A lot of our life hoovers around the question, “What’s next?” A year ago, I don’t think any of us would have answered: pandemic. Yet life inexorably moved ahead in its journey through time and we still needed to prepare for tomorrow. For no one hoped for such times, but that is not for us to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.
Short 2.5 minute video from 2010. A crowded shopping mall before Christmas. So different than this year, but even amidst the hustle, they too are called to a moment of gratitude.
Hopefully you know the backstory to today’s gospel – it comes from Luke 1:5-25. Here are the highlights: Zechariah, a Levite called to priestly duty in the Temple in Jerusalem, has his own “Annunciation” while offering sacrifice in the Holy of Holies. He is told that he and his wife Elizabeth, in their old age, are to become parents – as it turns out, parents of the Herald of the Messiah, John the Baptist. Zechariah doubts the message of the angel Gabriel.
But now you will be speechless and unable to talk until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time (Luke 1:20)
And now we move to the scene eight days after the birth of the child, in the midst of the Jewish celebration to name the child… and a kind of comedy of errors.
On this day in 1944, during the World War II Battle of the Bulge, U.S. Brig. Gen. Anthony C. McAuliffe, 101st Airborne, rejected a German demand for surrender, writing “Nuts!” in his official reply. You can read the story of the demand and the reply here.
Local Tampa and friend, Fred Karl, was a tank commander in the Battle.
In the season of Advent and Christmas, we will hear a lot about Mary, the mother of Jesus. We’ll hear about her obedience, her purity, her faith, her consent. We’ll see her in outdoor Nativity displays, draped in blue, with downcast eyes and a beatific smile. We’ll enjoy watching our children dramatize her story in “virtual pageants” on Christmas Eve. We’ll honor her legacy with some of the most beloved prayers, liturgies, and carols we know. All of it true and right. But this morning let us consider Mary, the prophet. Mary, the voice of the downtrodden. Mary, the singer of the Magnificat, God’s gorgeous justice song.
Given that it is the end of Advent and we are just days away from Christmas, given the title of this post, perhaps your mind immediately conjured up “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.” That wasn’t what I intended, but so that one might not be disappointed, I can at least offer several choices of YouTube videos of the classic Christmas hymn:
That would certainly offer enough variety and cover a rang of musical tastes. But, as I mentioned, not what I had in mind.
So far this Advent, every Monday’s musing has explored one of the many gifts that await us under the tree, that is, the cross of Christ. And there are some awesome gifts – to name the ones mentioned in previous weeks – forgiveness and mercy. Now we have arrived at the doorstep of Christmas! Like any kid in the days leading up to Christmas you have begun to peer under the tree, assessing the shapes, sizes and weight of gifts – and guessing what could possibly be under wraps. You have to wonder what other awesome gift is waiting right there under the tree, the cross of Christ. Let’s open up another gift! But wait…it’s not Christmas yet. What’s the rush? Christmas is only a few days away. Of course, when I was 7 years old, “only a week” seemed liked a lifetime. Now that I am…ah… a lot older than 7, “only a week” is but the blink of an eye. I am much more patient about most things…. Not all things, most things. So, what’s the rush? Maybe we should practice a little patience? Continue reading
Part of my morning reading: How We Survive Winter By Elizabeth Dias, New York Time online, Dec. 20, 2020
Winter white forest panorama with snow in Tatra Mountains, Envato
For generations, as the days darkened and the blizzards came, the Anishinaabe people warned of the Windigo.
He is the monster of winter, dripping with ice and white with snow, and he is starving, said Robin Wall Kimmerer, a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, as she remembered the story of her ancestors. He is a human turned cannibal. His hunger is never satiated, and it endangers everyone around him. He thinks only of himself.
26 In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,27 to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary.28 And coming to her, he said, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.”29 But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. (Luke 1:26-30) These verses are from the account of the Annunciation which is the gospel reading this 4th Sunday in Advent in the year 2020.
Advent is a season of waiting in Hope. As a Christian people we wait on the Nativity of the Christ child. But in our personal lives, sometimes the goal of our waiting is not exactly clear in our minds; yet we wait. I often wait for an idea or at least the seed of an idea of what I might write for this post. There are times I am just waiting for just a quiet spot within the day.
This Advent has been quiet. We are in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic of 2020. Infections, hospitalizations and deaths are increasing – and so parishioners are “safer at home.” All this and I am here in this parish less than 3 months. As a result of all these things and more, the normal ebb and flow of my previous Advents as a priest is quite different this year. There were a million things to do or ensure got done. My previous parish also was responsible as chaplains for a major regional trauma center hospital. Our daily confession lines stretched out to the horizon (or so it seemed some days). There were lots of December weddings and the quiet of Advent seemed to be punctuated by the next phone call, the next meeting, the next …. whatever it was. Run, Father, run….
friarmusings 