Waiting with Mary

Having grown up a Baptist boy in Louisiana, I don't come from a faith tradition that has any sort of Mariology. In fact, we didn't quite know what to do with her. She was a passive figure in the manger scene, looking lovingly down at baby Jesus. She was receptive, the object of the Holy Spirit's affection. Not much was said about her. Of course, this was the South of the 1970s, pre-women's movement in the world dominated by men, in a denomination restrictive in the roles of women. I find that the Gospel writers didn't make a big fuss about her, and it is noted that Judaism of 2000 years ago did not place women on a pedestal either. But very early on in Christianity, we became reflective about who Jesus was, and what the reality of those implications were. As always, these reflections upon the divinity and humanity of Jesus are deepest in the face of heresy. As the church deepened its understanding of who Jesus was as his divinity was challenged, they quickly understood that Mary had given birth to God. Again, as Jesus' physical life came into question from heresy, the church's clarification of who Jesus was gave clarity to the role of Mary, Theotokos. Indeed, references to Mary as God bearer, or Theotokos occur in late first century Christianity. So from our earliest opportunity for reflection upon who Mary was, during the same time period as the Gospel of John was written, she has had a special place in Christendom. Today, 30 years removed from my childhood experiences, I find most, if not all, of the Protestant world has a greater appreciation of Mary and of women. As a Catholic, I am 35 years behind on appreciating Mary, but I'm working on it.

The Advent season is upon us, and we are invited to be reflective for the next few weeks as we prepare our hearts, souls and minds for the arrival of Jesus. The King is coming; he is to be laid in a manger. It is a good reflection to remember that the first person to wait for Jesus was Mary. My mind has been trained to see her in a white dress and a blue mantle, and that's okay. My vision of her waiting for the joyous arrival of her unborn son is of a woman 18, maybe 20 years old, a few years older than she actually was. In my mind's eye she rubs her belly with anticipation for she knows that soon, perhaps in a few weeks when they are in Bethlehem, Jesus will be coming. Like every good mother, he will mean everything to her and she will place him at the center of her attention and her life. She will birth him, nurse him, and nurture him. She will watch with pride as he grows, wonder and amazement at his ministry, and horror at his death. When the Holy Spirit comes upon the disciples at the dawn of the church, she is there.

But now, in this Advent season, she is waiting with anticipation for the arrival of Jesus. She is making preparations. I think she would have made preparations in her home for his arrival. Perhaps a nursery or a special place for Jesus to sleep. This is our call in the Advent season, to prepare a place for Jesus. So let's spend the next several weeks preparing ourselves for the arrival of our King. Happy Advent everyone.

Revising the revisionist history on Old Testament teaching

Jesus tells us to not take an eye for an eye or a tooth for a tooth, but to love our brothers and sisters. He tells us to turn the other cheek, to give more than what we are asked for, and to share with those who don't have what we have. The spirituality of Jesus is a completion of the law. In what the law was attempting to accomplish through justice, Jesus brings to completion for Grace. So we know from the teachings of Jesus, that we are called to more than "an eye for an eye."

Because we have studied the spirituality of Jesus for 2000 years, and at least know on an intellectual level that we are to apply it to our lives, we often view the justice of an eye for an eye is barbaric and antiquated. Sometimes the God of the Old Testament seems so bloody and violent to our modern eyes. I think if we look at the setting of God's teaching on justice we will see that it is not violent, but restrictive in the violence that allows. It is an improvement on what men were doing to each other in the name of retaliation and justice. Although we as Christians know that justice is not enough and that we should extend grace to each other I think the very nature of our problems today comes from our escalation of violence. God's teaching of an eye for an eye is something we should look at with fresh eyes because God's teaching is against the escalation of violence.

Recently we've had arson in the homeless camps that we minister to. It is actually the third arson in the past six months, and we now know that all these fires were basically set by 1 man. The first fire was the burning of a tent that belong to a man who was not well-liked in the homeless community and was somewhat of a bully. Providence used in the burning of his tent to move him into rehab and at the time we didn't know who set fire to the tent, so nothing more was thought of it. Again about six weeks ago there was a fire and about an acre of Woods was burned. No tent was destroyed and no one was harmed. But this last fire was different. It was malicious and violent. The man had been abusive to a woman in the camps, attacking her, knocking her to the ground. She was defended verbally by another homeless man, and for this crime his camp was burned. He lost everything he had, which wasn't much, but whether you have a little or a lot when you lose everything, everything is gone. He torched several other camps, and made a second trip in the middle of the night to burn what he had missed the first time. The only camp left standing was the tent of a man who stands 6'9" and has friends in the community. It was a calculated decision to leave it alone.

The homeless community is very upset with this man, James, who is alleged to have burn the camps. They are concerned about the danger to human life that is present with the burning of tents in the middle of the night. They are angry about the loss of material possessions that cannot be replaced, such as a crucifix that came from the casket of a grandmother, or a Bible that was given by a loved one. They know the level of violence involved in this arson is too extreme and calls for a response. But I think the most heinous thing about this crime is that it extends beyond an eye for an eye. No one would be angry with James to the level they are angry now, if his tent had first been burned. We would be disappointed with him, sad that he had not heeded the call of Jesus, but we would understand on some level the reasoning for his response. So I would argue that James's crime is that no one had first burned his tent. And without this level of justification there is no justice, there is no eye to match eye. He escalated violence beyond any reasonable expectation of reciprocity. If we follow "an eye for an eye" to its logical conclusion, that we never escalated violence above what is done to us, in this absence of the escalation of violence we are only loving each other. Maybe we would just use harsh words with each other in the heat of the moment and there would never be blows thrown or fires lit.

I think somewhere in this argument is a missing link. We who know that with strong love comes strong boundaries and responsibilities know that there must be consequences for actions. This justice begins and ends with loving each other. In the middle, where the rubber hits the road, lies all our successes and failures. The most important rule in living with these failures is to not escalate violence, but only take "an eye for an eye." I think if we never escalate violence to each other, never answer harsh words with a slap, or a rude driver with the middle finger, then we are not far away from what Jesus is asking us to do. Because Jesus asked us to extend Grace to each other and to love as God loves us. God does not give us what we deserve but withholds the taking of an eye. So let us always follow Jesus and not return evil for evil and always remember never more than eye for an eye.

Prepare for the Birth of the Lord who comes to live in You

Book of Isaiah 9,1-6.The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; Upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone. You have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing, As they rejoice before you as at the harvest, as men make merry when dividing spoils. For the yoke that burdened them, the pole on their shoulder, And the rod of their taskmaster you have smashed, as on the day of Midian. For every boot that tramped in battle, every cloak rolled in blood, will be burned as fuel for flames. For a child is born to us, a son is given us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace. His dominion is vast and forever peaceful, From David's throne, and over his kingdom, which he confirms and sustains By judgment and justice, both now and forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this!

The Lord comes to us as a child, beckoning us to come to Him. We prepare our hearts to receive Him. Is His resting place in us as it should be? Are we clean? Have we cleaned the clutter of our minds? Of our hearts? What worldly things fill the space within us set aside since the beginning of time for the Christ Child. Is it last minute shopping trips, presents for the kids, the in-laws, the spouse? Have the desperate sales of the department stores turned Christmas into a watershed day of savings? The headlines read, "The biggest savings are promised to come the day after Christmas." So Christmas becomes the day of rest before the big shopping spree. Is there anyway to preserve our spirituality and prepare ourselves for the coming of Christ?

Tonight, He comes. Born in a manger, in complete poverty. Not even does He have a place to lay His head, but his family is to spend the night with the cows, sheep, goats, and other animals so blessed to witness this special and unique birth. God comes to us in a child, vulnerable and weak. He is the Prince of Peace, the Savior of the world. Open your hearts to Him, shut out all worldly things, give every gift you can to the poor, to others. Only keep what you really need, what you really want. Give the rest away so you don't become the possession of your things. Share your abundance with those in need. Make way for the Lord.

Saying yes to God

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 21,28-32.

What is your opinion? A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, 'Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.' He said in reply, 'I will not,' but afterwards he changed his mind and went. The man came to the other son and gave the same order. He said in reply, 'Yes, sir,' but did not go. Which of the two did his father's will?" They answered, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you. When John came to you in the way of righteousness, you did not believe him; but tax collectors and prostitutes did. Yet even when you saw that, you did not later change your minds and believe him.

A prayer for good discipleship:
How often, dear Lord, do I say no. Not only in my words, but in my spirit, when you beckon me to you. Is it when I see someone in need, someone who might really need something from me? Food, clothing, shelter, money, love, time? Yet I judge them unworthy. Lord, save me from myself, from my hoarding of things and spending money on things I don't need when I have brothers and sisters in need of food, clothing, shelter, and love. Lord, help me to do your will, even when my initial knee-jerk reaction is to say No. Fill up my lack of Love with your Love, Lord Jesus, so I may be your servant who says "Here I am Lord, Send Me!