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Reflection for the Solemnity of the Baptism of our Lord

Baptism

Why should I join?
What does it mean?

“He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

It wouldn’t be unusual to wonder about baptism, what it means. We might also wonder why Jesus was baptized.

For us, baptism is membership in the body of Jesus, the Church – we are made part of Jesus by descending into the water, as He descended into death. With this membership we are promised that we, like Jesus, will rise again.

For us, baptism is washing. We are washed of sin. In baptism we recognize that we fall short of the glory of God. As St. Paul wrote to the Romans “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” We know that we are sinful, no one is perfect and without failings. In baptism we acknowledge our sinfulness and our reliance on God, who through Jesus’ sacrifice washes us of our sinfulness, brings us forgiveness, and welcomes us back – always, no matter what.

For us, baptism is proclamation that Jesus is the Son of God, true God and true man. We proclaim the triune nature of God, Jesus’ sacrificial death, resurrection, and ascension. In baptism we proclaim the Creed – stating definitively what we believe by faith. At Jesus’ baptism the heavens were opened. The Holy Spirit descended in the form of a dove. The Father’s voice is heard: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” This is God revealed, as He is, plain and simple, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Jesus’ baptism pointed to all these things. At Jesus’ baptism John publicly recognized and declared that Jesus was the One who was awaited, the Messiah, the One who would baptize “with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

Jesus’ baptism also showed that He identified with sinners. His baptism symbolized sinners’ baptism into His righteousness. In addition, Jesus baptism showed His approval of John’s baptism, bearing witness to it, that it was from heaven and approved by God. Later, after His resurrection, He would tell His followers that by baptizing the many they would be made His disciples. In Jesus’ baptism the reality of God was revealed in testimony direct from heaven.

All the glorious truth of the mercy of God found in Jesus Christ is on display at His baptism. We join ourselves to that glory and truth in our baptism.

In the dynamics of baptism we join ourselves to all the truth of Jesus. We proclaim that God has freed us by His grace and our acceptance of that grace. We declare with all the faith that we have – we are members of His body, and that He is our Lord and God. We are His members – and it means this: That we receive His mercy and glory.

Christian Witness, Homilies, ,

Reflection for the Solemnity of the Epiphany

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Does God play…
hide and seek?

“Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him.”

Have you ever stopped for directions? The typical joke is that a man will drive around for hours, trying to find a destination, while a woman would immediately stop and ask for directions.

From our reading of the scripture we see that the Wise Men/Kings/Astrologers/Magi did stop and ask directions. They received directions, an answer in response to their search for The Answer, and made their way to Bethlehem.

It seems inconsistent doesn’t it? The Wise Men were following a star. Besides being men, why would they stop for directions if they had the star to guide them?

The lesson here is that something greater was happening. We need to unfold the map, and get our directions by reading between the lines a little.

Certainly, the gospel account is true. The Astrologers saw a sign in the skies and intuited that something wonderful had happened. That intuition isn’t just some human trait, but God’s grace at work in them, asking them to take action. They chose to believe and act on that grace. They decided to believe and follow a light – a star.

The star they followed wasn’t just something in the sky; it was the light glowing in their hearts that drove them onward toward God. That light drove them toward Jesus, the reality of God’s promise to all people.

The Wise Men received a great blessing – from outside of God’s chosen people, God called these men. With the power of His love – that is, His grace – He called Gentile leaders to come to His Son. These representatives of all nations responded. They headed toward Jesus (stopping for directions along the way).

God doesn’t play hide-and-seek. His grace is for all people in the same way as was given to the Magi. The light of His star exists in all hearts as a little flicker, an ember. If we choose to act on that grace and head toward Jesus, that ember will be fanned into a great flame, greater than any star.

When touched by the spark of grace we must not brush it off or put it out. Rather we stop and ask directions. We start in our faith community, our local church. From there, we set out and find Him as fully as we are able. Finding Him we also become His messengers (like the Magi – who as travelers were also bearers of news). With a great light in us we go out and proclaim the Good News. God is not hiding – we only need to fan His many embers into great stars revealing Jesus to all.

Christian Witness, Homilies, PNCC, ,

Reflection for the Solemnity of the Humble Shepherds

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He called,
they and I answered.

“I will turn their mourning into joy, I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow. I will feast the soul of the priests with abundance, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, says the LORD.”

There are several very good reasons for our Church to have established this special Solemnity, that of the Humble Shepherds.

Our initial thoughts go to the remembrance of those men, who kept watch over their flocks by night, to whom the angel first appeared to announce the good news of the Lord’s birth.

Since God deigned to provide first news of His birth to these men, the Holy Church should rightly honor them and their witness to His coming. The community of the Church, each of us, should also take after their example by listening, responding, and taking action.

Next, our thoughts should go to those men around us that God continues to speak to and through. They work among us as leaders. They draw us to the goodness of the Lord. These are the shepherds among us; they are the bishops, priests, and deacons of our Holy Church.

What does it mean to be such a shepherd?

Like the shepherds on that hillside, today’s shepherds must listen. Listening is difficult, especially if the one speaking to you doesn’t use the phone, Facebook, E-mail, texting, or smoke signals. His word comes in very subtle ways, and they seem easy to set aside and ignore. Yet, if we dare to listen, we will hear Him speaking to us, setting forth a vital mission and challenge that we need to take on.

Like those shepherds, today’s responded and went. They left everything they thought they might be behind. They went to be what He wants them to be. Whether drafted, or going voluntarily (even reluctantly sometimes), they still chose to respond. They didn’t sit on the hillside wondering, “What if?” They didn’t miss the chance.

Also like the shepherds that went that night, they took something away with them, the experience of meeting the Lord who challenges us, who supports us, who is our best friend and confidant. They met Him and were changed in that meeting. They then took what they learned, and with the Lord’s help went out on mission, to build the Church, to gather co-workers, and to build family and community.

They lead because they have heard and seen abundantly. They tell others, many of who and astonished and do not accept their word. Those that do hear, who may also be astonished at first, but who then follow by listening, responding and taking action themselves are God’s witnesses in the world.

Homilies

Christmas Reflection

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Beloved:
The grace of God has appeared, saving all

Here we stand, at the manger, at the answer.

We have been inundated by the negatives of the world, particularly over the last several weeks, even in the last 24 hours, but here we stand, before the answer.

In this decrepit, shoddy stable, the answer came to us. The answer came with a one way ticket. The answer, this little baby, came with a one way ticket and brought a new dawn.

The one way ticket is for God intervening, providing us with the way from darkness and sin to light and life. He came to save – Jesus – the name that means God saves. God has come to save His people that are you and me, all of us.

The one way ticket is for God who promised He would come to save, not just temporarily, or for a short time, but forever. He came to stay with us, and in us, as the answer.

This saving work, this answer continues among us. He is here, in this small parish, on a small street. He is in our big and welcoming hearts – the heart of Jesus which we reflect. He is in our community. He is in the many blessings we have received, and the struggles and work we face together. He is in the beauty of our children and the wisdom of our elders. The answer is in Him and His promises – that are for us – here and now.

The answer is among us. God is among us, with us, here to stay. Thank you Lord Jesus, thank you for this holy night. Amen.

Art, Events, PNCC, , , ,

Christmas Concert at St. Valentine’s, Northampton, MA

A Christmas Concert will be held at St. Valentine’s PNC Parish, 127 King St., Northampton, MA on December 6th at 7:30 pm, 2012. Mezzo-Soprano, Lisa Woods and Jerry Noble will present this benefit concert. Lisa will sing everything from “O Holy Night” and “The Little Drummer Boy” to “Silver Bells” and “Have a Holly Jolly Christmas! All are welcome. The program of songs will fill your heart with the spirit of Christmas and we hope you will join us for this very special evening. Suggested donation is $10.

Homilies

Reflection for the Solemnity of the Humble Shepherds

Hey, Sheep! Do I know you?

Today, our Holy Church honors the humble shepherds, the first to gaze upon Jesus and carry the message of His coming to others.

And when they saw it they made known the saying which had been told them concerning this child; and all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.

Shepherds had three key responsibilities, to tend, feed, and guard the sheep. To that end they carried quite the kit. They kept a bag made from goat skin in which they carried food and other items. They kept a sling to fight off wild animals, a rod with a knob on one end, a staff with a hook on the end, a flute for entertainment and to calm the sheep, and a cloak for warmth and to be used as bedding at night.

The most amazing relationship developed between the shepherds and their sheep, the sheep would learn to recognize and follow their shepherd’s voice.

God has used the image of the shepherd since the creation of the world. Abel, the son of Adam and Eve, was a shepherd. When Israel blessed Joseph he recalled that God had been his shepherd throughout his life.

Jesus is our Good Shepherd, and He does all those things that shepherds do. He feeds us with His body and blood. He tends to us, healing and renewing us. He guards us and protects us so that we will never die.

The key for us is that we grow in relationship with Jesus. We need to recognize His voice. That comes from reading His word, talking with Him in prayer, following His way. Doing that, we will recognize His call, His voice.

Do we know the voice of our Good Shepherd? When we hear His voice, let us all respond with “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” I will follow your way.

Homilies,

Solemnity of the Circumcision of our Lord

First reading: Genesis 17:9-14
Psalm: Ps. 19:8-11
Epistle: Galatians 5:3-6
Gospel: Luke 2:21

This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your descendants after you

Dealing with promises:

Let’s make a deal! It is easy if Monty Hall is asking you if you have a grapefruit in your purse, or if your selection comes down to door 1, 2, or 3. Abraham wasn’t quite at that place.

In Genesis 15, God promised Abram would have a son of his own who would inherit everything. Abram had no children, and his servant was to inherit everything. God was going to change things for Abram. God not only promised that things would change, but entered a covenant to guarantee it.

Covenant:

A covenant is a formal contract. In ancient times people would sacrifice an animal as a sign of the pact they made. They would divide the animal in two, and each would walk between the two halves, sealing the deal. This was a deal made between two equal parties. But when God promised Abram that things would change and He made that pledge with Himself. Abram did not walk through the sacrificed animals, only God did in the form of a smoking fire pot and a burning torch. God promised, by Himself, to keep the deal He made with His people.

Abram wasn’t sure:

Now Abram wasn’t sure how God was going to keep His covenant. He didn’t place his trust in God’s contract, God’s pledge. Instead, Abram took his servant Hagar as his wife and had a child with her. Abram tried to figure out God’s plan and did an end run to make it happen. Abram set the terms and conditions — telling God how things were going to work.

Was this according to God’s plan? No. This was according to Abrams’ plan. Abram didn’t trust that God would change things, he tried to change things himself.

God returns:

Its been twenty-four years, God and Abram together, and God returns again and says: I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless. Now twenty-four years of God’s promises, Abram trying to figure it all out, and God shows up to reinforce His promise. Things are going to change. I will give you a child by your wife Sar’ai and you will be a great nation, greater than all the stars in the sky.

So Abram bows down before the Lord, and after twenty-four years, and a bunch of mistakes along the way, renews his trust in God’s pledge. Abram once again trusts that things will change – but now according to God’s way.

Changes:

Things begin to change immediately. God gives Abram and Sar’ai new names, Abraham and Sarah. God asks Abraham to show his agreement, to make an outward sign of this change. The sign would be in his flesh, and the flesh of his descendants.

Not exactly a Monty Hall moment. We could wonder if Abraham might have said, ‘Ummm, God, couldn’t I just choose from door 1, 2, or 3. I have a lovely grapefruit in my bag…’

But no, a great moment of faith occurs. Abraham says that he will continue to trust in God’s promised change, in God’s contract, and most importantly in God’s way. Abraham does as God asked.

Lesson learned:

Abraham was 99, and finally in that act of faith he learned a valuable lesson. It is an important lesson for us. God’s covenant is a living thing. God doesn’t promise, deliver, and leave. God isn’t Monty Hall, and we won’t just walk away with a lovely parting gift.

Sure, God’s timing is different than ours, and we cannot make change happen by ourselves. We need to trust that God’s promises to us are being fulfilled. Jesus’ coming was to deliver these three key promises — That we will know God; That we would have an abundant and blessed life by following His way; and that we will have eternal life.

God understands our flaws, our failings, but comes again, in each and every moment, in each step we take, to constantly renew His covenant, His pledge, that our lives will be changed. Most importantly, we don’t have to make the change alone, God gave us the Holy Spirit to remain with us and to be the agent of change in our lives.

Jesus lives in the promise:

Today, eight days after His birth, Jesus was circumcised. Jesus keeps the covenant of His Father. Most importantly, He will go on to tell us that keeping the covenant with us — bringing change to our lives — is real. This is not just something of the flesh, like circumcision, but change in our hearts and lives.

Today, on this new year’s day, let us renew our faith in God’s promise. Let’s remind ourselves of the Spirit’s presence in this congregation, in our daily lives. Let us be aware that we are changed and that we are His agents of change. Let us be truly circumcised and carry the gospel in the way we live, talk, act, feel, treat others, pray, worship, and … in everything we do.

And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.

Amen.

Christian Witness, Homilies

Reflection for the Solemnity of the Circumcision

You want me to do what? Couldn’t we just shake hands?

God is talking with Abraham, making a covenant with him and his descendants. God says:

Every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.

A covenant is a contract. In ancient times people would sacrifice an animal as a sign of the pact they made. They would divide the animal in two, and each would walk between the two halves, sealing the deal. God had already done that with Abraham, but Abraham did not walk through the sacrificed animals, only God did in the form of a smoking fire pot and a burning torch. God promised, by Himself, to keep the deal He made with His people.

Now God is asking Abraham to make an outward sign of this deal in his flesh, and the flesh of his descendants.

It would be great if it were that simple with God. Maybe as Christians, as people of the new covenant, we should place a fish bumper sticker on our cars, or wear a gold chain with a cross. Would people know then that we are Jesus’ people, people of the covenant?

That’s unlikely. How many times do we see people carrying the outward signs of Christianity, only to disappoint by their actions? It was the same with Abraham and his descendants who carried the sign of the covenant in their flesh, but neglected to carry the sign of the covenant in their hearts.

To be truly circumcised means to carry the gospel in the way we live, talk, act, feel, treat others, pray, worship, and … well in everything we do. Yes, the outward signs of our Christianity ARE important. That is our proclamation. Our proclamation must be coupled with our witness, with hearts that live what the outward signs represent.

Art, Christian Witness, Poland - Polish - Polonia, ,

Art for the Solemnity of the Nativity

Nativity Scene, Władysław Skoczylas, ca. 1910

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they saw it they made known the saying which had been told them concerning this child; and all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. — Luke 2:15-20

Homilies,

Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord – Shepherd’s Holy Mass


First reading: Isaiah 9:1-6
Psalm: Ps 96:1-3,11-13
Epistle: Titus 2:11-14
Gospel: Luke 2:1-14

Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields
and keeping the night watch

Insight:

My son, Adam and I were in the car. He began talking about Christmas. He said: “I love midnight mass.” He went on to explain that all of his friends are typically in bed, “none of my friends are awake, but I get to experience the coming of Christmas.” He told me that it is so special that he is here, in church. He told me that the waiting and the expectation is suddenly fulfilled. In a moment, at the ringing of the bell, it is Christmas. He is here, awake, joy filled, and present.

Named:

In our tradition, holy mass at midnight is the Pasterka, the Shepherd’s Holy Mass. That seems odd. We are here to experience Jesus’ coming, this entry of God into the world, and we are focused on the shepherds? But we have good reason to focus on these men. Because like Adam, like you and me, they were watching and expecting.

Odd situation:

It also seems odd that Jesus would be revealed first to the shepherds. The Master, the Eternal King, the Lord of Lords, the creator of all that is didn’t bother with revealing Himself to other kings. We know that when a king or foreign leader visits another county, they go to the king or leader of that county first. Yet the Eternal King sent His messengers to shepherds.

He didn’t go to:

Jesus messengers did not go to Caesar Augustus, to Quirinius, to Herod, not even to the mayor of Bethlehem. Instead they went to shepherds.

They watched:

The gospel tells us that the shepherds were keeping watch. This is true, both in the literal sense, and in a much broader way. They watched because they knew their savior would come.

They expected:

The shepherds also expected. The gospel doesn’t say it outright, but we know that they were taught in synagogue to expect the Messiah. They, like every other person in Israel, knew the commandments, a bit of the scriptures, and most importantly, God’s promise of a Messiah.

They received:

Tonight, like us, they received. This Advent we focused on the miracle to come. Like the shepherds, we have the fulfillment of our watching and expectation. Jesus is here. The miracle we have awaited has come. Because of this night, this miracle, we see Jesus in every face. We know that He dwells with each of us. In every prayer we are assured that His miracles are real in our lives. Before we accepted Christ, before we were baptized and regenerated, He accepted us. Knowing that, we sing high praise to God who has joined us to His Son and to each other. What a wonderful miracle to know God, and to see this miracle in each other

On behalf of myself, my wife and children we pray that His everlasting presence enrich and bless you and yours at this moment, throughout the coming year, and always in every way. Amen.

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