December 15, 2019 - Third Sunday of Advent

"Be Evidence of God's Love"

Audio Clip

Last week, I received a letter from St. John's Seminary with an invitation to share a Christmas gift for the seminarians. Within the invitation was a reminder of Advent's twofold purpose --- one of which recalls Jesus' first coming with his Incarnation and Birth. I think this is what most of us think of when we think of Advent. But, the other purpose, I must admit, I really hadn't considered --- we are to reflect on Christ's Second Coming at the end of time. This second purpose really caught me by surprise and it spurred a number of personal challenges which I'd like share with you.

Would we feel or act differently if we knew that Jesus' second coming was imminent? How would our time worshiping in mass change --- would it change at all? How would our time evangelizing outside of mass be affected? Would our focus and time serving others change?

Our faith tells us that there will be a day in which our Savior walks the earth, again. But, until that day, being a true Christian means that we are not only asked, we are expected to serve as disciples of Jesus Christ and to live and to act as Jesus did. In a sense, Jesus asks us to take His place, so others may see and experience the love of being a Christian. But, how does someone prepare for Jesus' coming, who has not yet received the gift of faith, who is only now beginning their journey to find true happiness? One of the answers is that these people need the help of others who have made the journey to show them the way.

It's not surprising that the Christmas season can be a starting point for some in their search for Jesus. So, how would we react if we received a note like this from a parishioner who joined us for their first mass in our Collaborative:

I attended your church yesterday. Although you had invited me, you were not there. I looked for you, hoping to sit with you. I sat alone. A stranger, I wanted to sit near the back of the church but those rows were all packed with regular attenders. An usher took me to the front. I felt as though I was on parade.

During the singing of the hymns I was surprised that some of the church people weren’t singing. Between their sighs and yawns, they just stared into space. A few people who I respected from town were whispering to one another throughout the whole service. I really didn’t expect that in your church. The pastor’s sermon was very interesting, although some members of the choir didn’t seem to think so. They looked bored and restless. There were several people who left and then came back during the sermon. I could hear the constant shuffling of feet and doors opening and closing.

The pastor spoke about the reality of faith. The message got to me and I made up my mind to speak to someone about it after the service. But chaos reigned after the benediction. I said good morning to one couple, but their response was less than cordial. I walked toward another group in hopes of discussing the sermon, but they were all huddled in a corner talking about politics.

My family and I have never gone to church. I came alone yesterday hoping to find a place to truly worship and feel some love. I’m sorry, but I didn’t find it in your church.

In today's Gospel, John the Baptist had this question for Jesus, "Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?" If one of Jesus' greatest disciples needed help in finding the Son of God, think how incredibly challenging it must be for the men and women of today who are urgently searching for greater meaning in their lives --- those who feel empty and alone in the secular world, those who are desperately trying to find evidence that this unknown God who forgives sins and loves us unconditionally actually exists. Today, and during the next few weeks, we have an opportunity to be people of action, people of generosity both in mass and in our community by making God's love real for them at that moment. We can be the evidence that God's love exists.

During this Christmas season, we may be the only chance that someone has to know who Jesus is and how much Jesus loves them. Through the grace of God, there may be one special person that we are responsible for --- Jesus may be asking us to be their John the Baptist. St. Teresa of Avila says, "Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks with compassion on this world." When we welcome guests at mass during this Advent and Christmas, be grateful that Jesus has presented them to you --- for He has chosen you to help Him share His grace.

What about sharing the presence of Jesus outside of mass? As with the great John the Baptist, doing the will of God means spreading the knowledge and love of Jesus wherever we go. Through Baptism, we are all called to be ministers of Jesus. Our collaborative offers opportunities for ministry by feeding the hungry, clothing the needy, sheltering the homeless and visiting the sick and lonely. But, our works of mercy don't need to be connected to a parish-organized effort, in fact, an everyday, simple act of kindness, one that is uniquely your own, can leave just as great an impact on those we meet.

The night before Thanksgiving, my wife and I went to the Four's to join some friends and enjoy some time together. I was introduced to a man who knew that I was a deacon so he wanted to share his story. His mother had passed away about a year ago, she was a daily communicant, and he missed her very much. She used to tell him that she prayed for him always, for he confessed, he hadn't lived a good life. As he was telling me his story, he would occasionally look across the bar at a group of his friends, giving them the middle finger salute --- I guess it was his way of maintaining some semblance of normalcy. But, he told me that something happened to him when his mother passed and that he knew that she was still praying for him because his life was changing. He said he always knew who Jesus was in his head, but for the first time, he knew who Jesus was in his heart and he knew that Jesus loved him. In recent months, in his own way, he was spreading the word of God by making small crucifixes from wood that had once been in his mother's home --- and I saw him deliver one to another man at the bar who had just lost his mother. As our conversation ended, I asked if I could give him a blessing, right at the bar. His eyes filled with tears and he nodded his head, "yes". The next day he called me to say how much he enjoyed our time together and he said, "I know you couldn't see this, but I wish you could have seen the look on my friends' faces when you gave me your blessing!"

For my new friend, and like the author of our opening story, it takes a lot of courage to begin a relationship with Jesus, because when you do, you can make yourself vulnerable to the opinion of others, just like in Jesus' time --- so especially during the next few weeks, whether in mass or in our community, let's be gracious Christians --- let's do our best to help new disciples find their way to Christ. And, within our busy lives, let us ask the Holy Spirit to help us share acts of mercy in whatever ways we are able, with our time, our talents and our treasure. So, that one day, if we were to appear before Our Savior at his second coming, Jesus would embrace us and say, "Well done my faithful messenger, you have prepared My path before me!"

We ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen.