Introduction
Today’s gospel calls Joseph “a just man.”It is a title that the scriptures of the Old and the New Testaments give to people who try to live according to God’s plans. Indeed, he played an important role in God’s plan of salvation; God entrusted our Savior, Jesus, to his care. He experienced that his important role brought him many difficulties, but he stood the test and served God well, as a man of faith, generous, and indeed “just.”
St. Joseph, Spouse of the B.V.M., March 19
2Sam 7:4-5, 12-14, 16 / Rom 4:13, 16-18, 22 / Mt 1:16, 18-21, 24
The angel instructs Joseph; "Take Mary as your wife. "
Columnist D. L. Stewart wrote in the Dallas Morning News for May 11, 1965: "Mothers are the ones who carry the children for nine months. They are the ones who learn to sleep on their backs. . . . They are the ones who sweat, push, and cry out for pain in the labour room. Dads pass out cigars. "Mothers are the ones who spend hours spooning out jars of strained apricots . . . [and] picking up half-eaten cookies from the floor. . . . Dads lunch at the Racquet Club." Joseph never passed out cigars or lunched at the Nazareth Racquet Club, but you can be sure he appreciated what Mary went through.
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How deeply do we appreciate our spouses and what they go through? It takes a lot of living— and even more loving— for spouses to turn a house into a home.
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Blessed Basil Moreau, founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross, modelled his religious family of priests, brothers and sisters on the Holy Family. In doing so, he placed the brothers under the patronage of Saint Joseph.
St. Joseph does not speak one word in the Scriptures. Yet, we know that God chose him for a unique and lofty role. St. Joseph placed his trust in the plan that the Lord sought to unfold in his life and in the life of his betrothed wife, Mary. St. Joseph became the first to see the Christ Child and the first to hold Him. Except for Mary, he knew Jesus more intimately than anyone on earth. It stands to reason that when we go to St. Joseph, he will lead us into greater intimacy with his foster Son. “If Mary is the Queen of all the blessed,” wrote Moreau, “St. Joseph is undoubtedly first among the saints.”
In the Holy Family, Moreau saw an earthly representation of the Holy Trinity. The love among Jesus, Mary and Joseph gives us an earthly glimpse of the perfect love and unity of the Trinity. Therefore, Moreau notes, “St. Joseph represented the first person of the Blessed Trinity on earth.” St. Joseph’s intercession and example have much to offer us as a model of religious life.
St. Joseph was not afraid to take Mary as his wife, even though she was with child. He dutifully took his family to Egypt in response to the message of the angel. In his faith and by his actions, he becomes an example to the members of the Holy Cross family who follow Moreau in professing a profound trust in Divine Providence.
We also are inspired by this silent, hard worker, whose labors earned the food that fed the Body of Christ, even though He would be broken for the life of the world. In a similar manner, we labour not that we might receive adulation or reward, but that others may encounter Christ and come to know and love Him.
St. Joseph was one of Jesus’ first educators, tenderly caring for Jesus as a young child and leading Him as He developed in wisdom, age and favour before God and man. So too, we serve God as members of the Congregation and educators in the faith, looking to see in each student’s face the image of Christ and helping those students grow to become who God is calling them to be.
God entrusted St. Joseph with the task of clothing, feeding and protecting the Incarnate Word and His Blessed Mother. So too does God offer St. Joseph to us as the protector of the Universal Church. We pray that his intercession may help us to follow his selfless and tireless example of service to the Church.
As Blessed Moreau wrote to the community, “I ask you to obtain from St. Joseph for us all, and especially for me who feels myself most in need of his aid, the grace of not hampering in any way the work which God has been pleased to entrust to us; rather, [I] ask that we may cooperate in every way with His designs by refusing no sacrifice to His grace. In other words, let us pray to him [St. Joseph] for the grace always to judge, feel, speak, and act according to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit.”
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Today’s gospel calls Joseph “a just man.” It is a title that the scriptures of the Old and the New Testaments give to people who try to live according to God’s plans. Indeed, he played an important role in God’s plan of salvation; God entrusted our Savior, Jesus, to his care. He experienced that his important role brought him many difficulties, but he stood the test and served God well, as a man of faith, generous, and indeed “just.”
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St. Joseph is known by many titles. The Litany of St. Joseph gives most of them and it expresses the roles and the virtues of St. Joseph. Even without referring to the Litany, we may remember some of the titles of St. Joseph - Head of the Holy Family, patron of workers, patron of the sick and dying, protector of the Church. Today the Church celebrates one of the titles of St. Joseph and it is celebrated as a Solemnity.
St. Joseph is called the Spouse of Mary, and it is a title that was recently added into the Eucharistic prayer. In the Litany, he is called the Spouse of the Mother of God. This title of St. Joseph is first mentioned in the gospel when it said that Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ. It is a profound title, though we tend to know of St. Joseph in what he can do for us, namely for his intercession for our work, when we are ill or for those who are dying.
The greatness of St. Joseph was his humility in accepting the will of God and that meant giving up his plans and hopes for his own future. Mary was betrothed to St. Joseph, but before they came to live together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. St. Joseph, being a man of honour and wanting to spare her publicity, decided to divorce her informally. And that was when God came into the situation and St. Joseph had to make some decisions.
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A. Joseph, the just man: (Matthew.1:19). In the Biblical sense, a just man is one who faithfully does his duties to God, to lawful authorities and to his fellow human beings.
1. Joseph did his duties to God faithfully by obeying His laws revealed through Moses, through his king and through his foster son Jesus.
a) He obeyed the Mosaic laws: i) by circumcising and naming Jesus on the 8th day, ii) by presenting Mary with her child in the Temple for the purification ceremony, iii) by making Jesus “son of the Law,” bringing him to the Temple of Jerusalem for the feast of Passover at the age of twelve.
b) He obeyed his King’s law by taking his pregnant wife Mary to Bethlehem for the census ordered by the Emperor.
c) He obeyed Jesus by respecting his desires and opinion. (Lk.2: 49)
2. Joseph did his duties to others faithfully:
a) to his wife by giving her loving protection in spite of his previous suspicion about her miraculous pregnancy. He could have divorced her. Pope St. John Paul II: St. Joseph protects Mary “discreetly, humbly and silently, but with an unfailing presence and utter fidelity, even when he finds it hard to understand.”
b) to Jesus by training him in his trade, in the Law of Moses and in good conduct (Lk. 2:52).
c) to his neighbors by being an ideal carpenter and good neighbor.
B. Joseph, the dreamer (like Joseph in the O.T.) receiving answers to his fervent prayers as dreams. Joseph raised his heart and mind to God in all his needs and dangerous situations in life, besides praising and thanking Him.
Dreaming in the Old Testament was one-way God used to communicate His will to men. Joseph received instructions from God through four dreams:
i) “Do not be afraid to take Mary to be your wife” (Mt.1:20);
ii) “Get up, take the Child and his mother and escape to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you to leave” (Mt. 2:13);
iii) iii) “Get up, take the Child and his mother, and go back to the land of Israel” (Mt.5:20); iv) as a confirmation of Joseph’s prudent thought of taking Mary and Jesus out of Jerusalem (where a worse ruler might endanger them), and back to Nazareth, a small, out of the way village in the country.
C. As a silent saint, Joseph always did the will of God and protected and provided for Jesus and Mary. Hence, he continues to protect the mystical body of Christ, the Church.
How did Joseph provide this protection and provision? By his unfailing presence and committed fidelity. He did it silently, justly and doing the will of God. He is a silent saint in our noisy world, giving himself to others. He continues to protect those who protect and take care of elderly parents, the aged and the sick in nursing homes. He courageously did his protective role starting with his receiving his wife into his home at the angel’s command in a dream and continuing through the flight to Egypt with Mary and the Child and their sojourn there, all the way to Nazareth and their life there, where, at some point, he died peacefully in their presence.
Life Messages:
1. We need to lead saintly lives by becoming faithful in little things, as St. Joseph was. “Bloom where you are planted” was the favourite advice of St. Francis de Sales. Let us love our profession and do good to others.
2. We need to consult God daily in prayer to know His will and to do it.
3. We need to be just, as St. Joseph was, by “giving everyone his or her due.”
4. We need to raise our families in the spirit of the Holy Family and to be responsible, God-fearing, ideal parents like Joseph and Mary.
5. Let us become protectors like St. Joseph, by keeping watch over our emotions, over our hearts, because they are the seat of good and evil intentions: intentions that build up and tear down! We must not be afraid of goodness or even tenderness!” (Pope St. John Paul II).
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Prayer
God our Father, you entrusted your Son Jesus to the dedicated care of St. Joseph. Give us the faith of this just man, the patron of your Church, that we may always listen to you, and serve you in everything you ask of us also when we do not understand where you are leading us. Make us live close to your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
****ILLUSTRATIONS:
Sign Of Christianity
The words of Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, written in the third century are as timely today as when he wrote them. He said: “If I could ascend some high mountain and look over this wide world, you know very well what I would see. Robbers on the high roads, pirates on the sea… selfishness and cruelty, misery and despair under all roofs. It is a bad world, an incredibly bad world, but in the midst of it I have found a quiet and holy people who have learned a great secret. They are despised and persecuted but they care not. They are masters of their souls. They have overcome the world. These people are the Christians and I am one of them.
- Anthony Castle in ‘Quotes and Anecdotes’
The words of Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, written in the third century are as timely today as when he wrote them. He said: “If I could ascend some high mountain and look over this wide world, you know very well what I would see. Robbers on the high roads, pirates on the sea… selfishness and cruelty, misery and despair under all roofs. It is a bad world, an incredibly bad world, but in the midst of it I have found a quiet and holy people who have learned a great secret. They are despised and persecuted but they care not. They are masters of their souls. They have overcome the world. These people are the Christians and I am one of them.
- Anthony Castle in ‘Quotes and Anecdotes’
Attitude Changes Things!
One day a lady who lived in town looked out of her window and saw a big truck pull up to her house, Out jumped five rascals and started unloading electric guitars and loudspeakers and drums…. They took them to the neighbours house. The woman was furious. Now her night’s rest and her ears and her life would be ruined by all the noise that would come from the house. Her husband came home from work and she began to scream at him, “We’ve got to move away from here or else we’ll go deaf and mad with that string band next door. But he calmed her down a bit and said, “Honey, why are you angry? Don’t you realize who those musicians are? They are the famous Sanguma String band that plays overseas to large crowds…. Woman, we should be glad they are here; we’ll be getting all this famous music for free.” His wife’s frown turned to a smile. She ran to the telephone and began to call her friends to come over sometime and take advantage of the Sanguma Band….. How attitude changes everything! Our attitude to Jesus too can change everything!
- ‘Quote’ in ‘1000 Stories You Can Use’
One day a lady who lived in town looked out of her window and saw a big truck pull up to her house, Out jumped five rascals and started unloading electric guitars and loudspeakers and drums…. They took them to the neighbours house. The woman was furious. Now her night’s rest and her ears and her life would be ruined by all the noise that would come from the house. Her husband came home from work and she began to scream at him, “We’ve got to move away from here or else we’ll go deaf and mad with that string band next door. But he calmed her down a bit and said, “Honey, why are you angry? Don’t you realize who those musicians are? They are the famous Sanguma String band that plays overseas to large crowds…. Woman, we should be glad they are here; we’ll be getting all this famous music for free.” His wife’s frown turned to a smile. She ran to the telephone and began to call her friends to come over sometime and take advantage of the Sanguma Band….. How attitude changes everything! Our attitude to Jesus too can change everything!
- ‘Quote’ in ‘1000 Stories You Can Use’
In today’s reading of Matthew’s Gospel, unlike King Ahaz, who did not trust God’s sign given to him, Joseph puts his trust in the rather upsetting sign of Mary’s mysteriously conceived child. Thanks to Joseph, of the family of David, Jesus will belong to the royal line. And, because of his faith, it is Joseph who gives the child a rightful name: Jesus, which means –God saves! Perhaps there are those who fear the approach of Christmas for whatever reason, they can take heart and hope from the story of the first Christmas. There was plenty of fear present there too! In fact all the main characters in it were afraid at one time or another. Joseph was afraid when he found that Mary was expecting a child even though they hadn’t been living together. But the angel appeared to him to reveal to him who the child was. Joseph did not fully understand, but being a just man, trusted God and so overcame his fear and did what was right. All of us are touched by fear at one time or another but we must not let our fears cripple us. Like Joseph we must seek to do the just and loving thing so that we move from fear to faith. Trust is the thing that enables us to move from fear to faith. The Christ child who comes to us at Christmas challenges us to enter into an intimate trusting relationship with God, trusting that we will receive love, and always more love. Though his humble and trusting action Joseph cooperated with God’s plan and provided a space for Jesus in his family and in the world. By trusting and cooperating with God in our own humble way we too can create a space for him to enter into our lives and into the present world.
Heroic Duty
The country doctor Brunoy had just said goodbye to his colleagues who had confirmed that Jean, the doctor’s only son, would die in a few hours of diphtheria. The anti toxin injections had been too late. As he now sat with his wife by the boy’s bedside awaiting the child’s death the doorbell rang. The doctor shouted to his secretary, “I don’t want to see anyone.” But the visitor would not go away. It was the farmer Rivaz who had walked 10 kilometres from Roseland. His son was sick. “I’ll come tomorrow” the doctor told him. “But if you don’t come now, he won’t make it through the night,” the farmer insisted. Then began a discussion…. “You can cure my son.” “But mine’s lost, he’s beyond all cure.” “But mine isn’t.” “Well, I’ll come tomorrow morning.” “Then it will be too late.” “Let me close the eyes of my dying child.” “But if you cannot help him any longer….” “As long as my son is alive, I’ll remain with him.” “All right, then both the children will die.” The doctor then asked for the symptom’s of the boy’s sickness and they were the same as his son’s had been. But it was still not too late to save him. So the doctor decided to go with the farmer.
- Ludolf Ulrich in ‘1000 Stories You Can Use’
The country doctor Brunoy had just said goodbye to his colleagues who had confirmed that Jean, the doctor’s only son, would die in a few hours of diphtheria. The anti toxin injections had been too late. As he now sat with his wife by the boy’s bedside awaiting the child’s death the doorbell rang. The doctor shouted to his secretary, “I don’t want to see anyone.” But the visitor would not go away. It was the farmer Rivaz who had walked 10 kilometres from Roseland. His son was sick. “I’ll come tomorrow” the doctor told him. “But if you don’t come now, he won’t make it through the night,” the farmer insisted. Then began a discussion…. “You can cure my son.” “But mine’s lost, he’s beyond all cure.” “But mine isn’t.” “Well, I’ll come tomorrow morning.” “Then it will be too late.” “Let me close the eyes of my dying child.” “But if you cannot help him any longer….” “As long as my son is alive, I’ll remain with him.” “All right, then both the children will die.” The doctor then asked for the symptom’s of the boy’s sickness and they were the same as his son’s had been. But it was still not too late to save him. So the doctor decided to go with the farmer.
- Ludolf Ulrich in ‘1000 Stories You Can Use’
"When Matthew tells of the annunciation to Joseph, he is not concerned with the latter’s psychological reactions. He is simply trying to answer the question: “Who is the Messiah?” For Matthew, ‘Jesus, who will save the people from their sins’ is the ultimate heir of Israel, and it is Joseph who gives Jesus a place in the genealogy of David. Joseph was informed from the outset about the expected birth (and what more likely person than Mary?) He thought it was his duty to efface himself before the mystery, in which he seems to have no role. But God intervened and made clear to him that although the child in Mary’s womb was of ‘the Holy Spirit’, he Joseph, would have to guarantee its legal status and recognize it as his own. By means of Joseph, the house of David was to accept ‘God-is-with-us’ in this son, and so welcome the whole programme of salvation from the incarnation to the ascension. Even today we describe the birth of a child as a ‘happy event’. But what words can describe the birth of this child, –this event in which Joseph played a humble but indispensable part? We are dealing here not just with the story of another human family, but also with the very story of salvation itself –the story of Emmanuel – ‘God-is-with-us’.
- Glenstal Sunday Missal
- Glenstal Sunday Missal
With Eyes Wide Shut
In his book Beyond East and West John Wu has a fascinating passage. It reads as follows: “My wife and I had never seen each other before marriage. Both of us….. were brought up in the old Chinese way. It was our parents who engaged us to each other, when we were barely six years of age. In my early teens I came to know where her house was. I had an intense desire to have a glimpse of her. In coming back from school, I sometimes took a roundabout way so as to pass by the door of her house….. but I never had the good fortune to see her.” Wu goes on to say that he realizes the old Chinese marriage sounds incredible to Western readers. Some of his Western friends could hardly believe it at first. Wu says he was surprised his friends found the system so incredible. He asked them whether they chose their parents, brothers and sisters. Then he said, “And don’t you love them just the same?” John Wu’s passage from his book helps us to appreciate better the relationship between Joseph and Mary before Jesus’ birth.
- Mark Link in ‘Sunday Homilies’
In his book Beyond East and West John Wu has a fascinating passage. It reads as follows: “My wife and I had never seen each other before marriage. Both of us….. were brought up in the old Chinese way. It was our parents who engaged us to each other, when we were barely six years of age. In my early teens I came to know where her house was. I had an intense desire to have a glimpse of her. In coming back from school, I sometimes took a roundabout way so as to pass by the door of her house….. but I never had the good fortune to see her.” Wu goes on to say that he realizes the old Chinese marriage sounds incredible to Western readers. Some of his Western friends could hardly believe it at first. Wu says he was surprised his friends found the system so incredible. He asked them whether they chose their parents, brothers and sisters. Then he said, “And don’t you love them just the same?” John Wu’s passage from his book helps us to appreciate better the relationship between Joseph and Mary before Jesus’ birth.
- Mark Link in ‘Sunday Homilies’
A Wondrous Happening
Sometimes fact is more mysterious than fiction! The "Denver Post" printed an article December 23, 1981 about a stranger-than-fact event that occurred in Colorado. Stan Sieczkowski heard in church about a Denver family facing a rather bleak Christmas holiday. Medical bills robbed them of any extras; they would not even have a tree. So Stan and his son Jay determined to get them that tree. They headed up into the Colorado Rockies in the family pickup. However, the truck skidded off the icy road and hit a boulder that shattered the windshield. Jay was showered by glass slivers and suffered from shock and crash trauma. Stan was uninjured, though somewhat shaken. Cars sped past that day -- maybe 200 of them. Only two stopped. A gentle, dark-haired woman took the boy into her car to comfort him while her husband and another man helped Stan move his truck off the road. Then they drove father and son to Stan's home and quietly left without identifying themselves. Later that month, Stan's pastor asked if he might deliver a food basket to the unfortunate family for which he had earlier tried to cut a tree. Stan found the house, but he could hardly find his speech when the door opened. Standing there before him was the same couple who had helped him on the mountain road! Call it an amazing coincidence...or call it divine providence. Some mysteries are better left unanalyzed. But it is nice to remember that, when we give our hearts away in a spirit of generosity, we can still brush up against wonder, joy and love.
- Steve Goodier
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1. G. K. Chesterton,
Immanuel is God-with-us in the cancer clinic and in the Alzheimer's ward at the local nursing home. Immanuel is God-with-us when the pink slip comes and when the beloved child sneers, "I hate you!" Immanuel is God-with-us when you pack the Christmas decorations away and, with an aching heart, you realize afresh that your one son never did call over the holidays. Not once. Immanuel is God-with-us when your dear wife or mother stares at you with an Alzheimer's glaze and absently asks, "What was your name again?"
Ever and always Jesus stares straight into you with his two good eyes and he does so not only when you can smile back but most certainly also when your own eyes are full of tears. In fact, Jesus is Immanuel, "God with you" even in those times when you are so angry with God that you refuse to meet his eyes. But even when you feel like you can't look at him, he never looks away from you. He can't. His name says it all.
Scott Hoezee, Comments and Observations
7. Obedience and Compassion
Sometimes fact is more mysterious than fiction! The "Denver Post" printed an article December 23, 1981 about a stranger-than-fact event that occurred in Colorado. Stan Sieczkowski heard in church about a Denver family facing a rather bleak Christmas holiday. Medical bills robbed them of any extras; they would not even have a tree. So Stan and his son Jay determined to get them that tree. They headed up into the Colorado Rockies in the family pickup. However, the truck skidded off the icy road and hit a boulder that shattered the windshield. Jay was showered by glass slivers and suffered from shock and crash trauma. Stan was uninjured, though somewhat shaken. Cars sped past that day -- maybe 200 of them. Only two stopped. A gentle, dark-haired woman took the boy into her car to comfort him while her husband and another man helped Stan move his truck off the road. Then they drove father and son to Stan's home and quietly left without identifying themselves. Later that month, Stan's pastor asked if he might deliver a food basket to the unfortunate family for which he had earlier tried to cut a tree. Stan found the house, but he could hardly find his speech when the door opened. Standing there before him was the same couple who had helped him on the mountain road! Call it an amazing coincidence...or call it divine providence. Some mysteries are better left unanalyzed. But it is nice to remember that, when we give our hearts away in a spirit of generosity, we can still brush up against wonder, joy and love.
- Steve Goodier
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1. G. K. Chesterton,
the noted British poet and theologian, was a brilliant man who could think deep thoughts and express them well. However, he was also extremely absent-minded and over the years he became rather notorious for getting lost. He would just absolutely forget where he was supposed to be and what he was supposed to be doing. On one such occasion, he sent a telegram to his wife which carried these words: "Honey, seems I'm lost again. Presently, I am at Market Harborough. Where ought I to be?" As only a spouse could say it, she telegraphed back a one-word reply "HOME!"
This is precisely what this classic passage in the first chapter of Matthew does for us... it brings us home...
-- Home to the real meaning of Christmas
-- Home to the most magnificent truth in the entire Bible
-- Home to our Lord's greatest promise
-- Home to the reason we celebrate Christmas
-- Home to the most magnificent truth in the entire Bible
-- Home to our Lord's greatest promise
-- Home to the reason we celebrate Christmas
Namely this: "GOD IS WITH US!" When we accept Christ into our lives, nothing, not even death, can separate us from God and His love. It is what Christmas is about. God is with us. The great people of faith have always claimed that promise. Just think of it:
-- Moses caught between the Pharaoh and the deep Red Sea in a seemingly hopeless situation believed that God was with him and he went forward and trusted God to open a way and He did!
-- Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego went into the fiery furnace into a seemingly hopeless situation and they trusted God to be with them and He was!
-- Little David stood before Goliath. What chance could a small boy with a slingshot have against this giant of a warrior? But David believed that God was with him and it made all the difference!
Now, it's interesting to note that when the writer of Matthew's gospel wanted to capture the meaning of Christmas, the meaning of the Christ event, the meaning of Jesus in a single word, he did a very wise thing. He reached back into the Old Testament, pulled out an old word, dusted it off, and used it to convey the message. The word was Emmanuel...
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2. When you turn sixteen what's the most important thing in the world? Any 16-year-olds here? Anyone want to take on that question?
That's right. Getting your driver's license. In most states, if you are under the age of eighteen, you now need to take "Driver's Ed" before you can qualify for a driver's license. That means students have already had to learn all the "rules of the road," those traffic signs and signals that foretell and forewarn about what lies ahead on the highway.
Reading the signs -- those written on walls and windows, and those written upon the winds of a changing world -- is a hard-earned skill to some and a gift to others. One of the 12 tribes of Israel, the Tribe of Issachar, was known as the tribe that "knows the signs and knows what to do" (1 Chronicles 12:32). Jesus also instructed his disciples to learn how to "read the signs." Or in his words, "You know how to read the signs of the sky. I want you to learn how to read the signs of the times" (Luke 12:56).
There have always been some people who just seem to "know" what is coming next for our future...
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3. His Name Says It AllMatthew doesn't want Joseph or any of us to get stuck in the dream. Matthew wants to bring us back down to earth, back to our waking reality, by invoking the name of Immanuel. Because if the Jesus, whose name was given to Joseph in a dream, is to do us any good, he'd better meet us and be with us in all those times when dreams end and when the crushing weight of a miserable world comes crashing down around our shoulders again. If he is only Jesus, the one who saves us from our sins, it would still be too easy to turn him into the one who also saves us out of the real world. But if he is Immanuel, then we realize we don't have to go anywhere to meet him other than the hurly-burly reality of our Monday mornings and our Thursday afternoons. We don't have to go find him in some other realm because he has already found us in exactly this realm and this world.
Immanuel is God-with-us in the cancer clinic and in the Alzheimer's ward at the local nursing home. Immanuel is God-with-us when the pink slip comes and when the beloved child sneers, "I hate you!" Immanuel is God-with-us when you pack the Christmas decorations away and, with an aching heart, you realize afresh that your one son never did call over the holidays. Not once. Immanuel is God-with-us when your dear wife or mother stares at you with an Alzheimer's glaze and absently asks, "What was your name again?"
Ever and always Jesus stares straight into you with his two good eyes and he does so not only when you can smile back but most certainly also when your own eyes are full of tears. In fact, Jesus is Immanuel, "God with you" even in those times when you are so angry with God that you refuse to meet his eyes. But even when you feel like you can't look at him, he never looks away from you. He can't. His name says it all.
Scott Hoezee, Comments and Observations
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4. God Does Not Desert UsI find it strange that God has never deserted me. I don't understand that kind of grace frankly. I do not deserve his eternal presence, nor do you. Yet, God has forever identified with the human dilemma. There may not be a soul in the world who truly understands your feelings. God understands. All in your life may fall away. God will never fall away.
In Tom Brokaw's book The Greatest Generation, a story is told of Mary Wilson, presently of Dallas, Texas. You would never know by looking at this modest woman that she was the recipient of the Silver Star and she bore the nickname "The Angel of Anzio." You will recall that when the Allies got bogged down in the boot of Italy during World War II, they attempted a daring breakout by launching an amphibious landing on the Anzio Beach. Unfortunately, the Allies got pinned down at the landing site and came dangerously close to being driven back into the ocean. It looked like another Dunkirk was in the making.
Mary Wilson was the head of the fifty-one army nurses who went ashore at Anzio. Things got so bad that bullets zipped through her tent as she assisted the surgeon in surgery. When the situation continued to deteriorate arrangements were made to get all of the nurses out. But Mary Wilson would have none of it. She refused to leave at the gravest hour. As she related her story years later, she said: "How could I possibly leave them. I was a part of them."
Our God is a good God. He does not desert us in our hour of need. He hears the cries of Israel. He hears the cries of the church. He hears the cries of His children. Christmas is about God's eternal identification with the human dilemma.
Staff, www.Sermons.com
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5. A Tough QuestionWhen I meet with a couple in preparation for their baby's baptism, I always ask this question: Have you prepared a will and have you specified in it who would rear your child if you were removed from the picture? Young parents don't like to even think about such a possibility, but life's uncertainties make it necessary. It's a tough question. Whom do you trust enough to rear your precious child? God had to answer that question when he decided to send his son Jesus to planet earth. God had to select a mother and a stepfather for his son.
Bill Bouknight, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
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6. Mary, Let's Go To The BarnI love this story: A grade school class was putting on a Christmas play which included the story of Mary and Joseph coming to the inn. In that class was one little boy who wanted very much to be Joseph. But when the parts were handed out, his biggest rival was given that part, and he was assigned to be the inn keeper instead. He was really bitter about this.
So during all the rehearsals he kept plotting in his mind what he might do the night of performance to get even with his rival who was Joseph. Finally, the night of the performance, Mary and Joseph came walking across the stage. They knocked on the door of the inn, and the inn-keeper opened the door and asked them gruffly what they wanted.
Joseph answered, "We'd like to have a room for the night." Suddenly the inn-keeper threw the door open wide and said, "Great, come on in and I'll give you the best room in the house."
For a few seconds poor little Joseph didn't know what to do, and a long silence ensued. Finally though, thinking quickly on his feet, Joseph looked in past the inn-keeper, first to the left and then to the right and said, "No wife of mine is going to stay in a dump like this. Come on, Mary, let's go to the barn." And once again the play was back on course.
It is obvious that Joseph cared deeply for Mary. He would not have risked his own reputation and protected hers if he did not. But his love was deeper and grounded on more than love for his bride to be. For you see he understood that obedience to God, even in the most dire of circumstances creates a life of substance and character.
Brett Blair, www.Sermons.com. Adapted from a Story by John Simmons.
_____________________7. Obedience and Compassion
There is a lot of talk today about what makes Christmas. Newspaper and television advertisements coax people into believing that they can have a real Christmas by going to a festive shopping center, eating at trendy restaurants, or watching glittering "Christmas programs" on television. Others believe that Christmas is made by the fastidious keeping of time-honored family rituals, such as, sentimental ornaments on just the right tree, eating food from a menu which has been handed down from generation to generation, or by visiting the same relatives at precisely the same time on Christmas Day. Some believe that Christmas is made by purchasing a uniquely special gift for every relative, friend, and acquaintance. To be sure, all of these contribute to our cultural understanding of Christmas.
But the answer to "What makes a real Christmas?" must be found in human history. That is what Joseph did. And, in a very real sense, it was the theology of Joseph which made possible the first Christmas. If Joseph had not cooperated with God's action in human history, the birth of Jesus would have been quite different.
The witness of Joseph calls us to cooperate with God's work in today's world. It calls us to respond to God's action among us.
Joseph, not having all of the evidence and knowledge of the future, decided to do more than law and custom required. He elected to do more than was expected of him. He let justice and compassion guide his decision about his pregnant betrothed. He was pulled, not by the strength of custom, but by the law of love.
Joseph Pennel Jr., From Anticipation to Transfiguration, CSS Publishing Company, p. 34.
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8. Emmanuel (God with Us)The Stunning Impact of Christmas: An old pioneer traveled westward across the great plains until he came to an abrupt halt at the edge of the Grand Canyon. He gawked at the sight before him: a vast chasm one mile down, eighteen miles across, and more than a hundred miles long! He gasped, "Something musta happened here!" A visitor to our world at Christmas time, seeing the lights, the decorations, the trees, the parades, the festivities, and the religious services, would also probably say, "Something must have happened here!" Indeed, something did happen. God came to our world on the first Christmas.
James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited, Tyndale, p. 86.
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9. Problems and ObedienceSooner or later, every one of us comes up against the rough side of life, and we have to face big problems. Dr. J. A. Hadfield, noted British psychologist, commented on this when he said, "When people run up against life and find it too much for them, one swears, one gets a headache, one gets drunk, and one prays" (J. A. Hadfield, Psychology and Morals [Robert Hadfield Co., 1935], p. 55).
When life gets hard, what do you do? Do you give up? Do you swear? Do you lash out in hostility? Do you try to find someone to blame? Do you give in to bitterness? Do you run away? Do you hide behind some illness? Do you drug yourself? Or, do you pray? Do you consider the problem prayerfully and then listen for God? That's what Joseph did, and it worked.
What a great lesson to learn from Joseph: the art of listening! Maybe this is why Jesus went often into the wilderness alone to do some praying and listening. Perhaps he learned from father Joseph how to listen for God's will. Joseph was big enough to listen. What a wonderful quality!
Joseph Was Big Enough to Obey
Even when it was hard to do, Joseph listened and heard God's command. Then he had the courage to act, to obey, to do God's will...
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10. Andrew Greeley Background:
The Christmas stories in the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Luke are not meant to be literal history, like, let us say, detailed descriptions of the Battle of Gettysburg. Rather they are theological stories designed to tell us that with the birth of Jesus a new phase of the history of humankind had begun. The stories may not be true in all their details but they are True in the sense that they disclose to us a sudden, dramatic, and total transformation in the human condition.
As John Shea says in his book Starlight, we discover at Christmas, not only the light that is God and the light that Jesus came to bring to the world, but the light that is and has always been in us because we are creatures who share in the light of God, beings in whom the spark of God's light and love has always shone. Christmas reveals to us that like Mary and Joseph we too can be the light of the world and that indeed our own frail and often dim lights are not completely discontinuous from the light of Jesus, from the starlight that shone at Bethlehem.
Story:
Once upon a time there was a little girl named Jeanne Marie who was afraid of the dark. She wouldn’t go to sleep at night unless all the lights in her room were on. You couldn’t never tell, she argued, who’d sneak into her room at night if it were dark. She absolutely refused to go into her closet because, like the boy in comics several years ago, she thought monsters might lurk in the closet especially at night. She claimed that she could hear the monsters talking about what they were going to do to her. Although she like snow, she hated winter because it was dark so much of the time. She didn’t like to go off to the country for vacation because there were no street lights and the dark was very scary indeed. The monsters who had hidden in her closet now wandered the streets of the summer village and lurked in the woods. She was frightened when she went to the movies because the theatres were too dark. Her mother said to her once aren’t you old enough now not to be afraid of the dark.
She said, no, the older she got the more reasons she should think of for being afraid of the dark. She came home from school one day with the story of the midnight sun in Sweden in the summer. Lets live there, she said. But in the winter the sun hardly ever shines there, her mommy said. Well, where does it go. To the South Pole. Well, lets live there. It’s too cold. I don’t care, so long as it’s not dark.
Then one day her mommy and daddy took her to midnight Mass in the church. It was totally dark inside. Jeanne Marie was terrified. Then the priest flicked the switch and the church was filled with light. Oh, said Jeanne Marie, it’s so pretty.
Light always comes on, doesn’t it mommy?
...If you wait long enough
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Stories from Father Tony Kadavil's Collection:
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Stories from Father Tony Kadavil's Collection:
1. Emmanuel – God with us: Over 100 years ago Father Damien deVeuster, (St. Damien of Molokai) a Belgian priest, began working with lepers on Molokai, a small Hawaiian island. Father Damien found a source of fresh water in the mountains and developed a system to bring it down to the colony. He built the first sanitation system and clinic. He and the lepers constructed a chapel for worship. Each Sunday Father Damien would begin his sermon with these words: “You lepers know that God loves you.” This went on for years. Finally, one Sunday Father Damien began his sermon this way: “We lepers know that God loves us.” Father Damien had contracted leprosy. Yet he went on loving and serving until his death in 1898. Even as Father Damien cast his lot in with the lepers, Jesus, Emmanuel, invested Himself totally in us sinners. “He was bruised and wounded for our sins. He was lashed, and we were healed.” “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel’” (Mt 1: 22-23). (Dr. William R. Bouknight).
2: “You don’t know what love can do!” There is a story about a small boy who went to a pet shop. “Mister,” he said to the owner, “I want to buy that puppy.” The owner’s eyes followed the boy’s finger to a little crippled puppy all by himself. “Son,” replied, “that pup is worthless. We’re going to have him put to sleep in the next few days.” But the boy protested, “I’ve saved my money just to buy that one puppy. I have been looking at him in the window every day. He’s the only one I want.” Once again, the owner explained the problem—the dog was crippled—the dog was worthless—the dog would be put to sleep. The small boy then reached down with two little hands and pulled up his trousers. The man observed two little legs enclosed in braces. “Mister,” he said, “You don’t know what love can do!” Jesus, Emmanuel has worn our braces and died for our sins. Now with grateful hearts let us enthrone him as Savior and Lord.
3: “A baby is God’s opinion that the world should go on.” Carl Sandburg (1878-1967), the noted American historian, novelist, and poet, once said, “A baby is God’s opinion that the world should go on.” When Isaiah offered Ahaz the sign which he had refused to request, the prophet’s message bore some similarity to the words of Sandburg. A baby would be born, he prophesied, and that child’s existence would underscore, yet again, God’s fidelity to his promises. Judah could be sure that its world would indeed go on.
4: You’ll know tonight.” It was a few days before Christmas. A woman woke up one morning and told her husband, “I just dreamed that you gave me a pearl necklace for Christmas. What do you think this dream means?” “Oh,” her husband replied, “you’ll know the day after tomorrow.” The next morning, she turned to her husband again and said she had the same dream and received the same reply. On the third morning, the woman woke up and smiled at her husband, “I just dreamed again that you gave me a pearl necklace for Christmas. What do you think this dream means?” And he smiled back, “You’ll know tonight.” That evening, the man came home with a small package and presented it to his wife. She was delighted. She opened it gently. And when she did, she found—a book! And the book’s title was The Meaning of Dreams. Today’s Gospel tells us how Joseph had a dream and how he reacted to it. (Rev Samuel Candler).
5. Jesuit Joke: A Jesuit, a Dominican and a Franciscan were walking along an old road, debating the greatness of their orders. Suddenly, a vision of the Holy Family appeared in front of them, with Jesus in a manger and Mary and Joseph praying over him. The Franciscan fell on his face, overcome with awe at the sight of God born in such poverty. The Dominican fell to his knees, adoring the beautiful reflection of the Trinity and the Holy Family. The Jesuit walked up to Joseph, put his arm around his shoulder, and said, “So, where ya thinking of sending the kid for school?
24 Additional anecdotes
1) Beauty and the Beast: Today’s Gospel message is a bit like the story of Beauty and the Beast, the animated film nominated for the Oscar Award in 1991. In that film, Beauty stepped into the ugly world of the Beast, not because he was loveable, not because he deserved her, but because she loved her father. But the world of the beast did not change right away, even though Beauty was there. The servants, who shared the curse of the Beast, warned him that Beauty might be the one they had been waiting for, but the Beast continued to rage and scream and roar, finally sending Beauty away. On her way home, she was attacked by the wolves, and Beast saved her. As Beauty returned and nursed the wounded Beast back to health, they began to bicker and blame each other, until in one beautiful moment, Beauty stepped into the heart of the ugly beast. From that moment on, the Beast began to change slowly. He started to laugh and play. And then, finally, Beast realized that he loved Beauty, and in an amazing act of love, he released her to find her father. Beauty and her father returned to the ugly world of the Beast to warn him of the danger of the townspeople’s attack, but they were too late. In the fighting, Beast had been stabbed, and as he lay dying, Beauty confessed her love for him. And the spell was broken. Beast was changed by the love of Beauty. Because Beauty stepped into the ugly world of the Beast, Beast was changed, little by little, until one day he was transformed into a wonderful handsome prince. In Jesus, God stepped into our ugly, beastly world as Joshua (Savior), and Emmanuel (sign of God’s permanent presence with us), to change it, to bring to it – to us – the beauty of the love of God’s kingdom. But change comes slowly. Yes, just look at our world. There are so many ugly people, so many beastly things happening. But, there are some people who are changing and some who have been changed by the beauty of God’s love, and both begin loving others. Today’s Gospel describes the changes that occurred in St. Joseph and in the Holy Family.
2) Grandfather or great-grandfather? In Christian art, Joseph is often portrayed more like Jesus’ grandfather or great-grandfather than like a parent. In a 17th-century painting by Guido Reni, Joseph, with gray hair and beard, lovingly holds the infant, who plays with his beard. One beautiful exception is El Greco’s “Joseph,” which portrays him as a vigorous young man with Jesus clinging to his legs, here a figure of trust and protection. The historical Joseph, a carpenter or stoneworker, was most likely young and vigorous, excited about a future with a woman he so loved that he would not invoke a harsh law against supposed adultery, but still followed the law and so would have put her away “quietly” — except for the angel from God. Yet out of his shattered hopes would come forth One whom he would name Jesus-| the Emmanuel, “God with us.” Matthew’s Joseph, in today’s Gospel, provides a model of complementarity for parents today as they engage in that most Divine of tasks—bringing forth new life and guiding their sons and daughters along the way of Christ. (Fr. John R. Donahue, S.J.)
3) Emmanuel to ward off Phobias: More than 300 fears, or phobias, are listed in medical dictionaries. There is the fear of darkness and the fear of light. There is the fear of high places and low places. The fear of closed places we call claustrophobia. Some people suffer from pyrophobia which is the fear of fire, and some from neophobia, which is the fear of what is new. Toxicophobia is the fear of being poisoned, and gamaphobia is the fear of marriage. Pantophobia is the fear of everything; and the person who is not afraid of anything may be suffering from phobophobia, which is the fear of being afraid! But one of the most devastating of the fears is “futurphobia,” the fear of the future. It is difficult to go anywhere if you are afraid to take the next step. But if you are walking in Faith, trusting your Lord, you don’t have to be afraid. He says, “Go … and I am with you.” Here is one of our Lord’s wonderful promises. It is important that we read it correctly. He doesn’t say, “Go … and I will go with you.” Rather, he says, “Go … and I am with you.” He is not just a tag-along; He is already out there ahead of us in the very next step we are going to take; and He is there no matter how dark it is.
4) “Audio spotlight” technology in the first century: Last year busy Christmas shoppers in the SoHo district of New York were suddenly hearing voices. The woman’s voice they heard seemed to whisper directly in their ear, asking, “Who’s there? Who’s there?” Spooked shoppers then heard the voice claim, “It’s not in your imagination.” The voice, in fact, WAS real, but there wasn’t any disembodied being lurking on Prince Street. Instead those who heard the voice were simply “receiving” an ad for a new A&E television program called Paranormal State. The ad used “audio spotlight” technology developed by the Holosonic Company. Usually used to give audio slideshows in quiet environments like libraries and museums, this technology “beamed” an audio message from a nearby rooftop towards the street. When the beam intercepted an individual, that person received what seemed to be his or her own personal whisper-in-the-ear message. Anyone remember the one-second dancing hot dogs that used to flash across movie screens to suggest subliminally to patrons that they should leave their seats and buy a hot dog? The same thing was done with popcorn. Today’s Gospel describes how St. Joseph received such a message from God in a dream some 2000 years ago, removing his suspicion about Mary’s miraculous pregnancy.
5) The forgotten Saint: A pastor tells the story of a worried mother who phoned the Church office on the afternoon before the annual Christmas program to say that her small son, who was to play the role of Joseph in the Christmas Pageant, had a cold and had gone to bed on doctor’s orders. “It’s too late now to get another Joseph,” the director of the play said. “We’ll just have to write him out of the script.” And they did! Joseph just disappeared! And only a few of those who watched that night actually realized that Joseph was missing. Joseph is often forgotten. But today’s Gospel is centered on Joseph.
6) Humans in solar system in 2600 AD: God did something as fantastic for that age, some 2000 years ago, as some of the proposals for the future by contemporary scientists suggest! Edward Regis, Jr., in an article, “Mother Sun,” seems to be fantasizing when he looks ahead to conditions in this solar system in A.D. 2600. He believes, with some other scientists like Crisweli, that the human race will inhabit most of the planets and asteroids of the system in 600 years: “But there’s a catch. Although there are hundreds of billions of people spread out from one end of the solar system to the other, planetary materials are nearing exhaustion.” Edward Regis believes that human beings can take the sun apart through the use of particle accelerators, thereby providing a virtually inexhaustible source of energy and materials to support human life in this universe. Two thousand years ago, the announcement of a “Virgin Birth” must have been just as incredible to those people as Edward Regis’ or Crisweli’s Plan for “Mother Sun” is to us. But through God-given Faith, as described in today’s Gospel, Joseph was able to accept the promised miracle and act accordingly.
7) “Honey, seems I’m lost again.”. G. K. Chesterton, who died at the age of 62 in 1936, was a prolific British writer and theologian. He was a brilliant man who debated the greatest minds of his day and his writings influenced people like C.S. Lewis to convert to Christianity. Though he was a deep thinker and could express himself well, including writing articles for the Encyclopedia Britannica, he was extremely absent-minded and over the years he became rather notorious for getting lost. He would absolutely forget where he was supposed to be and what he was supposed to be doing. On one such occasion, he sent a telegram to his wife which carried these words: “Honey, seems I’m lost again. Presently, I am at Market Harborough. Where ought I to be?” As only a spouse could say it, she telegraphed back a one-word reply “HOME!” This is precisely what this classic passage in the first chapter of Matthew does for us… it brings us home… — Home to the real meaning of Christmas — Home to the most magnificent truth in the entire Bible — Home to our Lord’s greatest promise — Home to the reason we celebrate Christmas, namely this: “GOD IS WITH US!” When we accept Christ into our lives, nothing, not even death, can separate us from God and His love. It is what Christmas is about. God is with us. (Fr. Kayala)’
8) “Dog Theology” vs. “Cat Theology:” You may have heard of “Dog Theology” vs. “Cat Theology.” Here is Dog’s Theology: “You feed me. You pet me. You shelter me. You love me. You must be God!” Cat’s Theology: “You feed me. You pet me. You shelter me. You love me. I must be God.” A Far Side cartoon once depicted a scientist announcing a breakthrough in understanding cat language: “They say only two things: ‘Where’s my dinner?’ and ‘Everything here is mine.’” Here is a cat story illustrating the need of our co-operation to get saved by God. At the very same time the Santa Ana winds returned to southern California, swamping flood waters inundated western state of Washington and submerged Interstate 5 for five days. Camera crews captured a lot of dramatic rescue stories. While filming the flooded farmlands a TV camera crew spied a lone refugee—a large grey cat perched on top of an old metal out-building. The flood waters had completely surrounded this cold and shivering cat. For whatever reason, the TV crew paddled and waddled forward to rescue the kitty. The cat took one look at this splashing gang of strangers with blazing lights and blaring bullhorns and saw his doom. As they tried in vain to corral and catch the cat, one camera recorded the kitty’s “escape” to higher ground. First, the cat leapt an amazing distance to the next ragged metal building. Then, still in a panic, the cat proceeded to climb the sheer, smooth, aluminum siding straight up for at least twelve feet—until he reached the roof peak and was “safely” away from all those who had thought they would “rescue” him. Now in total darkness and utterly defeated, the camera crew left. A check of the same site the next day found the flood waters had receded, and the superman cat had disappeared. 2000 years ago, on that first Christmas God launched a rescue mission to save mankind from the bondage of sin by sending His Son Jesus as our Savior. But being “saved” depends upon our trusting God the Savior because we cannot save ourselves. And that is the theme of today’s Gospel.
9) “God is with us.” Phyllis Martin, a schoolteacher in Columbus, Ohio, tells of the day when the storm clouds and strong gusts of wind came up suddenly over the Alpine Elementary School. The school public address system blared tornado warnings. It was too dangerous to send the children home. Instead, they were taken to the basement where the children lined the walls and huddled together in fear. She said the teachers were worried, too. To help ease the tension, the principal suggested a sing-along. But the voices were weak and unenthusiastic. One child after another began to cry. The children could not be consoled and were close to panic. Then one of the teachers, whose faith seemed equal to any emergency, whispered to the child closest to her, “Kathy, I know you are scared. I am too, but aren’t we forgetting something? There is a power greater than any storm. God will protect us. Just say to yourself, ‘God is with us,’ then pass the words on to the child next to you and tell her to pass it on.” Suddenly that dark and cold basement became a sacred place as each child in turn whispered around the room those powerful words, “God is with us,” “God is with us,” God is with us.” A sense of peace and courage and confidence settled over the group. Phyllis Martin said, “I could hear the wind outside still blowing with such strength that it literally shook the building, but it did not seem to matter now… Inside the fears subsided and tears faded away… When the all-clear signal came sometime later, students and staff returned to the classrooms without the usual jostling and talking. Through the years I have remembered those calming words. When we are frightened, we can claim that great Christmas promise: “God is with us”
10) “God is with us as never before”: There was a family which was going through a painful, heart-breaking grief-experience. Their teenage daughter had died after a long bout with leukemia. Their pastor went to their home and they sat down together around the kitchen table, sipped coffee, and reminisced about their daughter, Courtney. They poured our hearts out. They cried together as they remembered painful moments. They laughed and remembered Courtney’s incredible sense of humor through it all… and some of the funny things she had said and done over her last few years. They prayed when they recalled her amazing Faith, her tender love and her brave spirit. Finally, when their pastor stood to leave, Courtney’s mom took his hands in hers, she looked him straight in the eye and she said, “Now pastor, don’t worry about us. We’re going to be all right. This is the toughest thing we have ever been through… no question about that… but God is with us as never before, and He will hold us up… and He will see us through. He has given us strength every day throughout this ordeal.
11) “God is with us”: The great writer Max Lucado tells about his neighbor who was trying to teach his six-year-old son how to shoot a basketball. They were out in the backyard. The father shot a couple of times, saying, “Do it just like that, son; it’s real easy.” The little boy tried very hard but he couldn’t get the ball ten feet into the air. The little fellow got more and more frustrated. Finally, after hearing his father talk about how easy it was for the tenth time, the boy said, “It’s easy for you up there. You don’t know how hard it is from down here.” You and I can never say that about God. When Jesus became man and lived among us, he walked where we walk, he suffered what we suffer, he was tempted as we are tempted. He was Emmanuel which means “God is with us.”
12) “I hate Christmas”: I remember a lady in a previous parish in which I served who told me how much she hated the Christmas season. With her children grown and her husband dead, she felt as if there were really nothing for her; Christmas, after all, is for children, at least according to the merchants. Each year the woman became more depressed than she had the previous December. Using her reasoning that Christmas was for children, I asked her to be responsible for the Adopt-A-Family Project. She met the families, discovered what they needed, and organized the parish community for action and for giving. The month of December became different for her. Christmas was not just for children, but for her. She had discovered God’s presence by giving, and both the giving and that presence continued throughout the year. On her way to becoming an embittered woman, she had been transformed as God’s presence was made real to her. Today’s Gospel tells us how God became Emmanuel, “God with us” to transform us.
13) What is your Christmas gift for Jesus? When Jesus called that Christmas week I wasn’t at my best;/ And the house was much too cluttered to entertain a guest./ He seemed to notice everything, the card still unaddressed,/ The gifts piled high awaiting wraps, the baking and the rest./ He eyes fell on the evergreen and the presents ‘beneath the tree./’It’s my birthday that you celebrate—what are you giving me?’‘/ What am I giving Him?’ I thought; ashamed, no words I found. / So many costly things I’d bought, He looked at me and frowned. /I prayed He’d let the question pass, but when he did persist, / I blurted out the truth at last, ‘You were not on my list.’” (Louise Teisberg )
14) Being just in dealing with others: The ancient Greeks defined justice as “giving to another what is his due.” Having given a definition for justice, they failed to render the same to their great philosopher, Socrates. Socrates felt he had been given a Divine call to right the wrong, enlighten the ignorant and lead people from untruth to truth. He engaged with people in conversation on all kinds of topics -war, marriage, morality, religion etc. He was always kind and gentle in his disposition but delighted in exposing the quacks and the humbugs of his time. He practiced the virtues he preached. He was falsely charged with atheism and the corruption of youth by the Athenian people; the judge ordered that he should be put to death by the drinking hemlock, a poison. Since his death, history has reversed the judgment, has declared Socrates innocent, and has condemned the Athenian people and the judge as guilty of giving an unfair and wrong judgment against Socrates.—Time and again, we have seen in history that people have been wrongly condemned and put to death. How are we to act justly? When we are called upon to judge, how should we render judgment? In today’s Gospel, Joseph gives us an example of how we can wisely pass judgment on others. Joseph ‘being a just man’ breaks the law by showing compassion. In showing compassion to Mary, he acted as God does in His dealings with His people.
(John Rose in John’s Sunday Homilies; quoted by Fr. Botelho)
15) St. Joseph, the model of Faith: A retreat master was addressing a group of fathers. He proposed St. Joseph as a perfect model for them as the head of their families. At that, one retreatant said: “Joseph’s situation was totally different from mine. He was a saint, his wife was sinless, and his Child was the Son of God. I’m no saint, my wife is not sinless, and my child isn’t the Son of God.” Without batting an eyelid, the quick-witted Retreat master responded: “Was your wife pregnant before marriage and you didn’t know by whom? Did you son leave home for three days and you didn’t know where he was? Were you ever awakened in the middle of the night and urged to flee from the imminent threat of your innocent child’s assassination?” St. Joseph was pre-eminently a man of Faith who never doubted the reassuring promise of the Heavenly messenger: “Don’t be afraid, Joseph, to take Mary to be your wife. For it is by the Holy Spirit that she has conceived.” Joseph believed God’s word and acted on it and fulfilled the mission God had given him. We too, with His ever-present help, can do the same. (Mark Link; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
(John Rose in John’s Sunday Homilies; quoted by Fr. Botelho)
15) St. Joseph, the model of Faith: A retreat master was addressing a group of fathers. He proposed St. Joseph as a perfect model for them as the head of their families. At that, one retreatant said: “Joseph’s situation was totally different from mine. He was a saint, his wife was sinless, and his Child was the Son of God. I’m no saint, my wife is not sinless, and my child isn’t the Son of God.” Without batting an eyelid, the quick-witted Retreat master responded: “Was your wife pregnant before marriage and you didn’t know by whom? Did you son leave home for three days and you didn’t know where he was? Were you ever awakened in the middle of the night and urged to flee from the imminent threat of your innocent child’s assassination?” St. Joseph was pre-eminently a man of Faith who never doubted the reassuring promise of the Heavenly messenger: “Don’t be afraid, Joseph, to take Mary to be your wife. For it is by the Holy Spirit that she has conceived.” Joseph believed God’s word and acted on it and fulfilled the mission God had given him. We too, with His ever-present help, can do the same. (Mark Link; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
16) The impossible becomes possible with God: It is reported that when Fred Astaire, the famous tap dancer, presented his very first performance before the director of MGM way back in 1933, the response was: “Can’t act! Slightly bald! Can dance a little!” Undeterred, he went on to become one of the finest, most graceful and impressive dancers the world has ever known. Beethoven handled the violin awkwardly and preferred to play his own compositions instead of improving his technique. His teacher called him hopeless as a composer. The rest, as we know, is history: Beethoven went on to distinguish himself as a brilliant violinist and an eminent composer. Albert Einstein did not speak until he was four years old and didn’t read until he was seven. His teacher described him as “mentally slow, unsociable and adrift forever in his foolish dreams.” Further, he was expelled and refused admission into the Zurich Polytechnic School. Unaffected by this harsh and unfair assessment he went on to become one the world’s greatest geniuses. — Fred Astaire, Beethoven and Albert Einstein each admirably demonstrated what we have heard in the three readings today, viz. what is impossible to man is possible to God, and the God of wisdom, power and love is with us and in us always, even to the end of time. The essential message of Christmas is: “The Lord Himself will give you a sign. It is this: ‘The maiden is with child and soon will give birth to a son whom she will call Emmanuel, a name which means ‘God-is-with-us.’” If God is for us and with us, who can be against us? (James Valladares in Your Words, O Lord, Are Spirit, and They Are Life; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
17) The Excitement of Arrival: In 1915, Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton led an expedition to Antarctica which nearly ended in tragedy. His ship was caught in ice and eventually was crushed. The crew had to flee, taking with them what provisions they could carry. They drifted 150 miles on an ice floe to Elephant Island, where there was an old supply hut. From there Shackleton and a few of his men sailed 800 miles in a small boat on wild seas to South Georgia Island. After a near tragic landing (the rudder broke apart just as they reached a rocky shore) they made a nearly impossible crossing of a rugged mountain range to a whaling village on the opposite shore. Meanwhile, the men he left behind at Elephant Island had exhausted their supplies and had nearly given up hope that the ‘boss’ – that’s what they called Shackleton -would make it back to save them. But he did, and one can only imagine the excitement of those beleaguered men the day they sighted Shackleton’s rescue ship making its way through the stormy Antarctic Ocean to Elephant Island. The ‘Boss’ had arrived, just as he said he would. -Are we faithfully living in expectation of the Lord’s coming? Do we believe He will come, as He said, He would? (Pulpit Resources; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
18) Preparing for the task ahead: Queen Victoria of England, ruled over the vast British Empire for many years. When she was eight years old, her teacher slipped a little piece of paper into a book, that the princess was studying. The teacher had written: “Someday you will be the Queen of England.” Little Victoria looked at those words for a long time and mulled over them. Then she said, “I am nearer to the throne than I think. I will try to get truly ready and will be good.” She took to heart the words of the teacher and began to prepare herself for the great task ahead of her. Her constant efforts enabled her to fulfill her duties and she became one of the greatest monarchs of the British Empire. (Elias Dias in Divine Stories for Families; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
19) Are you awake? Are you aware of God? A man came to the Buddha and asked him, “Tell me Buddha, are you a god?” “No, I am not god.” “Are you an angel?” “No, I am not.” “Are you a prophet?” “No, not a prophet neither.” “What are you then?” Whereupon the Buddha answered……. “I am awake.” -Most of us are not awake. We are always in slumber. We are not aware of our own thoughts, feelings and actions. We function most of the time, like automatons. The enlightened are those aware and awake. During Advent let us be awake and get prepared for the rebirth of Jesus in our lives. (Dr. Francis Xavier in The World’s Best Inspiring Stories; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
20) Giving him the best: The story is told of a mother waiting for her young son to come home from boarding school for his Christmas holidays. In her eager anticipation, on the evening before his arrival, she had baked his favourite cake and kept it in the larder. That night her aged father, who was staying with them, got up feeling hungry, he stumbled down to the kitchen and was rummaging for some food. He espied the cake and could not resist taking a slice. The next morning when the mother saw the ‘damage’ done, she scolded the old man, who very sheepishly was trying to excuse himself, saying he only took a ‘tiny slice’. She said: “It doesn’t matter to you does it? But it matters to me, very much indeed.” In her joyful expectation she had poured out her love, only a matter of flour, and milk and eggs, it would seem, but it mattered very much indeed. –The Church places Mary as the model for waiting and preparing for the coming of the Lord. What exactly did Mary do? By her Faith, and obedience to God she prepared a body for him, through her self-gift. (Denis P. in All Times and Seasons Belong to Him! Quoted by Fr. Botelho).
21) Are you the one? Yes, Jesus was “the One who was to come.” But where can people find him today? Once, a group of salesmen attended a sales convention. They had assured their families that they would be home in time for dinner. But the meeting ran overtime, so they had to run for the train. Tickets in hand, they dashed along the platform. One of them knocked over a table supporting a basket of apples. But neither he nor any of his companions stopped to help the young boy who staffed the apple stand. All reached the train and boarded it with a sigh of relief. But then one of them felt a twinge of compassion for the boy whose apple stand had been overturned. He immediately decided to do something about it. Saying good-bye to his companions, he returned to the scene of the accident. He was glad he had done so. He discovered that the boy was blind. The salesman began to gather up the apples. As he did so he noticed that some of them were bruised. He took out his wallet and handing the boy some money he said, ‘Here, take this for the damage we did. I hope we didn’t spoil your day.’ As he started to walk away, the bewildered boy called after him, ‘Are you Jesus?’ Are you Jesus?” In a sense, he was. Because he acted like Jesus. So where is Jesus to be found today? In his disciples. Blessed are we if we do not lose Faith in Jesus. And twice blessed are we if, like Jesus, we are able to show forth our Faith in deeds of love and mercy. People will encounter Jesus in us. (Flor McCarthy in Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
22) Janus the Roman god with two faces: Janus, one of the Roman gods, had two faces, which signified his ability to see both past and future, at once. His image was posted in the doorway of Roman houses, from which position it was thought he could protect the comings and goings of the inhabitants. Wherever Rome was at war, the doors of Janus’ temple were left open; in times of peace, they were closed. During his reign as emperor, Augustus (31 B.C. – AD 14) ordered the doors to Janus’ temple to be closed three times as evidence of the Pax Romana (Roman Peace), which he established and enforced and which lasted for two centuries. Before his death at age 75, Augustus had so organized Rome’s provinces and made its extensive system of roads so safe that commercial enterprise flourished and extended even into India and China.
When he wrote to the Christians at Rome, Paul’s letter was safely carried from Corinth to Rome, and like the other early Christian missionaries, his many journeys for the sake of the Gospel were made less difficult because roadways were maintained and guarded by Roman soldiers. But when Paul extended his traditional greetings of grace and peace (vs. 7) to the Roman Church, it was not the Pax Romana but the Pax Christi to which be referred. Christ’s peace, which is so much in the forefront during the seasons of Advent and Christmas, is Christ’s gift to all of us of Himself, Incarnate, crucified and risen. His peace is not enforced but offered to all who will appropriate his gift in Faith. (Patricia Datchuck Sánchez).
23) Doing it my way or His way! There is a story about King Henry III of Bavaria, who lived in the eleventh century. Apparently, he became tired of his earthly duties and responsibilities and felt the call to a simpler more spiritual life. He made an application to Prior Richard to enter his monastery as a contemplative, finally free from worldly distractions to foster his spiritual life. Prior Richard responded, “Your majesty do you understand that one of the vows here is that of obedience? That will be hard for you since you have been a king and are used to giving not receiving orders.” “I understand,” Henry said, “For the rest of my life I will be obedient to you, as Christ leads you.” “Then I will tell you what to do.” Prior Richard responded. “Go back to your throne and serve faithfully and generously in the place where God has put you.” In today’s Gospel we find Joseph following God’s way in a family crisis.(Corbin Eddy in ‘Who Knows the Shape of God?’ Quoted by Fr. Botelho).
24)Jesus’ face on the laminated birch-wood door of the hospital’s recovery room
King Ahaz, spoken of in today’s first reading, was, in one sense, commendable when he refused to ask God for a sign: “I will not tempt the Lord.” It is impertinent of us to demand that the Almighty keep showing us His divine credentials. He uses miracles with great economy. Believers are sometimes too ready to consider this or that striking occurrence as a sign given us by God. One such occurrence was described in April 1983, by the Associated Press. That month, a visitor to the Walker County Medical Center in Jasper, Alabama, noticed what looked like Jesus’ face on the laminated birch-wood door of the hospital’s recovery room. There were two “eyes” that appeared tear-filled, set in what looked somewhat like a Christ-face. News of this phenomenon spread quickly, and during the following week at least 10,000 people came to see it. Viewers had difference reactions. Some laughed nervously. Some wept. Some prayed. One man took it as a promise that his ailing son would recover; and the son did get well. On the other hand, certain of the hospital employees referred to it as “the hoax.” Of course, the newspapers seized upon the event, soliciting the opinions of local pundits. Ministers of the vicinity asked to be given the door, if the Medical Center, obviously embarrassed by the crowds of visitors, should remove it. A Benedictine monk of a nearby monastery said that while Divine signs are always possible, the Catholic Church is cautious about declaring unusual happenings miraculous. Photographs published in the daily press suggested that the “face” was merely a natural pattern in the laminated wood. At all events, the furor soon died down. Six months later the press apparently considered the “apparition” no longer newsworthy. One suspects that at Jasper Faith had yielded to credulity. This is always a perilous thing, since credulity, once disappointed, can contribute to a loss of true Faith. Ahaz’ real fault in refusing to ask a sign from God was that on that occasion God wanted to give a sign. What Ahaz refused to ask, God gave anyhow, to the King and all mankind: “The virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and she shall name Him Emmanuel.” Father Robert F. McNamara (L/19)
