘New Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies’
The second reading from Paul’s letter to the Colossians describes the cordial atmosphere that should reign in a Christian community, and in a Christian family. Fraternal love has to be the hallmark of the Christian community and every family is a small Christian community where love must prevail. In order that love might prevail in a Christian community and family every member has to do his or her bit; it is not the task only of the parents or the onus of the children alone to contribute to the family spirit. A harmonious atmosphere in the family can be maintained by the practice of the virtues of kindness, gentleness, mutual respect, patience and above all forgiveness. Parents should set an example for their children by the way they live their Christian lives. In an audience Pope Paul VI told how one day, when he was Archbishop of Milan, he went out on parish visitation. During the course of the visitation he found an old woman living on her own. ‘How are you?’ he asked her. ‘Not bad,’ she answered. ‘I have enough food, and I’m not suffering from the cold.’ ‘You must be reasonably happy then?’ he said. ‘No, I’m not’, she said as she started to cry. ‘You see, my son and daughter-in-law never come to see me. I’m dying of loneliness.’ Afterwards he was haunted by the phrase ‘I’m dying of loneliness’. And the Pope concluded: ‘Food and warmth are not enough in themselves. People need something more. They need our presence, our time, our love. They need to be touched, to be reassured that they are not forgotten.’
- Flor McCarthy in ‘New Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies’
Play your role in life
A military commander’s three-year-old daughter was a bundle of joy and energy. The commander was noted for strict discipline. One day, annoyed with the child’s antics, the mother commented to father: “What is the use of your being a disciplinarian. Look at your daughter, so naughty and mischievous. Why don’t you bring a little discipline in her? The commander took this seriously. He called his daughter and said to her, “Today onwards you should be well disciplined.” She said, “OK Daddy!” “Don’t call me Daddy. Whenever you want to talk to me you should start with Sir and end with Sir”, said he. The girl immediately responded, “Sir, yes, Sir.” Even if she wanted to have ice cream she had to “Sir, I want ice cream Sir.” One day the commander went shopping and the little girl wanted to go along. He agreed to take her provided she sat in the back seat of the car. She agreed and about half the way to their destination he felt a little hand on the back of his neck and heard her….. “Sir, I love you Sir.” The commander got the message.
- G. Francis Xavier in ‘The World’s Best Inspiring Stories’
In today’s reading of Matthew’s Gospel, we are told how God watches over the family of Jesus Mary and Joseph, guiding, guarding and protecting them from all harm. What he does for the family of Nazareth, he does for every family, for He is the giver and protector of all life. His care is seen in the wondrous way he inspires Joseph to rise and flee from the clutches of Herod. Joseph on his part implicitly trusts the divine inspiration he receives without questioning or trying to understand God’s plan. He is unmindful of the hardships he and his family have to endure. He is faithful to his task of guarding and nurturing the divine life entrusted to him. After he has settled down in Egypt and the child is growing up, once again he is told to move and return to his former home in Nazareth. Joseph and Mary silently obey God’s plan. In the gospel we see exemplified the primary obligation of parents, which is to love, care and protect their children. We see what Mary and Joseph did in order to ensure the safety of the child Jesus. As soon as they learned that his life was in danger, they uprooted themselves and went into exile. And when the danger had passed years later, they uprooted themselves again and returned to their native country. Many parents are called to make enormous sacrifices for their children. All parents can draw inspiration from the example of Mary and Joseph. A military commander’s three-year-old daughter was a bundle of joy and energy. The commander was noted for strict discipline. One day, annoyed with the child’s antics, the mother commented to father: “What is the use of your being a disciplinarian. Look at your daughter, so naughty and mischievous. Why don’t you bring a little discipline in her? The commander took this seriously. He called his daughter and said to her, “Today onwards you should be well disciplined.” She said, “OK Daddy!” “Don’t call me Daddy. Whenever you want to talk to me you should start with Sir and end with Sir”, said he. The girl immediately responded, “Sir, yes, Sir.” Even if she wanted to have ice cream she had to “Sir, I want ice cream Sir.” One day the commander went shopping and the little girl wanted to go along. He agreed to take her provided she sat in the back seat of the car. She agreed and about half the way to their destination he felt a little hand on the back of his neck and heard her….. “Sir, I love you Sir.” The commander got the message.
- G. Francis Xavier in ‘The World’s Best Inspiring Stories’
In her footsteps
It was a busy day in Costa Mesa, a Californian home. But then, with ten children and one on the way, every day was a bit hectic for Davida Dalton. On this particular day, however, she was having trouble doing even the routine chores-all because of one little boy. Len, who was three at that time, was on her heels no matter where she went. Whenever she stopped to do something and turned back around, she would trip over him. Several times, she patiently suggested fun activities to keep him occupied “Wouldn’t you like to play on the swing set?” she asked him. But he simply smiled an innocent smile and said, “Oh, that’s all right, Mommy. I’d rather be in here with you.” Then he continued to bounce happily along behind her. After stepping on his toes for the fifth time, she began to lose her patience and insisted that he go outside and play with the other children. When she angrily asked him why he was acting this way, he looked up at her with sweet green eyes and said, “Well, Mummy in the school my teacher told me to walk in Jesus’ footsteps. But I can’t see him, so I’m walking in yours.” She gathered him in her arms and held him close. Tears of love and humility spilled over from the prayer that grew in her heart prayer of thanks for the simple, yet beautiful perspective of a three-year-old boy.
- John Rose in ‘John’s Sunday Homilies’
"We celebrate the mystery of the child Jesus living with his parents. The tone of the celebration is a meditation wholly centered on Christ, from which all Christian families can learn. ‘Where does the Messiah come from?’ asked the contemporaries of Jesus of Nazareth. They knew nothing of his birth in Bethlehem of Judah and they were amazed that one who claimed to be the Messiah should come from Galilee (Jn 1: 46: 7:41). This is why Matthew goes over the journeying of Jesus while a child: his career as a displaced person. As a result of the menace of Herod his parents were forced to take refuge in Egypt, where Jesus re-enacted the history of the chosen people. Afterwards the family settled in Nazareth hence the surname ‘Nazarene.’ From the time of his birth, Jesus was under the shadow of the cross. The Holy Family had its problems. Mary and Joseph wished to share the lot of this perplexing child, whom they follow, step by step, in the unfolding of his mystery. Our admiration should be awakened by their complete submission to God’s will.” It was a busy day in Costa Mesa, a Californian home. But then, with ten children and one on the way, every day was a bit hectic for Davida Dalton. On this particular day, however, she was having trouble doing even the routine chores-all because of one little boy. Len, who was three at that time, was on her heels no matter where she went. Whenever she stopped to do something and turned back around, she would trip over him. Several times, she patiently suggested fun activities to keep him occupied “Wouldn’t you like to play on the swing set?” she asked him. But he simply smiled an innocent smile and said, “Oh, that’s all right, Mommy. I’d rather be in here with you.” Then he continued to bounce happily along behind her. After stepping on his toes for the fifth time, she began to lose her patience and insisted that he go outside and play with the other children. When she angrily asked him why he was acting this way, he looked up at her with sweet green eyes and said, “Well, Mummy in the school my teacher told me to walk in Jesus’ footsteps. But I can’t see him, so I’m walking in yours.” She gathered him in her arms and held him close. Tears of love and humility spilled over from the prayer that grew in her heart prayer of thanks for the simple, yet beautiful perspective of a three-year-old boy.
- John Rose in ‘John’s Sunday Homilies’
-Glenstal Bible Missal
Film -Shane
The movie Shane starring Alan Ladd has become a frontier classic. Shane is a mythical American hero who fights for the rights of defenseless homesteaders being terrorized by a lawless cattleman and his hired gunmen. Shane himself is an ex-gunslinger who is searching for something to give meaning to his life. At first he merely befriends the Start family, who take him in as a hired hand for their farm. But when trouble begins, Shane becomes their defender and savior. He risks his life for Joe and Marion Start and their son Li’l Joe in order to save their pride and property from the ruthless cattleman. The movie Shane is more than a cowboy legend. It is also a modern parable about a Christ-figure and about family life. Shane is a Christ-figure in the story, not in the sense of his use of guns and fistfights, but in the sense of a celibate man who defends the powerless, risks his life for them, and then rides off alone to help someone else.
- Albert Cylwicki in ‘His Word Resounds’
The movie Shane starring Alan Ladd has become a frontier classic. Shane is a mythical American hero who fights for the rights of defenseless homesteaders being terrorized by a lawless cattleman and his hired gunmen. Shane himself is an ex-gunslinger who is searching for something to give meaning to his life. At first he merely befriends the Start family, who take him in as a hired hand for their farm. But when trouble begins, Shane becomes their defender and savior. He risks his life for Joe and Marion Start and their son Li’l Joe in order to save their pride and property from the ruthless cattleman. The movie Shane is more than a cowboy legend. It is also a modern parable about a Christ-figure and about family life. Shane is a Christ-figure in the story, not in the sense of his use of guns and fistfights, but in the sense of a celibate man who defends the powerless, risks his life for them, and then rides off alone to help someone else.
- Albert Cylwicki in ‘His Word Resounds’
Don’t humiliate them!
As a student, Daniel Webster (author of Webster’s Dictionary) was particularly marked for being untidy. Finally the teacher, in exasperation, told him that if he appeared again with such dirty hands she would thrash him. He did appear in the same condition. “Daniel”, she said, “hold out your hand.” Daniel spat on his palm, with an intention to clean it, rubbed it on his trousers and held it out. The teacher surveyed it in disgust. “Daniel”, she said, “if you can find me another hand in this school that is dirtier than that, I will let you off.” Daniel promptly held out his other hand! –Many children with an eccentric trait blossom into geniuses. The teachers and parents should not underestimate them or humiliate them.
- G. Francis Xavier in ‘The World’s Best Inspiring Stories’
As a student, Daniel Webster (author of Webster’s Dictionary) was particularly marked for being untidy. Finally the teacher, in exasperation, told him that if he appeared again with such dirty hands she would thrash him. He did appear in the same condition. “Daniel”, she said, “hold out your hand.” Daniel spat on his palm, with an intention to clean it, rubbed it on his trousers and held it out. The teacher surveyed it in disgust. “Daniel”, she said, “if you can find me another hand in this school that is dirtier than that, I will let you off.” Daniel promptly held out his other hand! –Many children with an eccentric trait blossom into geniuses. The teachers and parents should not underestimate them or humiliate them.
- G. Francis Xavier in ‘The World’s Best Inspiring Stories’
