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Exploring the word

02 Dec 2018 - First Sunday of Advent, Cycle C

Ask anyone what he or she would do if told that death is near, and chances are that person will have an answer for you. “Call my mother!” “Forgive my son.” “Spend all my money.” “Make peace with God.” What this quick lesson in end-times diplomacy teaches us is that, deep down, each one of us knows we aren’t living right. We all have a back-up plan for how to live our lives when the gas gauge is near empty and the sputtering starts. Clarifying our end-time behavior and planning our exit strategy is instructive because it stands in for an examination of conscience for people of faith. What are we doing wrong, and what would we be doing differently if we expected to meet our Maker shortly? Having an answer to that question is important, because the clock is ticking. Conducting ourselves to please God Saint Paul put the matter before the Thessalonians in terms of behaving in such a way as to please God. He used the yardstick of love to measure their readiness. After all, in the Hellenized world, athletic ability was next to godliness, and so Paul prayed that the community would have strong hearts well exercised by the practice of Christian charity. Paul and his generation anticipated an early parousia, so the idea that Jesus might show up later today was no theological fantasy for them. It was more of a historical probability. Earlier prophets like Jeremiah thought the day of fulfillment was at hand, and God’s promises were about to be revealed so don’t turn your back. Oracles often come wrapped in imminence, if not immanence. God is near, the message always says, and amazing things are about to happen. Why then do we doubt this? God remains near, and amazing things will happen to those with eyes to see. But often we look away, forget to mind our conduct and to exercise our hearts, and live instead as if God is on vacation from human history and won’t be back for millennia. Even Jesus warns us that we should not allow our hearts to become drowsy from the pursuit of pleasure or, adversely, from the entertainment of anxiety. He advises his disciples to pray for strength, to be vigilant, and to hold up their heads with confidence. When the dazzling finale does come, and there is no doubt of it, we will need strong hearts to endure it. But the end of the world? Puleeze! It seems like a cheap Jedi trick, to use the lingo of Star Wars fans, to drag out fear of Armageddon to get the faithful in line. Isn’t that millennialist approach a little out of date? Besides, many of us no longer identify with the religion of fear and trepidation. “Apocalypse Soon” may not be the best argument to use for those on a spiritual journey toward a more likeable, less cataclysmic God. For those who can’t or won’t go there when it comes to the Final Dissolution of All Things, then let’s talk about mortality, plain and simple. We’re all gonna die. The results have been tabulated, and the evidence is convincing that there’s no way out of this world except through the tomb. Even acknowledging the handful of possible biblical exceptions (Enoch, Elijah, and in some traditions, John the disciple), the odds are astronomically high that you and I are not getting out without paying the wage of sin. Because this fact is surer than the weather report, the condition of the stock market, the health benefits of vitamin E, and everything else we put our faith in so blithely, we might consider taking our death more seriously than we normally do. To put it another way: Despite walking an hour a day, eating the right foods, watching our weight, and using Benecol instead of butter, we’re still, incarnately speaking, toast in the long run. So the end is near, and God’s promises are at hand. Therefore it remains a good idea to trust in their generosity and be forewarned about their immediacy. Applying the word Starting over in Advent The world around us has been getting Christmassy since the end of the summer, regrettably, so it seems very dark and Catholic of us to be fretting about the end of the world at the start of Advent. And yet nothing could be timelier. We Christians do not simply commemorate the coming of Mary’s baby into the world in this season, but the everlasting promise of Jesus being with us, “lo, to the end of time.” Especially, we might add, at the end—ours or everybody’s. The return of Jesus at the close of history or our return to Jesus on our dying day is a seamless garment of truth and an article of faith. For those who think the Apocalypse is too grim a subject for Advent, I’d say, “The end of suffering and evil and death itself is supposed to be good news!” So we start again, in Advent, with our eyes trained on the horizon of hope that will sustain us in those seasons when courage fails. With the gift of a whole season to prepare for good news—and isn’t our life just such a season?—we might consider what we’d do differently if we knew this was our last day. And then, consider further: Why not live that way every day? Related scripture links Imminent parousia: Rev. 22:20 The unusual end of Enoch, Elijah, and maybe John: Gen. 5:24; 2 Kings 2:11; John 21:21-22 The traditional salary for sin: Rom. 6:23 Lo, to the end of time: Matt. 28:20

Authors Alice Camille

end times drowsiness vigilance

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Homily stories

02 Dec 2018 - First Sunday of Advent, Cycle C

It had been a very difficult day at work, a day filled with anxieties and conflicts and much uncertainty. I felt the weight of the world on my shoulders. All I wanted to do was go home, lie on the couch, and watch TV. Maybe I’d pull a blanket up over my head and go to sleep. As I walked to the train, thoughts of hibernating were all that propelled me toward home. On the train I could barely keep my eyes open. Afraid I was going to drift off to sleep and miss my stop, I moved toward the exit on the train and stood on the stairs looking out the window. At that time we lived right across the street from the train tracks. As the train began to slow a half mile out of the station, we passed my house. The way the sun was shining I could see clearly into my living room. My two daughters, 3- and 5-years-old, were spinning and twirling and laughing in our living room. My heart leapt. My energy revived. I found myself quickening my pace from the time I got off the train to when I was running up our street to our front door. When I opened the door I could hear the sounds of the music and laughter and that wonderful squeal, “Daddy’s home!” Jesus warns his disciples, “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from . . . the anxieties of daily life.” Thanks to my daughters, that evening I threw off my drowsiness and anxiety and joined in the dancing.

Authors Tom McGrath

drowsiness family

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Homily stories

01 Dec 2024 - First Sunday of Advent, Cycle C

It had been a very difficult day at work, a day filled with anxieties and conflicts and much uncertainty. I felt the weight of the world on my shoulders. All I wanted to do was go home, lie on the couch, and watch TV. Maybe I’d pull a blanket up over my head and go to sleep. As I walked to the train, thoughts of hibernating were all that propelled me toward home. On the train I could barely keep my eyes open. Afraid I was going to drift off to sleep and miss my stop, I moved toward the exit on the train and stood on the stairs looking out the window. At that time we lived right across the street from the train tracks. As the train began to slow a half mile out of the station, we passed my house. The way the sun was shining I could see clearly into my living room. My two daughters, 3- and 5-years-old, were spinning and twirling and laughing in our living room. My heart leapt. My energy revived. I found myself quickening my pace from the time I got off the train to when I was running up our street to our front door. When I opened the door I could hear the sounds of the music and laughter and that wonderful squeal, “Daddy’s home!” Jesus warns his disciples, “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from . . . the anxieties of daily life.” Thanks to my daughters, that evening I threw off my drowsiness and anxiety and joined in the dancing.

Authors Tom McGrath

drowsiness

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