By Father S. Peter Donatelli

(All Biblical quotes from the New King James Version)

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Bible Study, 6 P.M., New Year’s Eve at Father Peter’s house.

OPENING PRAYER:

Father, help us to live as the holy family, united in respect and love. Bring us to the joy and peace of Your eternal home. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

JOKE:

The 98 year old Mother Superior from Ireland was dying. The nuns gathered around her bed trying to make her last journey comfortable. They gave her some warm milk to drink but she refused. Then one of the nuns took the glass back to the kitchen. Remembering a bottle of Irish whiskey received as a gift the previous Christmas, she opened and poured a generous amount into the warm milk. Back at Mother Superior’s bed, she held the glass to her lips. Mother drank a little, then a little more and before they knew it, she had drunk the whole glass down to the last drop. “Mother,” the nuns asked with earnest, “Please, give us some wisdom before you die.” She raised herself up in bed and with a pious look on her face and said, “Don’t sell that cow.”

INTRODUCTION:

I have a lot of respect for nuns and I am very happy that my daughter was educated by a school in the tradition of the Sisters of Mercy. The nuns were very encouraging to Cassandra and she grew in wisdom and stature. I look at Christianity in North America and I notice how vehement people are about calling priests “Father” or nuns “Mother.” I suppose in a nation where we struggle to define families, fathers, mothers, marriage, and a relationship, respecting traditional roles is too much to ask. However, as a citizen of God’s One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, I can expect a higher level of respect for family values. Though Christians in the westernized world are not reproducing according to the replacement rate (the rate necessary to keep up with population growth), Christianity in many parts of the world, especially south of the equator gives us hope. Not only that, we are gaining more Muslim converts than vice-a-versa. Though I worry about this country, I still plan on evangelizing greatly as I will never give up. So getting back to family values, this morning I want to talk about how our Faith obligates us to not only respect family values but to live them out in our parish community.

POINT ONE:

In this morning’s first reading we get a lecture of the importance of respecting the father of a household or even a community. Jesus ben Sirach was a Jewish scribe who was apparently an instructor at a Jewish academy, probably in Jerusalem where he taught religion and ethics about 180 B.C. He takes off from the Proverb, “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” He wrote his lectures in manuscripts which eventually were translated into Greek by his grandson who made them popular. Wisdom of Sirach; Chapter 3: Give heed to me, O children, for I am your Father, and do what I tell you, that you may be saved. For the Lord honored the father over the children and strengthened the judgment of the mother over her sons. He who honors his father atones for his sins; and he who honors his mother is like one who stores up treasure. He who honors his father will be gladdened by his own children, and when he prays, he will be heard. He who honors his father will have a long life, and he who obeys the Lord will give rest to his mother. My son, help your father in his old age, and do no grieve him in his life; and if his understanding fails, be considerate, and do not dishonor him in your prime. For kindness to a father will not be forgotten, and it will be credited to you instead of your sins.

WOW! Imagine a Scriptural passage that almost gives you some free sky miles for simply respecting your father; kindness to a father will not be forgotten, and it will be credited to you instead of your sins? This sounds like an amazing incentive to me. Well folks despite the hierarchical prestige of fatherhood, quite frankly it is hard work and the onus on hierarchy is always on the top dog.

POINT TWO:

The onus on respect falls upon the patriarch. I remember in seminary, and remember I went to a very politically correct school; the word patriarch was actually very negative. I was in one class made up mostly of women who for some reason, needed to be priests, and the ninth time I heard how oppressive, devaluing, and abusive patriarchs were, I had to raise my hand fanatically. “I am a patriarch, the word means father, and I would like to think that on behalf of my wife and children, this is a good thing!” Quite frankly my vocation, the purpose God created me, is rather difficult and challenging and heck, I am going to be the best darn patriarch I can! Some liberals get offended by the following reading (and yes some conservatives pervert its meaning), but if you read it as a challenge for all people to successfully fulfill their roles in life, both at home and in the Church, perhaps we can find true purpose in the Word of God found in Holy Scripture. Colossians 3: 12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. 14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.18 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them. 20 Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. 22 Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. 23 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. 25 But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.

I remember using a similar passage at Craig and Melissa’s wedding to actually challenge Craig because the onus of submission is on the person you are submitting too. One does not naturally or even normally submit to abuse or passivity. However, when one asks a woman to submit to the man, the icon of the bridegroom of Christ, the onus is on the groom. Jesus dies for His Bride the Church. Jesus takes care of His Bride; provides for Her, protects Her, and prepares Her. The role of Jesus the Bridegroom needs to be understood equally with any role in God’s Kingdom and each role needs to be respected and fulfilled the way God composed each person. When it comes to God’s plan for salvation, it does not matter if you are a child, mother, father, or adult. Just do what you were created to do.

POINT THREE:

Jesus was really a boy who did mischievous boyish things and got ordinarily punished. The follower of Christianity needs to understand that God chose to humble Himself to be a child in order to walk the same walk all people must walk. God needed to be nurtured, disciplined, and even groomed in order to live like one of us. His stories are like ours and this one is very familiar to me. Luke 2: 41 His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. 42 And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast. 43 When they had finished the days, as they returned, the Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. And Joseph and His mother did not know it; 44 but supposing Him to have been in the company, they went a day’s journey, and sought Him among their relatives and acquaintances. 45 So when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him. 46Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. 48 So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.” 49 And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” 50 But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them.51 Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

At first glance, it seems strange to have a story where Jesus, the Son of God, gets lost by his parents for over a day! The fact is that when Jews made their pilgrimage to the Holy Land for Passover, the celebration usually lasted eight days and children were often found with their relatives in different camps or rooms at different Inns. Mary and Joseph figured their son was with cousin Luigi or someone else and didn’t think twice about his absence. I remember my visit to Italy and generally my parents had no idea where I was because the town was small and everybody was watching everybody else. The Mediterranean world hadn’t changed much since the parents of Jesus. When they realized he really was missing they looked frantically. Suddenly he is found conversing with teachers in the Temple. Obviously we do not get the spanking story in the Gospel which would have definitely appeared in my memory block. But Jesus and his family go back to Nazareth and he continues to grow in wisdom. What I love about this story is one of the final lines: “and his mother kept all these things in her heart.” Despite the frustration she felt over realizing her son was missing and her anxiety as she searched for him without success, Mary treasured this moment enough to remember it and eventually share it with St. Luke. I know I and many families have similar stories about how one of the children gets lost at a department store or a park and how everyone in the family goes to search for them, not stopping until the lost child is found. And that story soon becomes one of the best (and often funniest) stories because it illustrates love and perseverance above all obstacles in order to find someone. I remember losing Cassandra and Nicolas at Border’s once and coincidentally enough they showcased a live hippy band that day. In a store filled with hippies, I freaked out! Obviously we found Cassandra reading a book to Nicolas under a table. For parents, stories of losing children are paralleled if not trumped by stories concerning their children’s achievements at school or on a soccer field or some other form of accomplishment. Nevertheless we hold the anxious times in our hearts.

CONCLUSION:

Every time I reflect upon this Gospel passage I ask God to give me the resources (the time, the talent, and the treasure) to bring all of God’s children into our Father’s house, the Church of Christ Jesus Victor. As our logo suggests we are the ancient faith in a place that you can call home. Hopefully this means anybody can call this community home. The Feast of the Holy Family is a feast for all people. We are all in this great family and if parish families lean toward social clubs, the church will fail. When the Father of the community is a paid staff member, the family becomes a storefront, and the Incarnation becomes a corporation. We need each other. God needs us to fulfill His plan for each of us and be respectful, faithful, and obedient to His designation and definition for each role He created. We are father, mother, son, daughter, and friend. When we realize this we can move forward and celebrate the feast of family everyday on earth so that someday we can celebrate with all the holy families in the Kingdom of Heaven for all eternity.

By Father S. Peter Donatelli

(Christmas Vigil Mass; All Biblical quotes from the New King James Version)

OPENING PRAYER:

Let us pray in the peace of Christmas night that our joy in the birth of Christ will last forever. Father, you make this holy night radiant with the splendor of Jesus Christ, our light. We welcome him as Lord, the true light of the world. Bring us to eternal joy in the kingdom of heaven where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, One God, forever and ever.

JOKE:

This guy goes into his dentist’s office, because of pain in his mouth. After a brief examination, the dentist exclaims, “Holy Smoke! That plate I installed in your mouth about six months ago has nearly completely corroded! What on earth have you been eating?”

“Well… the only thing I can think of is this… my wife made me some asparagus about four months ago with this stuff on it… Hollandaise sauce she called it… and doctor, I’m talking’ DELICIOUS! I’ve never tasted anything like it, and ever since then I’ve been putting it on everything…meat, fish, toast, vegetables… you name it!”

“That’s probably it,” replied the dentist. “Hollandaise sauce is made with lemon juice, which is acidic and highly corrosive. It seems as though I’ll have to install a new plate, but made out of chrome this time.”

“Why chrome?” the man asked.

“Well, everyone knows that there’s no plate like chrome for the Hollandaise!”

MESSAGE:

There are so many ways in which we can celebrate Christmas so this morning I want to talk about three people who give us inspiration for the many customs and traditions we share. First there is St. Nicolas. Both the Eastern and Western Churches honor him, and it is claimed that, after the Blessed Virgin, he is the saint most pictured by Christian artists. And yet, historically, we can pinpoint only the fact that Nicholas was the fourth-century bishop of Myra, a city in Lycia, a province of Asia Minor. As with many of the saints, however, we are able to capture the relationship which Nicholas had with God through the admiration which Christians have had for him—an admiration expressed in the colorful stories which have been told and retold through the centuries. Perhaps the best-known story about Nicholas concerns his charity toward a poor man who was unable to provide dowries for his three daughters of marriageable age. Rather than see them forced into a life of ill repute, Nicholas secretly tossed a bag of gold through the poor man’s window on three separate occasions, thus enabling the daughters to be married. This seemed to be only the beginning of his giving as stories evolved of his generosity especially with children. Today he is celebrated as the patron Saint of children and as the faithful know, whenever we pray to a saint for intercession, he listens to us and gives us what we need. Over the centuries, this particular legend developed into the custom of gift-giving on the saint’s feast. So the first example of Christmas customs is in the area of gift-giving. There’s just one little Christian twist; if you want to experience of the joys of receiving gifts, a good Christian needs to experience first and foremost the joys of giving gifts.

So this leads me into a dialogue of a second most blessed person; Mary the Mother of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Imagine a decision that you have to make that will affect the rest of your life, yet will impact every human being. Imagine a teen age young lady who was asked by God, through His angel Gabriel to bear the responsibility of having a child, a young lady who was not married, pure and undefiled, yet had to explain to her fiancé that she was pregnant with the Son of Man, the Son of God. What do you do? I really believe in life we are constantly put in positions where we have to make decisions that either glorify God or glorify ourselves and I just ask for the intercession of our Lady to protect me from bad decisions. Christmas is a Season of focusing on what God wants us to do. Here’s the most basic of examples. For some reason this year was the worst year for me at work when it came to “Merry Christmas” greetings. There seemed to be a spirit of protest in the air as people jumped to the Happy Holidays greeting in order to deflect any mentioning of Jesus Christ. I would explain to all the secular humanists that provoked me that even George Washington, Martin Luther King Jr., and Christopher Columbus had their names mentioned when there day came along. No other person in the history of civilization benefitted humanity more that Jesus Christ so regardless of one’s religious indifference why is it so offensive to some people to simply say with feeling, Marry Christmas? Well perhaps there is a sense of guilt within some people that disables them to utter the Name above all other names. However, next time this comes up, perhaps we need to heed Mary’s example and out yourself in a position where you might get rebuked and offer your testimony as a yearly Christmas custom.

Finally, I want to talk about the most important person of the Season; our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But I want to focus in on the baby. I mentioned last Sunday that God could have come into the world in so many different ways but He chose to come as a baby; a helpless, needy, and time-consuming baby. Jesus needed people to nurture Him, to teach Him, and to provide for Him. The greatest custom we can develop this Christmas is the custom of nurturing the baby Jesus. God needs us to take care of His Church. God needs us to take care of His people. God needs us to be good stewards of the earth, our intellect, and our giftedness. God needs us.

The customs as we celebrate the Nativity of our Lord, the Incarnation of God the Son, are all part of our understanding of who we are in the Church. We celebrate Jesus’ birth in December, not because of the secular humanist opinion that we took over some pagan festival. That ignorance is necessary for those who choose to live in the darkness. The fact is, the Church in Her most awesome wisdom decided to use the darkest time of the year to celebrate the greatest light. It’s painfully obvious that the darker the setting the more illuminating the light. This baby boy that came into the world is the Light of the world and the people who walked in darkness have seen a great Light. Our customs and our traditions guide us and teach us to be better Christians so that we can be lights in the world on every generation. Take up your Christmas challenge, and become the tradition, become the custom, and become the light of the world. If you need help please take advantage of the priests of the CEC, and the Church of Christ Jesus Victor wishes all of you a most blessed Christmas!

By Father S. Peter Donatelli

(Advent 4c; All Biblical quotes from the New King James Version)

JOKE:

I read a couple of funny bumper stickers. Due to recent cutbacks the light at the end of the tunnel has been temporarily shut off. And, I love God. It’s His fans I can’t stand.

INTRODUCTION:

This morning we celebrate the fourth Sunday of Advent, which is the Sunday of Love! Our North American culture struggles with love because we do not have an understanding of all the dimensions of love. I recommend C.S. Lewis’ book, “The Four Loves,” as a way to understand how a first century Mediterranean Christian would understand love. For instance we would say, “I love pizza.” Yet there is no other word to describe a deeper, more intimate love like the love I have for my wife. I can use Greek words like eros and caritas to offer loves for intimacy and the unconditional love of seeing Jesus in all people as best describes Christian charity. This morning I want to unpack the Christmas love that we celebrate this morning. For twenty-first North Americans it is difficult for us to understand that our journey into the Kingdom is a journey shaped in discipline, without which we fail as Christians. Love is a discipline and in order to understand love we need to focus on three things; love is supporting, love is sacrificial, and love is selfless.

POINT ONE:

It’s amazing how powerfully love supports our lives. One can be small and weak in the eyes of the world, but suddenly, the power of God’s love develops and we can conquer all. The prophet Micah has been encouraging the people of Israel about their future. The temple will be raised high on a mountain and all nations will see her as a holy nation. What we hear in our First Reading answers part of the question concerning how this is all going to take place. Israel is a small area and other clans and nations are stronger. Micah announces that from the little town of Bethlehem, the place of David, the great king of Israel, will come a special person to be the awaited-for great leader. This person will be of the line of David and as with David, this “One” will bring back all of Israel into the kingdom of Israel. From the smallest shall come forth the revelation of God’s greatness. This “One” shall bring unity of the flock and peace within and among all nations. Micah 5:  1 Now gather yourself in troops, O daughter of troops; He has laid siege against us; They will strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek.2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.” 3 Therefore He shall give them up, until the time that she who is in labor has given birth; then the remnant of His brethren shall return to the children of Israel. 4 And He shall stand and feed His flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD His God; and they shall abide, for now He shall be great To the ends of the earth; 5 And this One shall be peace.

That’s right. 700 years before Jesus was born in that humble stable, Micah, an ancient Jewish prophet, said it would happen! And it did! Micah made two accurate predictions here. The first is that Messiah would be a descendant of King David (Of David and Goliath fame). The second is that he would be born in the little town of Bethlehem – and Micah was 100% accurate. There are many prophecies in the Bible just like these, that tell us about Jesus’ life, before he even lived it. More than 300 of them were fulfilled when Jesus came to earth, and many will be fulfilled when he returns. One thing’s for certain, If Jesus was just a human, he could not have orchestrated history so that these two prophecies would be fulfilled. Of course humans have no control over where they are born, or whose family line they will belong to. But that’s the whole point. These prophecies show that Jesus was not just a human. The power of love conquers even human odds. When you look at the life of Jesus, He fulfills all 322 of the prophecies in the Old Testament about the coming of the Messiah. The odds of just 8 of the major prophecies being fulfilled by one person is 1 in 1,000,000,000,000,000,000. And this is only 8 of them! To help illustrate the odds of this, it would be like taking 10 to the 17th power of silver dollars and laying them on the surface of Texas. They would cover all of the state two feet deep. Now mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly, all over the state. Blindfold a man and tell him that he can go anywhere he wants, but he must pick up one silver dollar and say that this is the right one. What chance would he have of getting the right one? The same chance that the prophets would have had of writing these eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man. Can you imagine what the odds would be for all 322 prophecies being fulfilled by one man? It would be astronomical. Amazingly, love supports the impossible. Even more amazingly it is a small town and a small baby that is the vehicle for this to happen. You know an ant can carry 850 times its own weight. It has something to do with the chemical makeup of its vertebrate. Something God created always throw a loophole in evolutionary thinking. Nevertheless, the ant’s support system is made for physical stress and constant labor. God has instilled in us the ability to use His love for us to produce fruit 850 times beyond our capabilities. All we have to do is look at the impossibilities like the odds of a small town prophet being right, or the odds of a baby being venerated by three dignitaries of the world in an obscure section of Israel. Then take and believe in the power of the Almighty and love people into a relationship with Him and His Bride on earth, the Church.

POINT TWO:

Love must be sacrificial. Sacrifice has interesting characteristics in the Bible. As I preached on the first Sunday of Advent, the New Covenant that God is establishing has a new vessel of veneration. In the Old Covenant, the Ark filled with the tablets of God’s Law was placed in the Temple, thus God would come to His dwelling place, and sacrifices representing sin offerings would be offered unto the Ark. In the New Covenant animal sacrifices are no longer needed because they are being replaced by God Himself, His life, His labor, His love for all humanity. The Ark that is used to fill the Temple is a poor teenage lady who is obscure in and of herself yet will become the most blessed amongst women. The baby she will nurture will be the solemn sacrifice that will pierce her heart. Chapter 10 of Hebrews builds on the arguments of its preceding chapters and demonstrates that Jesus Christ’s once-for-all, substitute death upon the cross was the perfect payment for the sins of the whole world; therefore, the animal sacrifices of the Old Testament have been rendered obsolete. The author rests his case with an appeal for members of the New Covenant to enjoy and exercise the privileges, as well as live up to the responsibilities, of what Christ’s death has won for us. Chapter 10 begins, first of all, with a declaration of the utter insufficiency of the Old Testament sacrificial system to permanently rectify the breach in the relationship between God and man caused by human sin. In verses 1 through 9 the author of Hebrews describes the inadequacy of the animal sacrifices of the Levitcal system, with evidence from the sacrificial system itself and Scripture, and he holds up the prospect of a better sacrifice; that sacrifice was the voluntary death of Jesus Christ that atoned once-for-all for the sins of the world. What powerful expressions of love we share through sacrificing our love, our labor, our lives for our friends, our family, our faith.

Hebrews 10: 5 Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me. 6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. 7 Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come— In the volume of the book it is written of Me—To do Your will, O God.’”8 Previously saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the law), 9 then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second. 10 By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

POINT THREE:

We conclude the Advent Season with an understanding of the importance of the Nativity and why our New Year celebration is foundational for our walk with God and our journey through life. The birth of a baby signifies that Christian love is completely selfless. God could have chosen anyway He wanted to come into the world; even with a fanfare of angels ushering a powerful man clothed in gold and jewels. Instead the most powerful, omniscient, most loving Being came as a helpless baby signifying a response from us to be selfless in nurturing Him or selfish in ignoring Him. That’s what baby’s do. They require a life changing love that completely puts your needs out of the equation and the baby’s needs in the forefront. That is what God needs from us in community here. Once you have been inundated in parish life, everything you do is for the other, never for yourself. I am not bragging but I have not thought of myself in over twenty years because everything I do in life impacts my family, my friends, and my faith. Mary understood this most of all and this morning she begins her selfless love for God and humanity by visiting her cousin Elizabeth. Luke 1: 39 Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, 40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. 45 blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”

Women in the ancient Middle East could never do anything alone. They either had to be always in a cluster of women and children or under the watchful eye of their father, brother, husband, or some other responsible male relative. A woman, but especially a fourteen-year-old unmarried girl like Mary, who goes anywhere alone is open to charges of shameful intentions and conduct. If no one other than Joseph knew she was pregnant at this time, such a solo journey would leave no doubt in anyone’s mind about her pregnancy afterward. The trip from Nazareth in Galilee where Mary lived to a village in Judea where Elizabeth lived would take four days. (Later Christian tradition identified Am Karem, eight kilometers west of Jerusalem, as the place.) Since travel alone was not safe, people commonly joined a caravan. This is a possibility for Mary, but Luke does not mention it. Is there a plausible cultural explanation for Mary’s solo journey? I do not believe there is. The only possible explanation is the selfless love Mary had for her baby that required her to make this trip to the priestly household of her cousin which I will explain more on the Feast of the Baptism of our Lord. Elizabeth interprets the movement of her child in her womb as a “leap prompted by joy” at hearing Mary’s greeting. When Elizabeth tells this to her kinswoman, Mary may well have been confirmed in another growing conviction about her own child; just as the angel announced, her yet unborn child is holy (Luke 1:35). This holiness is a quality that can ward off or protect against evil. Mary could easily conclude that it is safe for her to travel alone because she would be protected by her child’s special power to protect them from evil.

CONCLUSION:

And Mary is right. When we act in love, supporting, sacrificial, and selfless, we can do anything. Romans 8:37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

If you walk away from this Advent Season with anything remember that you can do anything because you love God and God’s love has empowered you to beat the odds and conquer sin and death. The Christmas message is look beyond the frailty of a child, look beyond false cultural impositions concerning young pregnant women, look beyond the impossible, and see the magnificence of God’s plan for salvation. See the Glory of God! Do not concern yourself with impossibilities and fears. Remember one most important thing; love conquers all.

By Father S. Peter Donatelli

(Advent 3c; All Biblical quotes from the New King James Version)

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Tuesday, December 15, 2009 – Bible Study (Glass Household)

Saturday, December 19, 2009 – Pro-Life Litany (Planned Parenthood: Portland, Me)

JOKE:

What do Winnie the Pooh and John the Baptist have in common? They both have the same middle name.

INTRO:

This morning we celebrate the third Sunday of Advent and we celebrate the joy of our Faith. Amazingly I can preach the same sermon this week as I did last week. Remember last week when I tried to articulate what Christian Peace is all about. It’s not a feel good, worldly pleasure principle, but peace is achieved spiritually through a life believing in Jesus. Well teaching about Christian joy can sound like the same sermon. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin once said, “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” Perhaps this is a rather Gnostic view of our Faith because as a Sacramental Christians, and I cannot see being anything but, we embrace the physicality of our Faith. However, sometimes our physical nature defines our pleasure principles too much. When I say, joy, I am sure one does not think of wearing camel clothes, eating locusts and honey. So I suppose John the Baptist could not have made a 21^st century TV commercial for the joyful life. So maybe joy is sipping mimosas in the morning while soaking in a hot tub watching your 52″ flat screen TV? I mean joy cannot possible be living a prophetic Christian life being judged by people as a weird fanatic, can it? I say, “Absolutely!” So this morning I want to offer three F words that can begin our journey in Christian joy; forgiveness, forbearance, and fire.

POINT ONE:

I suppose the most powerful Good News we can share with all our brothers and sisters in the world is the forgiveness of God. The good news permeates the first reading, with perhaps the best news being the repeated phrase “The Lord is in your midst.” To a people who have felt that God was chastising them, this is a great Word. The amazing joy here is that not only has the Lord not abandoned the people, but God is in their very presence. Zephaniah 3:  14 Sing, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! 15 The LORD has taken away your judgments; He has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall see disaster no more. 16 In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: “Do not fear; Zion let not your hands be weak. 17 The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” 18 “I will gather those who sorrow over the appointed assembly, who are among you, to whom its reproach is a burden. 19 Behold, at that time I will deal with all who afflict you; I will save the lame, And gather those who were driven out; I will appoint them for praise and fame In every land where they were put to shame. 20 At that time I will bring you back, even at the time I gather you; for I will give you fame and praise among all the peoples of the earth, when I return your captives before your eyes,” Says the LORD.

The Presence of God brings joy. God offers forgiveness to a broken world and when we accept God’s forgiveness, we experience Heavenly joy. It’s not a worldly joy because a worldly joy cannot ever really fulfill a Heavenly being. Without getting into media gossip the biggest celebrity headline recently has been the Tiger Woods affairs. Amazingly, the focus of this awesome athlete has been the money he is losing in sponsorships. Well I would like to offer my priestly services to the Woods as I believe joy can be achieved through a painful process of reconciliation with the Almighty God whose presence needs to be felt in their lives. They have plenty of money, worldly goods, and what the average American views as objects of pleasure but what they need is the feeling of God’s joy in their currently miserable lives. When Zephaniah’s crowd heard his prophetic words of God being present in their lives, they could only have one possible feeling; JOY!

POINT TWO:

So if we have the understanding that God is present in our lives, then why don’t we consistently feel joy? Well here comes the second F word, forbearance. Describing one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, forbearance is our ability to deal with the difficulties of our world lives. We don’t need forbearance in Heaven because in Heaven there is no sickness, poverty, addictions, sins, or any destructive behavior, lifestyle, or influence to impede our joy. This morning’s second reading is an example of Paul’s forbearance. Amazingly this prison work is sometimes read at weddings, perhaps because of all the anxiety that often accompanies them. In writing this letter Paul had much more to be anxious about than whether the tuxedos fit! Opposition and persecution were commonplace in Philippi, and Paul was probably in prison as he wrote this. Paul’s opening imperative, “Rejoice!” is in present tense, implying continual and habitual actions. From prison Paul exhorts these Christians to continual and habitual rejoicing, even though they are under duress. This is no small task. Yet, Paul urges them to, Philippians 4: 4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

The Greek word for gentleness is a rich word and can be translated: moderation, forbearance, magnanimity, reasonableness. The word is rare, used only five times in the New Testament. It is the ability to be steadfast in suffering, trusting in God despite it all. Forbearance does not do justice to the richness of this term. How do we achieve forbearance? Paul reminds us to pray corporally in Church and personally throughout every moment of your life. You don’t have to go far to see where regular people become Saints through forgiveness and forbearance. Even today we celebrate the life of St. Lucy whose life is a perfect of example of forbearance. Lucy’s name means “light”, with the same root as “lucid” which means “clear, radiant, and understandable.” Unfortunately for us, Lucy’s history does not match her name. Shrouded in the darkness of time, all we really know for certain is that this brave woman who lived in Syracuse lost her life in the persecution of Christians in the early fourth century. Her veneration spread to Rome so that by the sixth century the whole Church recognized her courage in defense of the faith. Because people wanted to shed light on Lucy’s bravery, legends grew up. The one that is passed down to us tells the story of a young Christian woman who had vowed her life to the service of Christ. Her mother tried to arrange a marriage for her with a pagan. Lucy apparently knew that her mother would not be convinced by a young girl’s vow so she devised a plan to convince her mother that Christ was a much more powerful partner for life. Through prayers at the tomb of Saint Agatha, her mother’s long illness was cured miraculously. The grateful mother was now ready to listen to Lucy’s desire to give her money to the poor and commit her life to God. Unfortunately, legend has it, the rejected bridegroom did not see the same light and he betrayed Lucy to the governor as a Christian. This governor tried to send her into prostitution but God protected her as men who tried to have their way with her, found it impossible through divine intervention. Finally she was killed. As much as the facts of Lucy’s specific case are unknown, we know that many Christians suffered incredible torture and a painful death for their faith during Diocletian’s reign. Lucy may not have been burned or had a sword thrust through her throat but many Christians did and we can be sure her faith withstood tests we can barely imagine. Lucy’s name is probably also connected to statues of Lucy holding a dish with two eyes on it. This refers to another legend in which Lucy’s eyes were put out by Diocletian as part of his torture. The legend concludes with God restoring Lucy’s eyes. Lucy’s name also played a large part in naming Lucy as a patron saint of the blind and those with eye-trouble.

POINT THREE:

So as we convince ourselves that God is present and forgives our sins so that we can live a life of forbearance in dedication and devotion to the one and true Faith, we must find ourselves in a state of the fire of the Holy Spirit to feel the joy of being perfect Christians. The more on fire you are on, the more joy you will feel. This morning’s Gospel is a continuation of the seemingly angry diatribe that John the on-fire Baptist offered his listeners. Luke 3: 7 Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. 9 And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” 10 So the people asked him, saying, “What shall we do then?” 11 He answered and said to them, “He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.” 12 Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” 13 And he said to them, “Collect no more than what is appointed for you.” 14 Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, “And what shall we do?” So he said to them, “Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.” 15 Now as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not, 16 John answered, saying to all, “I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.”

Today we get to hear John the Baptist preach, and preach the Baptizer does! John launches into a tirade against the crowds who seek to be baptized, going right to the heart of their self-righteousness when he calls them a “brood of vipers” as bad as any swear word of our modern verbiage. John continues attacking their heritage as he mocks their proud phrase, “We have Abraham as our father,” and points out that “even now the ax is lying at the root of [their family] tree.” What the Lord seeks is “good fruit,” not simply pious prayers and hand wringing. God seeks fire and passion and action. Obviously the people “Amen” his sermon with the crowd’s response: “What then should we do?” John tells them. Luke says that “even tax collectors came to be baptized.” The word “even” indicates that these folks were unexpected, as certainly was their question of what fruits they could bear. Soldiers were also unexpected; like tax collectors, soldiers were known for their abuse of the public. The last verse is a puzzle. After all John’s exhortations, warnings, and admonishments, Luke summarizes it by saying that “with many exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.” Imagine the fire in his belly! How are we like John? How do we react when we are admonished? Fire in the Bible can represent unquenchable sorrow or when it comes to our work in Jesus, fire can lead us to saturated joy.

CONCLUSION:

If you ever go to St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome you will find hundreds of pillars. Inside the church around the altar are beautiful columns engraved with shields over the place where St. Peter was buried. A closer examination reveals, however, that in reality they show the sequence of expressions of pain on the face of a woman giving birth. Going around the monument clockwise, seven different moments of pregnancy can be seen, up to the smiling face of a baby. Bernini intended, evidently through the figure of Pope Urban VIII Barberini, to celebrate mankind who suffers while awaiting salvation. Advent is a season of hope, a season of peace, and a season of joy. On earth we may not understand these characteristics of our faith but if we inundate ourselves with Christian virtues like forgiveness, forbearance, and are on fire for our Faith, then perhaps the birth pangs we experience in this world will be offered up to the God than can turn pain into joy.

By Father S. Peter Donatelli

(All Biblical quotes from the New King James Version; Advent 2c)

JOKE:

I saw this bumper sticker the other day that said, “Forget world peace. Visualize using your turn signal.”

INTRO:

Today is the second Sunday of Advent and it is the Sunday of Peace. Peace is an interesting word and most certainly has been misused by people over the years. In the 80’s we had the peacekeeping missile whereas now the politically correct use peace to refer to lifestyles that are inconsistent with God’s moral standards but make people feel good. I think churches sometimes are vague about peace. You may remember the long seemingly redundant diatribe offered before the passing of the peace by your priest, “Lord Jesus Christ, you said to your apostles: I leave you peace, my peace I give you. Look not on our sins, but on the faith of your Church, and grant us the peace and unity of your kingdom where you live forever and ever.” Followed by the peace of the Lord be with you and let offer one another a sign of God’s peace. I have been to some churches where the peace was halftime offered between the sermon and the Eucharist after the Creed. People would stream around making sure that everybody was touched and information was gathered. Subsequently I played incidental music on the keyboard to shut everybody up and return to the flow of the Divine Liturgy. Don’t get me wrong, I love fellowship, but I respect the flow of the Mass, more. Amazingly, I was watching the beginnings of the Florida-Alabama game yesterday and great Christian quarterback Tim Tebow had painted under his eye John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Sadly Tebow lost the most important game of his life, even though he leaves college football with a record breaking stellar career. Does he still feel that peace? Certainly tears were flowing at the loss, but my guess is that that peace of Jesus Christ will give him the courage and strength to carry on (not to mention an NFL contract). If peace is not feeling good or shaking hands or getting what you want out of life, then what is this peace that passes all understanding. This morning I want to focus on three words that will clarify this peace; three “P”s; preparation, perception, and promise. Hopefully when we come to understand how we prepare, what we perceive, and when we receive the promise, we can truly achieve peace.

POINT ONE:

In order to understand peace we must understand what we are preparing for. In other words there must be a time and a place where peace abounds, so life is merely a preparation for this understanding or even better, truth. The first reading gives us a touching story of the Babylonian captivity. Reginald Fuller reminds us that [The Book of Baruch is one of the deuterocanonical and pseudonymous Old Testament writings that are not found in the Hebrew Bible and that have been termed, in Reformation tradition, the "Apocrypha." Like the Book of Daniel, it is attributed to a figure of the past—Baruch was Jeremiah's secretary. The book presupposes for its situation the Babylonian Exile (586-538 B.C.), but it consists of various materials written later. Today's passage comes from the last part of the book, comprising two prophetic poems modeled on Second Isaiah, and forms the concluding section of the second poem.] This selection is a poetic summons to the people of Jerusalem to look eastward for the return of the exiles. It vividly reflects the prophecies of Second Isaiah, especially the words of Isaiah 40. This magnificent expectation rests on the integrity of God to fulfill ancient covenantal promises to guide Israel according to the divine purpose. There is, nonetheless, a strong element of righteousness required of Israel if it is to receive this blessing. It’s amazing how blessing-reward principles apply to my three year old niece who wanders over to me with smiles and love when she wants chocolate but generally ignores me otherwise. I get some loving and she gets chocolate; a fair trade. Baruch was certainly looking for something more valuable. The words of vs. 4 in the Jerusalem Bible put this aspect succinctly: “The name God gives you forever will be, ‘Peace through integrity, and honor through devotedness.’” That text puts into light up the reconciliation and hope for Baruch’s people as well as for our own time and place. Baruch 5: O Jerusalem, take off the garment of your sorrow and your oppression, and put on the beauty from the God of glory forever. Put around you the double robe of righteousness from God; set upon your head the diadem of the glory of the Eternal One. For God will show your brightness to every nation under heaven, for your name will forever be called by God the Peace of Righteousness and the Glory of Godliness. Arise, O Jerusalem, stand upon the heights and look eastward, and behold your children being gathered by the Word of the Holy One, rejoicing in the remembrance of God. For they went out from you on foot, being led away by their enemies. But God will return them being carried back with glory, as on the throne of a kingdom. For God commanded every high mountain and the everlasting hills to be made low, and all the valleys to be filled until made level, so that Israel may walk safely in the glory of God; and at the command of God, the woods and every fragrant tree have shaded Israel. For God will lead Israel with joy in the light of His glory, with mercy and righteousness that come from Him.

POINT TWO:

As Christians we may find it difficult to perceive the Kingdom especially in a world filled with hatred, sin, and faithlessness. The Saints somehow overlooked these as they encouraged their brothers and sisters in Christ to remain faithful, something we need to learn. The second reading is possibly the last letter Paul wrote. Tried and imprisoned for his work as an apostle, Paul thanked God for the support of the Philippians. He wrote of them “sharing” the gospel and God’s grace, and prayed that this would bring forth an overflowing of love and righteous living as they waited for the anticipated return of Christ. Philippians 1: 3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, 5 for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; 7 just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace. 8 For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ. 9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, 10 that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, 11 being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Amazingly we do not need to go far to find sad stories of our faith. Here are some of the latest headlines found on the website, Christianpersecution.info, NEWS ALERT: China Sentences 10 Christian Leaders To Prison, Labor Camps
China has sentenced 10 Christian leaders to long prison terms and forced labor camps as part of a wider government crackdown on unauthorized worship services, Worthy News learned Saturday, December 5.
India Bishop Demands Global Prayers For Victims Of Anti-Christian Violence
The Catholic archbishop in India’s troubled Orissa state on Friday, November 27, urged churches around the world to pray this Christmas for victims of anti-Christian violence in 2007 and last year in which over 100 people were killed.
Christian-Muslim Tensions Feared in Russia after Train Blast and Killing Priest
There were fears Sunday, November 29, of more tensions between Christians and Muslims in Russia after suspected Islamist rebels bombed a train that killed 25 people and a gunmen murdered a missionary priest.
Pakistan Christians Fear More Violence After Militant Attacks
Christians in several volatile areas of Pakistan feared more violence Monday, November 30, amid reports that Christians are hiding after attacks by angry Muslims in which at least one person died.

POINT THREE:

So if we really cannot look forward to world peace, what can we look forward to? We live for the promise. As imperfect people we sometimes don’t understand what a promise is. I was reading an article about how Booker T. Washington described meeting an ex-slave from Virginia in his book “Up From Slavery”: “I found that this man had made a contract with his master, two or three years previous to the Emancipation Proclamation, to the effect that the slave was to be permitted to buy himself, by paying so much per year for his body; and while he was paying for himself, he was to be permitted to labor where and for whom he pleased. Finding that he could secure better wages in Ohio, he went there. When freedom came, he was still in debt to his master some three hundred dollars. Notwithstanding that the Emancipation Proclamation freed him from any obligation to his master, this black man walked the greater portion of the distance back to where his old master lived in Virginia, and placed the last dollar, with interest, in his hands. In talking to me about this, the man told me that he knew that he did not have to pay his debt, but that he had given his word to his master, and his word he had never broken. He felt that he could not enjoy his freedom till he had fulfilled his promise.” How often does that happen? Well folks it happens every time God speaks. There’s a scene in the comedy “The Freshman” where Marlon Brando’s mobster character tells Matthew Broderick’s college student character, “By definition, everything I say is a promise.” I think it’s an Italian ethic to want that to be true. The Gospel is truth and by definition the Gospel is Good News. Luke 3:  1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2 while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. 3 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, 4 as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying: ” The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ’ Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight. 5 Every valley shall be filled And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight and the rough ways smooth; 6 And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”

COCLUSION:

Wow, what a promise! All flesh shall see the salvation of God! The season of Advent is not just a season of preparation for the Nativity, but rather an appreciation for the mighty acts of God (like the Exodus and the restoration after the exile) which culminate in the ministry of Jesus, Baruch reflects the eager anticipation of end of the exile and a triumphant return of the exiles to Jerusalem. Paul views his own ministry as a preparation for the parousia, Christ’s return. These promises lead to our perception of what life should be, could be, and subsequently will be for all eternity. This perception leads to our obligation, desire, and eagerness to prepare for Jesus who is with us now, gives us promise, and will soon come again to take His throne. John the Baptist came as a forerunner to prepare the way for the Lord (Jesus) to return in righteousness and judgment, and the Gospel develops this theme, identifying John with the holy prophets of old. The first and second coming of Jesus as well as the coming of Yahweh to the exiles are all alike in that God’s people waited expectantly for them, preparing themselves by lives of holiness and righteousness. Paul praises the Christians in Philippi not for their faith, but for their faithfulness, for their sharing in the proclamation of the Gospel, and prays that their love may overflow and that they may produce “the harvest of righteousness.” I know I am sounding like a broken record here at the Church of Christ Jesus Victor when I say God has amazing plans for us. We have been through a lot of strife and stress but we will overcome and be prosperous. Look ahead to the peace, the stability, the freedom, the soundness, the prosperity, and the blessings that God has promised us. Peace is knowing that God does not go back on His promises and there is no such things as a pessimistic Christian. Feel the optimism, feel the Advent, and May the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your heart and mind in the knowledge and love of God, and of Jesus Christ our Savior: and the blessing of Almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, be with you and remain with you always. Amen.

By Father S. Peter Donatelli

(Advent 1c; All Biblical quotes from the New King James Version)

JOKE:

A trombone player and an accordion player are playing a New Year’s Eve gig at a local club. The place is packed and everybody is absolutely loving the music. Shortly after midnight, the club owner comes up to the duo and says, “You guys sound great and everybody loves you. I’d like to know if the two of you are free to come back here next New Year’s eve to play? The two musicians look at each other and then to the club owner. The trombone player says “Sure, we’d love to. Is it OK if we leave our stuff here?”

INTRO:

Happy New Year! Advent is the beginning of the Church year and this, for me, is more important than the January 1^st celebration. The Church in all Her wisdom gave us this season of solemn preparation as a new beginning for us all and isn’t this a better approach to anybodies new year. It seems like we just get finished celebrating Thanksgiving, then Christmas, and suddenly we get together for parties and stupid resolutions that we never keep. However, in the liturgical world, we begin with four weeks of serious reflection as to what is about to happen to the world. God in His infinite mercy joins His creation as the Incarnate Christ. Imagine how no other faith tradition can demonstrate a loving God who in immense humility becomes man so as to reveal to all people the Gospel of Love and the Gospel of Lasting and the Gospel of Life. Before I get into a discussion about love, lasting, and life, I want to clarify the color blue. We have an option in the colorful seasons of the Church to use purple or to use blue. Both are actually considered ancient colors of royalty however I have always understood purple to be a more penitent color leading into the most sorrowful week of the year as we celebrate Christ’s royal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday followed by the brutal beatings and mockery on Good Friday as the soldiers plastered purple on Jesus’ back only to rip the scabs off right before the Crucifixion. Subsequently they rolled dice for this purple cloth. This is why I like blue. It is still royal; yet there are no gruesome reminders. Blue is the color of Baptism as it represents water. Water is a powerful image as Jesus rested in water in His mother’s womb. Blue represents hope, expectation, and heaven.  It is also the color associated with the Blessed Virgin Mary in art and iconography; less we forget the importance of the pure and holy vessel in which our Savior travelled into this world. Catholics call Mary the Ark of the New Covenant. (As Steve Ray observes) Luke wove some marvelous things into his Gospel that only a knowledgeable Jew would have understood — a Jew who knew Jewish Scripture and had eyes to see and ears to hear. It’s easy to miss the parallel between the Holy Spirit overshadowing the ark and the Holy Spirit overshadowing Mary, between the Ark of the Old Covenant as the dwelling place of God and Mary as the new dwelling place of God. Athanasius of Alexandria (c. 296-373) was the main defender of the deity of Christ against the second-century heretics. He wrote: “O noble Virgin, truly you are greater than any other greatness. For who is your equal in greatness, O dwelling place of God the Word? To whom among all creatures shall I compare you, O Virgin? You are greater than them all O [Ark of the] Covenant, clothed with purity instead of gold! You are the ark in which is found the golden vessel containing the true manna, that is, the flesh in which divinity resides” (Homily of the Papyrus of Turin). Gregory the Wonder Worker (c. 213-c. 270) wrote: “Let us chant the melody that has been taught us by the inspired harp of David, and say, ‘Arise, O Lord, into thy rest; thou, and the ark of thy sanctuary.’ For the Holy Virgin is in truth an ark, wrought with gold both within and without, that has received the whole treasury of the sanctuary” (Homily on the Annunciation to the Holy Virgin Mary). And here are some similarities between the two arks the Golden Box (Ark of the Old Covenant) and Mary (Ark of the New Covenant); Mary the Ark as Revealed in Mary’s Visit to Elizabeth. The ark traveled to the house of Obed-edom in the hill country of Judea (2 Sam. 6:1-11). Mary traveled to the house of Elizabeth and Zechariah in the hill country of Judea (Luke 1:39). Dressed as a priest, David danced and leapt in front of the ark (2 Sam. 6:14). John the Baptist — of priestly lineage — leapt in his mother’s womb at the approach of Mary (Luke 1:41). David asks, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” (2 Sam. 6:9). Elizabeth asks, “Why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Luke 1:43). David shouts in the presence of the ark (2 Sam. 6:15). Elizabeth “exclaimed with a loud cry” in the presence of the Mary (Luke 1:42). The ark remained in the house of Obed-edom for three months (2 Sam. 6:11). Mary remained in the house of Elizabeth for three months (Luke 1:56). The house of Obed-edom was blessed by the presence of the ark (2 Sam. 6:11). The word blessed is used three times; surely the house was blessed by God (Luke 1:39-45). The ark returns to its home and ends up in Jerusalem, where God’s presence and glory is revealed in the temple (2 Sam. 6:12; 1 Kings. 8:9-11). Mary returns home and eventually ends up in Jerusalem, where she presents God incarnate in the temple (Luke 1:56; 2:21-22). Inside the Ark is the stone tablets of the law — the word of God inscribed on stone. Inside the Ark is the body of Jesus Christ — the word of God in the flesh. The Old Covenant ark had the urn filled with manna from the wilderness. Mary had the miraculous bread come down from heaven; the womb containing Jesus, the bread of life come down from heaven (John 6:41) In the Ark of Moses was the rod of Aaron that budded to prove and defend the true high priest. In the womb of Mary was the actual and eternal High Priest.

So please indulge me and other liturgical thinkers as we use blue for Advent. Sorry for the lengthy rabbit trail. Now let us take a journey through the readings and talk about the God of Life, Love, and Lasting.

POINT ONE:

So we begin with as discussion about the Gospel of Love which begins with God’s plan for our salvation. Allow me to tell you the story of a man who saw the love of God through a direct revelation over 2500 years ago. Jeremiah had predicted that the Davidic dynasty would be restored shortly after the fall of Jerusalem in 586. But the years of exile were prolonged and the promise went unfulfilled. No doubt its partial fulfillment was discerned in the return from exile, but Christian faith has seen in it a promise that was not fulfilled until the coming of Jesus, the real Messiah. So where’s the love? Well let’s reread the first reading. Jeremiah 33: 14 ‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the LORD, ‘that I will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah: 15 ‘In those days and at that time I will cause to grow up to David A Branch of righteousness; He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. 16 In those days Judah will be saved, And Jerusalem will dwell safely.  And this is the name by which she will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.’

Righteousness is not an ethical or moral quality but the saving act of YHWH. The restoration of the Davidic monarchy after the Exile will be seen as YHWH’s mighty act of salvation. Christian faith will see the advent of Christ as God’s final act of salvation. When it comes to fulfilling His promises we can easily see how righteousness, truth, and justice fall into God’s plan for each and every one of us.

POINT TWO:

The Gospel of Life obliges us to participate in our own salvific story by being obedient to God through obedience, devotion, and ministry. In the Thessalonians reading note the two parts; first the end of the section where Paul thanks and encourages the Church, then a section with specific exhortations and catechesis. 1 Thessalonians 3: 12 And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, 13 so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints. 4:1 Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God; 2 for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus.

Our faithfulness to Jesus comes from a respect for life in the faith. Faith and tradition are not concepts to be shelved, but marching orders as to how to live life to its fullest. The Gospel of Life is a respect for the great artist, our Father, who created us wonderfully-full of wonder, for a specific purpose. Obedience to His commands keeps us in the joy and love of our Creator for all eternity.

POINT THREE:

The Gospel of Lasting presents us with a challenge to be disciples and disciplined, or not. Our faith is eternal. Our faith was, is, and is to come. We celebrate this in the Sacraments as Jesus really presents Himself through the incarnate graces in which are tangible and accessible in our lives. We need to actively participate in this grace so that our lives in Christ can be presented, and represented always and forever. The Sunday School acrostic for grace is God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense offers us reward and reflection. We just need to be disciplined enough to partake. Dietrich Bonheoffer said, “Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.” This morning we are near the end of Luke’s gospel. Luke has labored through the course of telling his story to illustrate the fact that Jesus’ coming into the world marked an in-breaking of the kingdom of God. As Malachi had prophesied hundreds of years earlier, “The Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple.” The words we read from Jesus now were spoken in the temple. Jesus speaks of Another Day, when he shall come a second time. Unlike his first coming, which was humble and unobtrusive, his Second Advent will be of cosmic and cataclysmic proportions. Luke 21: 25 “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; 26 men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”29 Then He spoke to them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. 30 When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near. 31 So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.34 “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. 35 For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worth to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.” 37 And in the daytime He was teaching in the temple, but at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet. 38 Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him.

CONCLUSION:

So folks, have a happy new year. My prayer for you this year is that you understand and embrace your love for Jesus as you not only learn about Jesus, but you consume the Word in Scripture, Sacrament, and Revelation. Just as Mary carried Jesus into the world, let us carry Jesus into the world. This is a new year for the Church of Christ Jesus Victor so let us take advantage of this Season as we prepare for the coming of the Incarnate Christ, let us become incarnate in our Faith. What does this mean? You are living vessels of the Gospel of Love, Life, and Lasting. You represent God the Father in Heaven as the Bride of Jesus, our Mother on earth, His Church, the object of God’s devotion. Next week I am going to talk more about Revelation and the hovering of the Holy Spirit over our lives and how that percolated into the world through us. Go forth this morning reflecting on the Gospel and may we live our life for Christ on earth as we are expected to in His Kingdom for all eternity.

By Father S. Peter Donatelli

(All Biblical quotes are New King James Version)

JOKE:

I was watching this video of a comedian offering some humorous similarities between Jesus and Elvis. The three that stuck out was how there were more sightings of these men after their deaths; the two most popular subjects of velvet art; not to mention the category of King.

INTRO:

Amazingly in the world we live in when we talk about Madonna, rarely do people venerate the Virgin Mother of our Lord and Savior. And when we hear someone say, “The King,” most modern Americans will sadly gravitate to the entertainment industry; but not me. I have only one King and today is His feast day. Well actually everyday is, but the final Sunday in Ordinary Time is the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King. It is an opportunity to reflect on that line in the Apostles Creed that says “He ascended into Heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father; He will come again to judge the living and the dead”. To envision God as king and ruler of the universe is difficult especially when our own tendency is not to be ruled by anyone and most certainly not to be judged by anybody.  “Whatever we think is right reigns supreme.  That other person can believe what he or she wants.  That’s their truth.  Respect that.  Don’t tread on me.  I don’t really need to participate in an institutionalized religion placing boundaries and restrictions on me by attempting to make me follow ideals that I don’t believe in.  I’ll be alright as long as I find my own way to happiness and if I am a good person as I define that to be, all is well.  I will be fine as king of me and the other person can be king of his own self.” Unfortunately, that line of thinking proves to be fatally flawed.  It may be very logical to us at a superficial level.  But, if we dig deep, even if we look at our own personal experiences, we start to realize that all our actions good and bad have reactions that affect not only ourselves but a lot of people that we have a relationship with in society.  Since we all are reliant on other people, we all have a relationship at some level with our neighbor. We make judgments based on what we believe to be true.  Others make judgments on what they believe to be true.  There is a word for that; anarchy as defined as an absence or denial of any authority or established order. Quite simply this is an absence of order or chaos. If we believe in God then by definition God cannot have chaos. Our life of faith passed down from prior generations directs us towards a life which is ordered, ruled, or dare I say monarchical.  Our Faith calls us to believe in an unseen Creator of the universe whose story unfolds in the heart of mankind as communicated by God to his people through revelation. If God is king he has to rule over a kingdom.  Whose kingdom is it?  The kingdom is not ours, it is His.  If we choose to participate in this kingdom, God will reign as our king and he will judge us in the end as good and faithful, not perfect and faithful – not without ever messing up.  But in humility we recognize our imperfections and remain faithful to a God who is first faithful to us.  We know that His judgments are based on something bigger than ourselves.  His judgments are solid.  But what if we don’t want all that?  In that case his justice allows our free will to reign and we’ll get what we wanted (not what He wanted for us), a life without God.  What a terrible existence this will be for all eternity.  That’s real.  There is comfort in knowing the source of true love is perfect and our ability to love is not possible without participating in the kingdom of God.  Where is this kingdom and how do I arrive at this place?  It is in His Church.  We all our born to be members of this kingdom whether we know it or not and God is shepherding us ever so gently into the fold while we still have the chance to decide our fate by acting on our free will.  Jesus will hand the kingdom off to the Father at the end of time when he comes in glory after we are judged individually at the time of our deaths, the Final Judgment will come in which God will triumph over the revolt of evil, after the final cosmic upheaval of this passing world. We celebrate this victory at the Church of Christ Jesus Victor at least weekly as we participate in the Heavenly Banquet. We celebrate this at the Church of Christ Jesus Victor as we live and journey with each other and we live out the Biblical mandate as an Acts 2:42 Church. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in prayers. How do we do that? Well each reading this morning has something to say about this.

POINT ONE:

Jesus must be Lord and God of all. This means that He is Lord of all your successes and failures; good times and bad times. Amazingly when bad things happen to Christians we lose faith not gain. I want us to remember that we are already victorious over death in our acceptance of Jesus as Lord and God; therefore we need to overcome worldly obstacles like pain, stress, trials, and tribulations, and offer them up to God. Nearly nineteen hundred years ago St. Polycarp, the feast Saint of my ordination as priest, overcame the pains of death and here is the account. “When he [Polycarp] had . . . finished his prayer, those who were appointed for the purpose kindled the fire [to burn him to death]. And as the flame blazed forth in great fury, we to whom it was given to witness it beheld a great miracle and have been preserved that we might report to others what then took place. For the fire, shaping itself into the form of an arch, like the sail of a ship when filled with the wind, encompassed as by a circle the body of the martyr. And he appeared within, not like flesh which is burnt, but as bread that is baked, or as gold and silver glowing in a furnace. Moreover, we perceived such a sweet odor, as if frankincense or some such precious spices had been smoking there. At length, when those wicked men perceived that his body could not be consumed by the fire, they commanded an executioner to go near and pierce him through with a dagger. And on his doing this, there came forth a dove and a great quantity of blood, so that the fire was extinguished, and all the people wondered that there should be such a difference between the unbelievers and the elect” (Martyrdom of Polycarp 15–16 [A.D. 155]).

Even amidst the most painful death a man can endure our Lord and Savior put the Kingdom in perspective over His own suffering. John 18: 33 Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” 34 Jesus answered him, “Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?” 35 Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You done?” 36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.” 37 Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”

POINT TWO:

So what is this truth? Well in the CEC we sit on a three legged stool of truth which can be found in Sacrament, Scripture, and Revelation. You can go back to my five “Bread of Life Discourses” sermons to see how truth is revealed in Sacrament, and I will talk about Revelation later. As I was reflecting on the Daniel reading, I could not help but think about the importance of Scripture. Daniel 7: 13 ” I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. 14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed.

We talk about making visible the Kingdom of God to all the nations of the world in our Vision and I cannot think of a more powerful way of doing this than through Scripture. I’ve been thinking about this lately as this state has brought out the worst in some pastors who recently decided to deny the Bible in favor of political correction. As we sought to redefine what is so clearly defined by our Lord, as written in Scripture, I got this image from the movie National Treasure 2. You may remember the scene when the hero’s mother was asked to decipher a code found on a letter written by Queen Victoria. As the villain lit this priceless, yellowed, parchment on fire, the mother cringed with dismay. Imagine if all Christians cringed as Scripture is perverted by North American hedonistic tendencies. Have we all forgotten the power of the Word; the power of the Truth. How does the average Christian approach Bible studies? Last week’s collect offers some insight. Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen. How about all Christians begin their faith journey with understanding the fact that the Bible is the Word of God, thus as obedient subjects of our King, we must obey Scripture’s tenets. Plus statistically speaking the Bible is a very impressive work. The Holy Bible has been translated into 2,018 languages, with countless more partial translations, and audio translations (for unwritten languages). (This is an enormous amount of translations. In comparison, Shakespeare, considered by many to be the master writer of the English language, has only been translated into 50 languages.) Not to mention the fact that the Bible is the bestselling book in the world (Yeah capitalists!).

POINT THREE:

Now for some Revelation. Revelation 1: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen. 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

God has made us kings and priests! If we can accept Jesus as King and Ruler of all, we will be able to unlock our own Spirit-giftedness in a way that can only benefit our lives to His Glory. Our movement was birthed in Revelation and what happens next is up to us. God reveals; we obey! Sometimes we have this reversed. Sometimes we approach the throne with our own agendas, our own desires, and we know this leads to chaos. St. Padre Pio struggled with this and this is what he had to say. “It happens to me, for a long time now, that when Jesus comes, those things that I had very much at heart to ask fly away and I remember only what Jesus wants me to remember.” He goes on to talk about the tears of this struggle because it is only in realizing the will of the Father does the great Saint receive answers for his petitions (and usually those petitions are for persons he had not intended to pray for). What does this mean? In complete submission to the King, we become better people, more faithful followers, and more charismatic Christians. It is no coincidence and it is with great humility that I offer the observation that kings and priests and prophets are generally synonymous in the Bible. Sometimes we need to simply understand that those who have spiritual authority over us are anointed by this same King.

CONCLUSION:

Today is the Solemnity of Jesus Christ the King. The word solemnity is here used to denote the amount of intrinsic or extrinsic pomp with which a feast is celebrated. Allow us to devote much celebration that we never forget daily that Jesus is the King and Lord of all our lives; Lord of our time, Lord of our talent, Lord of our treasure. Jesus is Lord through good time and bad, through sickness and health. And unlike the old matrimonial adage, there is no death in Christ. May the Victory of Jesus over death, be our Victory in Life; and may we strive to be faithful servants on earth so that someday we will be faithful servants in the Kingdome of Heaven for all eternity. Amen!

By Father S. Peter Donatelli

(All Biblical quotes are New King James Version; 32SOTB)

JOKE:

What do you call a woman who knows where her husband is every night? A widow!

INTRO:

This morning all three readings spoke of widows. In the First Reading, there is the widow who shared the last of her food with Elijah. In the Second Reading, although the word ‘widow’ is not used, we perceive that the Holy Catholic Church that Jesus was instituting on earth during His ministry, it was widowed when He offered Himself as a sacrifice to remove sin from the world. In the Gospel, there is the poor widow who gave all that she had to live on. In all three cases, a great sacrifice was made. In the First Reading, the widow who fed Elijah, she sacrificed all what she had for herself and her son. In the Second Reading, Jesus sacrificed Himself, He who was the only Begotten Son of God and in whom the fullness of God was pleased to dwell bodily [Col. 1:19, 2:9]. Now as His widow the Church, namely all the members of His Body, namely us, is called to sacrifice our lives for the Kingdom. In the Gospel Reading, the widow sacrificed her last two small copper coins. In all three cases, they all trusted in God the Father. The widow who fed Elijah trusted in the Lord God of Israel to provide her future needs so she and her son would not die of starvation. We trust in God the Father that our participation in the life, death, and resurrection of the Great High Priest, Jesus Christ, offers us the opportunity to participate in the Heavenly Banquet. The poor widow who gave her last coins trusted in Yahweh to provide for her future needs. And in all three cases, each and every one of them was blessed according to their sacrifice. The widow and her son never went hungry because the jar of meal was not emptied; neither did the jug of oil fail. Jesus was glorified by God the Father. “When He had made purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the Name He has inherited is more excellent than theirs.” [Heb. 1:3b-4] Thus Jesus gives His Church power through His Body and Blood. The poor widow, in the presence of God incarnated through Jesus Christ, she gave all what she had to Yahweh, her action having been recorded in the Holy Scriptures so it will be remembered during all the days of the world. God always rewards those who persevere in their living faith. No one goes by unnoticed. If you are proud, you will be noticed. If you are humble, you will also be noticed. If you are proud like the scribes who walked around in long robes so all would greet them with respect in the market places, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquet, then you too, like the scribes, will be noticed and receive greater condemnation. If you are humble like the poor widow whose name no one knows, then you will be noticed, God will raise you and reward you according to your sacrifice.

POINT ONE:

Amazingly the onus on the reward system falls on the obedient. Amazingly the most obedient do not necessarily make the most money. A survey in the U.S. done by the Gallup organization showed that almost one half of charitable contributions come from households with incomes of less than $30,000.00. As the CEC is called to reach the lost, the least, and the lonely, two things need to be noted; first there are plenty of people who fall under this category. Second, these are the people who will offer back the most to our community. This morning’s first reading is a great example. 1 Kings 17: 8 Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup that I may drink.” 11 And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” 12 So she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” 13 And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. 14 For thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth.’” 15 So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days. 16 The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke by Elijah.

Let’s keep in mind that Elijah could have gone to a rich man to receive help for his ministry. However, of there is one thing that appears over and over in the Bible it’s that our God does not need our help to promote His cause. God is the architect of salvation and the architect of success. We need to be the ones, like the widow, to become widow-like and sacrifice our all, body, soul, and blood, for the Kingdom.

POINT TWO:

Offering your body, blood, and benevolence to further the Kingdom is not only an obligation, your eternal life depends on it. Blood imagery is important to understand the sacrificial duties of our Faith. There are seven biological functions of the blood. The blood transports metabolic wastes from each cell to organs that excrete them, even drugs. The red blood cells transport oxygen from respiratory structures (lungs) to the cells of the body. The blood transports nutrients from the digestive system and from storage depots to each cell of the body. The blood transports hormones from endocrine glands to target tissues. The blood helps to maintain fluid balance in the body. The blood helps to distribute metabolic heat within the body and to maintain normal body temperature. The blood (white blood cells) defends the body against invading microorganisms. Medical science has given us insight into how “life rests in the blood.” These seven functions accomplished by the blood help you and I live. Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice and the ultimate representation of what we must do. Jesus offers His Body and Blood to the world so that we may be whole again. His Blood transfusion cleanses us from our sins and strengthens us for eternal life. Hebrews 9: 23 Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; 25 not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another— 26 He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. 27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, 28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.

God wants your body, your blood, and your entire life. The Patriarch reminded us last week that faith implies making Jesus Lord of all your time, talent, and treasure. Quite frankly two of the three are easy. The Bible is clear about what one needs to do with your talent and treasure. We are all gifted by the Holy Spirit in very specialized ways. For instance Cindy is a great administrator. She needs to ask herself if her giftedness is being utilized by the Church and for the Church. If your Spirit-giftedness offers God the Glory, then you are fine. The Bible is very clear about our treasure. Our first fruits go into the church treasury. As Abraham gave ten percent to the priest, and the widow gave her all to the priest Elijah, so must we. I cannot offer too much testimony about that except to say that regardless of some economic struggles we may have, and the ups and downs of being bi-vocational, I can only testify that God has been faithful to me as I have gone through life with two children, one in a Jesuit prep school, one in a great university, a house, two cars, and many other perks, and miraculously, we get by week to week. However, the greatest sacrifice we can make is our time. Talent and money you can get back and in abundance. Once you offered a sacrifice of time, it comes and goes and you will never recover that time. If you come to the Litany for the Unborn, one needs to plan the trip, make the trip, pray and return home. Sunday morning requires set up and set down, not to mention the worship itself. Every day we should be praying, healing, and helping. Craig and I are working on more youth ministry projects, feeding the poor, habitat for humanity, and all these involve your precious time. However one thing you should know that God is faithful to His faithful. We cannot out give God, therefore do not think that your are ever wasting time when that time is a sacrifice unto Almighty God.

POINT THREE:

In an attempt to offer insight to perfect sacrifice, Jesus shows us not only what we must do, but also whom we must reach to. From the court of the Gentiles where He conducted His public teaching, Jesus entered the court of the women. Against the wall of this court were 13 trumpet-shaped collection receptacles for receiving worshipers’ freewill offerings and contributions. From a vantage point opposite one of these receptacles Jesus was observing how the Passover crowd was putting their money into the temple treasury. In contrast with many wealthy people who gave large amounts (lit., “many coins” of all kinds—gold, silver, copper, and bronze), one unnamed poor widow gave two lepta. A lepton was the smallest bronze Jewish coin in circulation in Palestine. Two lepta were worth 1/64 of a Roman denarius, a day’s wage for a laborer for his Roman readers Mark stated their value in terms of Roman coinage, namely, a fraction of a penny. While Jesus watched this woman put some money in the charity receptacle, He called His disciples over and spoke to them. Mark 12: 38 Then He said to them in His teaching, “Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, 39 the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, 40 who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.” 41 Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. 42 Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. 43 So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; 44 for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.”

CONCLUSION:

There is no wonder that God chose this poor social status as that of a widow to make the point about obedience. There are still plenty of widows in our country. Study after study shows that the poorest group in the U.S. is single mothers. We have widows, folks, because this country has purposefully confused gender roles to the point of making it too easy for a man to walk away from any responsibilities after impregnating a woman. Women are left alone all the time. The majority of households in the U.S. are fatherless. And according to a Rice University sociological study, Kids who grow up with poor single mothers are less likely to expect to go to college and more likely to get into trouble in school and to perform poorly academically. Ever since the Bible was outlawed in this society in the early 60’s, more and more households have suffered. As we abolished the measuring stick for how we ought to live, our so-called progressive society has demolished sacred institutions like marriage to the point where single mother households are five times more like to be poor then married households. Thank God Maine stood up for a healthier society last week and good Christian people came to vote. It was a good step in fixing the economic woes of our society. Imagine, following Biblical norms creates less poverty, healthier children, and offers a community more resources to build morally upstanding citizens. What our role is as Christians is simply to present the Gospel to all people as a way to become whole again, a way to be cleansed from all worldly woes, and a way to inherit eternal life with the Angels and the Saints and the Faithful, living perpetually encompassed by the perfect Love of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

By Father S. Peter Donatelli

(Solemnity of All Saints; 2009; all Biblical quotes from the New King James Version)

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Tuesday, November 3^rd, 2009 – Bible Study

Saturday, November 7^th, 2009 – Youth Group

JOKE:

What did one ghost say to the other? Do you believe in humans?

INTRO:

We’ve all heard the allegations. Halloween is a pagan rite dating back to some pre-Christian festival among the Celtic Druids that escaped Church suppression. Even today modern pagans and witches continue to celebrate this ancient festival. If you let your kids go trick-or-treating, they will be worshiping the devil and pagan gods. Nothing could be further from the truth. The origins of Halloween are, in fact, very Christian and rather American. Halloween falls on October 31 because of a pope, and its observances are the result of medieval Catholic piety. It’s true that the ancient Celts of Ireland and Britain celebrated a minor festival on Oct. 31 — as they did on the last day of most other months of the year. However, Halloween falls on the last day of October because the Feast of All Saints or “All Hallows” falls on Nov. 1. The feast in honor of all the saints in heaven used to be celebrated on May 13, but Pope Gregory III (d. 741) moved it to Nov. 1, the dedication day of All Saints Chapel in St. Peter’s at Rome. Later, in the 840s, Pope Gregory IV commanded that All Saints be observed everywhere. And so the holy day spread to Ireland. The day before was the feast’s evening vigil, “All Hallows Even” or “Halloween.” In those days, Halloween didn’t have any special significance for Christians or for long-dead Celtic pagans. In 998, St. Odilo, the abbot of the powerful monastery of Cluny in Southern France, added a celebration on Nov. 2. This was a day of prayer for the souls of all the faithful departed. This feast, called All Souls Day, spread from France to the rest of Europe. Why is any of this important?

POINT ONE:

What we do this morning at Mass is a preparation for our work as saints in the Heavenly Kingdom. Has anybody ever asked you to pray for them? Are you going to stop worshipping God or praying for your friends when you die? It is an essential conviction of our Faith that we understand that this life is a precursor to our eternal walk with God, the Angels, and the Saints in Heaven. Knowing that with absolute certainty we prepare to be worshipful, prayerful, and obedient citizens along with the others standing around us at the Throne. So why do people get bogged down when we ask the Saints to pray for us? Let’s start with the Bible to get some insight. Revelation 7: 9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying:  ”Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and honor and power and might, Be to our God forever and ever.  Amen.” 3 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?” 14 And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. 16 They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; 17 for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” A question I am asked is “Why do we pray to the saints sometimes, why not just pray directly to God?” We pray to the saints because they can help us on journey to Jesus. They are now gathered around the throne of God and they can intercede for us and help us. And we know that they do intercede for us and help us because so many people claim to have received favors through praying to a particular saint. And indeed for anyone to be beatified or canonized a major miracle inexplicable by natural means must have taken place. So praying to the saints is powerful. They are our brothers and sisters from every country and from every generation and they can help us on our path to God. We have one ultimate goal in praying to the saints, that through their prayers we may join with them one day in heaven by sharing in God’s victory as they have done. We ask them to help us allow Jesus’ victory over evil on the cross to be reproduced in our lives as it has been in theirs. We pray to them that what John saw may at some future times be true of us also, “These are the people who have been through the great persecution, and they have washed their robes white again in the blood of the Lamb.” Therefore as the conclusion to our second reading from John stated, “Surely everyone who entertains this hope must purify himself, must try to be as pure as Christ.”

POINT TWO:

The Bible’s insight is to help us to grow in this life and actually to participate in the next life, in other words be a saint on earth as it is in Heaven. St. John teaches us that a good step to doing this is to think purity. 1 John 3:  1 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

We are also instructed in Scripture and through the early Saints that we can participate in Kingdom living through sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving. In Psalm 116 it tells us, “16 O LORD, truly I am Your servant; I am Your servant, the son of Your maidservant; You have loosed my bonds.  17 I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving, And will call upon the name of the LORD. 18 I will pay my vows to the LORD Now in the presence of all His people, 19 In the courts of the LORD’s house, In the midst of you, O Jerusalem.” What we do this morning as we pray, praise, and partake allows us to participate with the same Heavenly celebration we will be participating in Heaven! There’s a nice song on the radio by Mercy-me, “I can only imagine what it will be like when I walk by your side. I can only imagine what my eyes will see when your face is before me. Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel? Will I dance for you Jesus or in honor of you be still? Will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I fall? Will I sing hallelujah; will I be able to speak at all? I can only imagine when that day comes when I find myself standing in the Son. I can only imagine when all I will do is forever, forever worship You.” Though it’s a nice song, I can only advise the composer, “Man where do you go to church?” I don’t need to imagine this because the mystical banquet is right before me. I not only see Jesus standing by side, but I consume Jesus into my body so I can become part of THE Body. I not only am surrounded by His Glory, I am worshipping with all the Heavenly Saints and Angels and they are worshipping with me. I am washed by the same Blood and I find it surging through my veins as I place the chalice to my lips. I don’t need to imagine if I have enough faith. We need to believe with all our hearts, with all our minds, and with all our souls, that what Jesus has taught, what Jesus has instituted, what Jesus has created, is true, real, and present. The Kingdom is not imaginary, it really exists and as beloved children created in the Mind of God, we need to purge ourselves to the point of really connecting to our divine nature.

POINT THREE:

We can share in the divinity of Christ if we participate in His deeds. I love Pope John Paul II’s commentary on today’s Gospel. “Today’s liturgy speaks completely of holiness. But to know what is the way to holiness, we must go with the Apostles up the mount of the Beatitudes to draw near to Jesus and listen to the words of life that come from his lips. Today too he says to us again: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven! The divine Teacher proclaims “blessed” and, we could say, “canonizes” first of all the poor in spirit, that is, those whose heart is free of prejudices and conditionings, and who are therefore totally disposed to the divine will. Their total and trusting fidelity to God presupposes renunciation and consistent self-detachment. Blessed are those who mourn! This is the blessedness not only of those who suffer from the many misfortunes that belong to the mortal human condition, but also those who courageously accept the sufferings that result from the sincere profession of Gospel morality. Blessed are the pure in heart! He proclaims blessed those who are not content with outward or ritual purity, but seek that absolute inner rectitude which excludes all deceit and duplicity. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness! Human righteousness is already a very lofty goal, which ennobles the heart of whoever pursues it, but Jesus is thinking of that greater righteousness which lies in seeking God’s saving will: blessed above all are those who hunger and thirst for this righteousness. For Jesus says: “He who does the will of my Father who is in heaven shall enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 7: 21). Blessed are the merciful! Happy are those who overcome their hardness of heart and indifference, to recognize in practice the primacy of compassionate love, following the example of the Good Samaritan and, in the last analysis, of the Father “rich in mercy” (Eph 2: 4). Blessed are the peacemakers! Peace, the sum of all messianic blessings, is a demanding task. In a world marked by tremendous antagonisms and barriers, fraternal harmony inspired by love and sharing must be promoted by overcoming hostilities and conflicts. Blessed are those who dedicate themselves to this most noble endeavor!”

CONCLUSION:  

I know this sermon is rich in saintly quotes so here is my conclusion. From “The Importance of the Saints And Devotion to Them” by St. Bernard of Clairvaux, he says, “Why should our praise and glorification, or even the celebration of this feast day mean anything to the saints? What do they care about earthly honors when their heavenly Father honors them by fulfilling the faithful promise of the Son? What does our commendation mean to them? The saints have no need of honor from us; neither does our devotion add the slightest thing to what is theirs. Clearly, if we venerate their memory, it serves us, not them. But I tell you, when I think of them, I feel myself inflamed by a tremendous yearning. Calling the saints to mind inspires, or rather arouses in us, above all else, a longing to enjoy their company, so desirable in itself. We long to share in the citizenship of heaven, to dwell with the spirits of the blessed, to join the assembly of patriarchs, the ranks of the prophets, the council of apostles, the great host of martyrs, the noble company of confessors and the choir of virgins. In short, we long to be united in happiness with all the saints. But our dispositions change. The Church of all the first followers of Christ awaits us, but we do nothing about it. The saints want us to be with them, and we are indifferent. The souls of the just await us, and we ignore them. Come, brothers, let us at length spur ourselves on. We must rise again with Christ, we must seek the world which is above and set our mind on the things of heaven. Let us long for those who are longing for us, hasten to those who are waiting for us, and ask those who look for our coming to intercede for us. We should not only want to be with the saints, we should also hope to possess their happiness. While we desire to be in their company, we must also earnestly seek to share in their glory. Do not imagine that there is anything harmful in such an ambition as this; there is no danger in setting our hearts on such glory. When we commemorate the saints we are inflamed with another yearning: that Christ our life may also appear to us as he appeared to them and that we may one day share in his glory. Until then we see him, not as he is, but as he became for our sake. He is our head, crowned, not with glory, but with the thorns of our sins. As members of that head, crowned with thorns, we should be ashamed to live in luxury; his purple robes are a mockery rather than an honor. When Christ comes again, his death shall no longer be proclaimed, and we shall know that we also have died, and that our life is hidden with him. The glorious head of the Church will appear and his glorified members will shine in splendor with him, when he forms this lowly body anew into such glory as belongs to himself, its head. Therefore, we should aim at attaining this glory with a wholehearted and prudent desire. That we may rightly hope and strive for such blessedness, we must above all seek the prayers of the saints. Thus, what is beyond our own powers to obtain will be granted through their intercession.”

By Father S. Peter Donatelli (All Biblical quotes from the New King James Version; 30th SOTB)

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Please pray for us as this week CJV welcomes the CEC to Maine.

JOKE:

I read this one liner on line; sometimes you’re the bird, and sometimes you’re the windshield.

INTRO:

It’s amazing how often in life this is true. More often than not, when I feel that I am about to be smashed or that someone I know and love is about to smash into me, I look to God for answers, complaints, or thanks. Nevertheless, life is so difficult at times that we wonder how effective God is. Is living a life of faithfulness really the way to go or are there more effective ways to feeling fulfilled? Hopefully this morning we will all come to the conclusion that the efficacy of God is complete and our participation in His will is blessed assurance. When you need to know you are making the right decisions in life then please enter into a prayerful dialogue with God, then seek confirmation with God’s mouthpiece on earth, His Bride, our Mother, the Church. Each reading this morning emphasizes the efficacy of God’s intervention and I guarantee that no matter what you are going through in life, our loving God has an answer and God’s answer is the right one. I realize that there are people that think it’s a little weird to hear someone say, “God told me to do this or that.” But I am a firm believer that God is not an absentee landlord who just wants us to live in His creation without sharing in all the joys and ordeals that we endure. In other words, God wants to answer your queries and seeks to be the Father that loves His child and wants the best for us as He looks forward to spending eternal life with us in His most holy dwelling place. So how effective is God? Let’s take a look at these readings.

POINT ONE:

God fulfills His promises in God’s most perfect timing. God is effective by making numerous children of Israel return from exile to their beloved homeland. Jeremiah 31:  7This is what the LORD says: “Sing with joy for Jacob; shout for the foremost of the nations. Make your praises heard, and say, ‘O LORD, save your people, the remnant of Israel.’ 8 See, I will bring them from the land of the north and gather them from the ends of the earth. Among them will be the blind and the lame, expectant mothers and women in labor; a great throng will return. 9 They will come with weeping; they will pray as I bring them back. I will lead them beside streams of water on a level path where they will not stumble, because I am Israel’s father, and Ephraim is my firstborn son.

Now keep in mind that the chronology of this event was decades. It seems like God’s elect are always in the state of transition. Quite frankly I hate transition; it’s like being transferred from one gate to another at the airport. Last time Cindy and flew together our plane was grounded because of snow. We were en route to St. Louis and subsequently, after an overnight in Cincinnati we landed in St. Louis via Atlanta, Georgia. I swear if God hadn’t blessed me with such an amazingly patient and comforting wife, I would flip out hourly. I have learned in my life that regardless of worldly obstacles, God is still in control and His will is always done.

POINT TWO:

God calls us to participate in His will and His efficacy and His assurance by participating in the priesthood of all believers. This calls us to a life of effective love. If you achieve all that you strive for, in appropriate ways, using the best means and in the least amount of time, most people would call you effective. However, God requires you to overcome obstacles and rely on Him exclusively in love as we, the Church, seek results in dealing with a sinful world. Hebrews 5:  1Every high priest is selected from among men and is appointed to represent them in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. 3This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people. 4No one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by God, just as Aaron was. 5So Christ also did not take upon himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father.” 6And he says in another place, “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”

There are several important factors about this passage. First the personification of the God’s salvific priesthood in a broken world reflects God’s purpose for this particular anointing. In order to deal with “those who are ignorant or going astray” the priesthood steps in to heal through sacrifices and sacraments and simply showing up. One might ask if there is a necessity for this functionality. Recently I researched on line the number of addictions in this country and I did not realize how many sad afflictions people suffer. Yes there are hundreds of addictions from drugs and alcohol, to sex and self destruction. Sadly there are people who actually celebrate bad behavior and we can all agree that’s not the way to heal people. The best way to heal is to do it the priestly way by offering people salvation and eternal joy. Yes the passage tells us that priests are chosen amongst men and yes the ordination of a priest is an office that Biblically demands the form of a man to represent this anointing. However, as Christians the icon of Christ, the High Priest, is reflected first in the vocation of the priest and then through him, his children reflect the prayer obedience of their spiritual father in Christ. Just a few words about Melchizedek, he first appears in Genesis 14 as the king of Salem or Jerusalem where Abraham gives him ten percent of his first fruits. Now it is fairly clear that Melchizedek probably does not need anything from Abraham but accepts the tithe as a way to allow Abraham to transmit the priestly office of Melchizedek that subsequently allows Abraham and his community to live out God’s blessings. We can heal others because we are faithful to God’s anointing. Otherwise we cannot be assured that what we are doing to efficacious to the community we live in and the world we strive to fix. The media is filled with organizations that claim to help mankind but are they really helping? Rarely do I see a cause that will prompt me to pick up my phone and call in a donation to some well constructed commercial selling a feel-good product. I tithe and I know that in terms of charity I am giving the minimum for the maximum amount of product. Am I changing the world? I would like to think so. Is our small church impacting on God’s ultimate plan for all humanity? Absolutely!

POINT THREE:

There are no obstacles that we cannot overcome that will allow us to see for ourselves this success. In other words, through Jesus Christ, the Son of God, God the Son, even a blind beggar overcame obstacles to fulfill his great to desire to accept Jesus into his life manifested by his sight restored. Mark 10:  46Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (that is, the Son of Timaeus), was sitting by the roadside begging. 47When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”48Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” 50Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. 51″What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” 52″Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

So what must we do in order to experience divine efficacy. We need to believe and hope. Those who had been exiled from Babylon could not forget God´s wonders in the history of their people. God had shown the strength of his hand in the Exodus and in the conquest of the Promised Land. They believe and trust that God will once again act effectively in their favor, although they do not know when or how. Bartimaeus has immense faith in the fact that Jesus, the Messiah and the descendant of David, can cure him of his blindness. This is why he cries out fearlessly and boldly, “Son of David, Jesus, have pity on me.” The Jews believed that God had granted the High Priest, on the feast of Yom Kippur, the power to forgive the sins of all the people. And we Christians believe with absolute certainty that Jesus Christ, our High Priest, destroyed the world´s sins on the Cross. It is impossible for God to manifest his power in those who do not believe in it. We also must realize that God is in control and He is the absolute authority from where we seek answers. The Jews in exile knew perfectly well that they could not get back home on their own. Bartimaeus was very aware that he could do nothing to recover his sight. We Christians and Jews are convinced that only God can forgive sins. Sadly there are people in this world who have rejected God and sought their own self-ordained authority for answers. In that great song “Blessed Assurance” the refrain tells us that Jesus is our story and if we want to part of God’s story there is only one way; His most perfect way.

CONCLUSION:

We have many choices in life and we make many decisions. How can we be assured that we are making the right choices and deciding the right things? First we can judge by the fruit these bear. Secondly, allow God to be involved in your effectiveness. Thirdly, allow the Church and your priest to participate. Lastly remember that you are all part of God’s great salvation story. There are many stories out there like the exile of the Jews, the story of the early Church Christians the accounts written in letters like the one to the Hebrews. There is blind Bartimaeus and how through faith in Jesus Christ came to completely physical healing. All these stories have one thing in common and that is God’s effectiveness. God fulfills all His promise and if you want blessed assurance in life then you must allow God to work out His plan and purpose for you. God has called you here and He asks you, “What do you want me to do for you?” We reply, “Rabbi, I want to see.” “Go,” says Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” We hear that every week right before the Eucharist, “Lord I am not worthy to receive You, only say the Word and I shall be healed.” There are stories of secular people who live a life without accountability or responsibility. They always end badly. This week you may have heard of the UFO hoax where a couple called 911 to report their missing son floating through skies in a homemade balloon. We saw it first at a truck stop en route to New Paltz. Now this couple, after stirring the community and country faces criminal charges and rightfully so. The secular world is full of these stories and they all end in self-destruction. The stories of our faith always end well. “Blessed Assurance” was composed by two of the most prolific Christian hymn writers in history. The lyrics come from a woman with over 8000 hymns to her credit and the music comes from the pipe organ of a lady with over 500 hymns to her credit. One day, Fanny Crosby was visiting her dear friend, Phoebe Knapp. She played a tune for Fanny and asked her afterwards, “What does it say to you, Fanny?” Her reply was simple: “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine.”  This hymn is still being played on the church organ in thousands of churches still today. Despite being blind, Fanny Crosby’s impact on Christian hymns was tremendous.  She once described how her blindness affected her songs. “I verily believe that God intended that I should live my days in physical darkness so that I might be better prepared to sing His praise and lead others from spiritual darkness into eternal light.  With sight I would have been too distracted to have written thousands of hymns.” Without Fanny’s faith and Phoebe’s musicianship, songs such as “Blessed Assurance” would have never been written. I will conclude by reminded us all of the great hymn; Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of God, born of His Spirit, washed in His blood. This is my story; this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long. Perfect submission, perfect delight, visions of rapture now burst on my sight; angels, descending, bring from above echoes of mercy, whispers of love. Perfect submission, all is at rest, I in my Savior am happy and blest, Watching and waiting, looking above, filled with His goodness, lost in His love.