Tag: homilies

The Liturgical instinct of the Feast of the Presentation which we Celebrate today is “Light.” For Christ is our light and the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light! In the Gospel Simeon holds Jesus and calls him “A light for revelation to the Gentiles.” And thus, this feast has long featured the carrying of candles by the faithful in procession, and the blessing of candles. For this reason the feast was often called “Candlemas.”

Biblically the feast celebrates the “purification” of our Lady when, as a Jewish woman, she would present herself forty days after giving birth to be welcomed back to the community and was blessed. I have written more the history of that here: The Churching of Women

For this reflection, perhaps we do well to attend to four teachings or perspectives we gain of Jesus our Light in the readings. We are taught that our relationship with Jesus is: Cleansing, Consoling, Compelling, and Communing.

I. Cleansing – The Gospel opens with this description: When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord, and to offer the sacrifice of a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons, in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.

It might strike us as odd, even irritating that a woman or a couple would need to be purified after giving birth. But ancient Jewish practice exhibited great reverence for rituals of birth and death. And on account of the deep mysteries of life that were represented not only by these events, but also the fluids (e.g. blood, and amniotic fluids) that accompanied them, a kind of purification or blessing was deemed necessary for those who returned to the community after these events. (See more at the link above).

And while we may wonder at (or even scoff) at these notions, the fact is that all of us need purification and cleansing. We are sinners, and we live in a world tainted by sin. The Lord must purify us all; and unless this happens, we will never be able to endure the great holiness, glory and purity of God or heaven.

Jesus our savior alone can cleanse and purify us and make us able to endure the glory of God. The first reading both describes our need for purification and also points to Jesus, the one who purifies us:

But who can endure the day of [the Lord’s] coming? And who can stand when he appears? For he is like the refiner’s fire, or like the fuller’s lye. He will sit refining and purifying silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi, Refining them like gold or like silver that they may offer due sacrifice to the LORD. Then the sacrifice of Judah and Jerusalem will please the LORD, as in the days of old, as in years gone by. (Mal 3:2-4)

Yes, only the Lord himself can purify us to endure his glory. Thank you Jesus, our Light and Savior for the sanctifying grace by which, alone, we could ever hope to endure and rejoice in the glory that waits. Thank you Jesus for your grace and mercy by which we are able to stand before our Father and praise him for all eternity. Thank you Jesus our purifier, our savior and Lord.

The first gift our saving relationship with Jesus is cleansing.

II. Consoling – Well aware of the burden of sin, ancient Israel longed for a savior. The pious knew well that sin brought strife, pain, and deep grief. Among the pious who longed for the Messiah were Simeon and Anna, who frequented the Temple looking, and longing. Of Simeon we are told:

[He] was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord.

And of Anna who is described as among those who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem, we are told she was:

a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer.

So here are two of the pious of Israel longing and looking for the consolation of the Messiah who would save the people and bring consolation and peace.

But what is true consolation and peace? It is to be reconciled to the Father, Abba; to once again see Him and be able to walk with him in the Garden in the cool of the morning. True consolation and peace are found only when the gates of heaven are opened and we look once again on the glorious and serene face of our Father who loves us.

Here too is a gift that can come only by the ministry of Jesus, for no one knows the Father but him and anyone to whom Jesus reveals Him. Jesus is our peace and our consolation by leading us back to his Father in and through his Sacred Heart, and by his Holy Passion.

Simeon, as he holds Jesus, is holding the Gift of the Father, and thus a tremendous gift of peace and consolation come to him in a kind of prevenient way. So he can say:

 Now, Master, you may let your servant go  in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.

Such a consolation to hold the infant Jesus, and know that God so loved the world that he sent his only Son to save us. Yes, and now Simeon can go forth in peace from this world for he has beheld the light of God’s saving love in Jesus.

III. Compelling – Among the things were are told in this Gospel is that Jesus is no merely neutral figure. He is the one on whom all human history, both collective and personal, hinges. And the “hinge” is our choice for or against Jesus. Simeon says to Mary,

Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted —and you yourself a sword will pierce— so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

Yes, all of human history, personal and collective hinges on Jesus. Jesus compels a choice. We are free to choose for or against him, but we must choose. And on this choice we must make depends the rise or fall of us all.

Here is a dramatic truth, Jesus our savior has come, and now we must choose. Choose wisely and carefully, for upon your choice depends your rise or fall.

Jesus says, Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. (Matt 12:30).

St Paul says, In the past God overlooked ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead. (Acts 17:30).  And again, We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God! (2 Cor 5:20)

Where will you spend eternity? That depends on your stance toward Jesus. Your future rises or falls on Him. Will you choose him? You are free to choose, but you are not free not to choose! Jesus compels a choice, and on this choice your very life will rise or fall.

IV. Communing – It is a remarkable truth that Jesus did not merely save us from on high. He became flesh and lived among us. Today’s Gospel says,

When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions of the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.

Imagine the intimacy of Jesus dwelling among us then, and still now “tabernacling” among us in the Blessed Sacrament and in the temples of our heart through His Spirit. Our Lord seeks communion with us, and is not ashamed to call us his brethren (Heb 2:11).

On this feast of the Presentation allow the allow the Lord into the temple of your heart. Give him access to your soul by receiving him in Holy Communion and seek his presence tabernacled in our Church. Today Jesus is not only presented in the temple, he is presented to you. Reach out to hold on to him and receive in your heart, like Simeon. Run and tell others to come, like Anna.

Jesus our Light and salvation is here. He brings with him cleansing, consoling, and communing. He also compels a choice. Choose him now, run to him, he is here and he is calling!

In these early weeks of “ordinary” time we are increasingly introduced to Jesus and to the beginnings of his public ministry. In Matthew’s Gospel today we hear described how Jesus began his public ministry in the wake of the arrest of John the Baptist. And Matthew tells us Four things regarding this ministry of Jesus: its Context, its Content, its Call and its Comprehensiveness. Let’s look at each in turn.

I. The CONTEXT of Jesus Ministry – The text says, When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled: Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen.

The relocation of Jesus northward from Judea up to Galilee tells us some important truths. First, it tells us of the hostility of the southern regions to the message of John the Baptist and Jesus. The area in and around Judea which included, principally, Jerusalem was controlled by a sort of religious ruling class (the Sadducees especially, and to a lesser extent the Pharisees). Since they were in strong but often controverted leadership in these areas, they were far less open to ideas which in any way threatened their leadership or questioned the rituals related to the Temple.

As we know, Jesus did not come to abolish the Law but he did come to fulfill it and this was threatening to those tied to the current status quo, most of whom did not distinguish fulfillment from abolition, and saw only threat. Further, the Herodian dynasty was also threatening especially in the south and had arrested John the Baptist.

Jesus thus, moves north to more fertile territory to begin his public ministry. The Jewish people in Galilee were less hostile. In fact the people of Jerusalem often looked down upon them for their more simple, agrarian ways and “rural accent.” But here was more fertile ground for Jesus to begin.

Now there is an important lesson for us in this. While we must carefully preserve Christian orthodoxy and only accept a development of doctrine that is organic and faithful to the received Apostolic Tradition, it is also true that we can sometimes stifle the Holy Spirit who will speak to us through unexpected people and in unexpected ways.

The Pharisee leaders simply rejected the notion that any prophet could come from Galilee. When Nicodemus encouraged them to give Jesus a hearing they scoffed: Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee (Jn 7:52). It is possible for us to insist upon things where freedom is permitted for a Christian. There are various degrees of expression permitted in the liturgy and there are often different schools of theological thought which the Church sanctions.

Balance is required of us. There may be preferences that we have for Thomistic formulations, Carmelite spirituality, charismatic worship, or traditional Latin Mass worship. Such things are legitimate matters for on-going discussion, but we can too easily be threatened by what the Church currently deems to be legitimate diversity. Discovering a the range and limits of diversity is an on-going matter for the Church but we ought not permit the field of our own soul to be hostile to Jesus and his ministry, which may come to us more diverse ways that we, of our self, prefer.

How tragic it was for Judea that Jesus thought he had to move on to more fertile territory, and what a blessing it was for Galilee that he moved there. The fact is, that unfounded stubbornness can be hinder the Word of God in us. Jesus moved on to a more accepting context wherein his ministry could bear the greatest fruit. St. Gregory the Great has this to say about the context for preaching and necessary fertility of the field:

For frequently the preacher’s tongue is bound fast on account of his own wickedness. as the psalmist says: But God asks the sinner: Why do you recite my commandments? (PS 50:16) On the other hand it sometimes happens that because of the people’s sins the word of preaching is withdrawn from those who preside over the assembly as the Lord tells Ezekiel: I will make your tongue cleave to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall be dumb and unable to reprove them, for they are a rebellious house. (Ez 3:26) He clearly means this: the word of preaching will be taken away for they are unworthy to hear the exhortation of truth. It is not easy to know for whose sinfulness the preacher’s word is withheld, but it is indisputable that the shepherd’s silence while often injurious to himself will always harm his flock. – (St. Gregory the Great Hom. 17,3, 14)

For Galilee there was this boon: The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined (Is 9:2) But for others, Jesus had only this to say, Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. (Matt 21:43)

II. The CONTENT of his MINISTRY – The text says, From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

We have discussed before the careful balance of Jesus’ preaching. He is willing to challenge and so say, Repent! But he also declares the good news that the kingdom of heaven is at hand! Accepting the ministry of Jesus requires that we avoid both presumption and despair.

To those who make light of sin and their condition as a sinner, Jesus says repent. It is wrong to presume that we do not need an on-going healing power from the Lord to overcome our sin. And perhaps our greatest sin is our blindness to our sin. Most human beings do not seem to comprehend how serious their condition is. The word translated here as “Repent!” is μετανοεῖτε (metanoeite) which means more literally “to come to a new mind, or a new way of thinking.” In our sin soaked world where sin is so pervasive as to almost be unnoticed, Jesus says, “Come to a new mind. Understand your condition and need for mercy and grace. Come to understand that without the rescue that only God can give, you are lost.” And hence we are told to reject presumption.

But we are also told to reject despair, for the Kingdom of God is at hand. In other words, the grace and mercy of God are now available to rescue us from this present evil age and from our carnal condition. Through Christ we are granted admittance to the Kingdom and the Spirit of God can overcome our carnal, sin nature and bring us true holiness.

The proper mean between presumption and despair is the theological virtue of Hope. By hope we confidently expect God’s help in attaining eternal life. By proper metanoia (repentance) we know that we need that help, and by hope confidently reach for it.

In our own proclamation of the kingdom we also need the proper balance exhibited by Jesus. Consider how, with children, that if all they hear is criticism they become discouraged (despair). But if all they hear is praise and are never corrected: they become spoiled and prideful and presume everything should be just as they want it.

For the Church too, a balance is necessary. Too many expect the Church only to affirm and “be positive.” But this leads to a more selfish and incorrigible world and to a presumption that nothing matters (as we can plainly see). Thus the Church must announce the call to repentance. But the Church must also offer hope and mercy to sinners. She must offer grace though the Sacraments and by her preaching which, with God’s power, makes the Kingdom of God to be “at hand.”

III. The CALL of his Ministry The text says, As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him. He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him.

Jesus, in building his kingdom, summons men to follow him. He will train them to be the leaders of his Church as Apostles. The Kingdom of God is not only about calling disciples but also about developing leaders to provide order and authority in the Church.

Even the most “democratic” of organizations requires authority and leadership. Without these there is anarchy and a battle of wills. Hence the Lord calls not only disciples, in the early stages of his public ministry, he also grooms leaders. Consider three things about the Lord’s call here.

A. His ARTICULATENESS: He says to these apostles, Come Follow me! Notice that his announcement is unambiguous. Good leaders like the Lord are clear to make known what they ask, indeed, what is demanded. He is clear to set the course and point the way. And HE is that way.

B. His APPEAL – Jesus must have had a personal appeal and exuded an authority that was strong and reassuring. His appeal to them was personal: come follow ME. He did not merely say come and “learn my doctrine,” or “accept my vision.” He said, follow ME. So too, as we hand on the faith to our children and to others, we cannot simply say, here is a Catechism follow it. We must also take the next step and say follow the Lord with me. We cannot simply say what a book says, correct though that book is. Ultimately we must be able to say, I am a personal witness to the fact that God is real and that the truth he has given to the Church is authentic and is changing my life. Our appeal must include the personal testimony that what we proclaim is real and is changing our life: COme and go with me to my Father’s house.

C. His APPROACH – Note that the Lord builds on what they know: fishing. He starts with the familiar to draw them to the less familiar. In a way he is saying that the gifts they are currently using are just the gifts they can use as leaders in God’s Kingdom. Fishermen are:

• Patient – Fishermen often wait long hours for the fish to bite. So too as Apostles and Bishops there must be a patience, a capacity to wait long periods before there is a catch for the Lord.
• Perceptive – Fishermen learn to know the fish and their behavior and what attracts them. So too Apostles and clergy must learn of their people and what will attract them to Christ.
• Persevering – Fishermen must often go out for many days with little catch. Only through perseverance is there real gain in fishing. So too with the Work of the clergy who may go long stretches with little to show. The gospel may go “out of season” even for decades in certain cultures (like our own). The good leader will persevere, will stay at the task.

IV. The COMPREHENSIVENESS of his Ministry – The text says, He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people.

Therefore note that all of Galilee was his mission field and he covered it comprehensively. He also cured of every disease and illness. And thus the Church is catholic and must also address every part of the world and provide a comprehensive vision for life. We may not have the power to simplistically cure every ailment and problem, but we can provide the vision of the Paschal mystery that sheds light and brings spiritual healing to every affliction. If we are suffering and dying, so to did Jesus but only to rise and be glorified on account of his fidelity and obedience.

So too for the Church and for the Christian, the grace and the comprehensive answer to every affliction is that we are always carrying about in our bodies the dying of Christ so that the rising of Christ may also be manifest in us (2 Cor 4:10). We seek to bring healing to everyone we can, and where physical remedies are not possible, the truth of the Gospel reassures that every Friday, faithfully endured, brings forth, by God’s grace an Easter Sunday.

Here then are four crucial insights to the beginning of Jesus public ministry. They remain for the Church and for all of us who would follow in Jesus’ footsteps important insights for us to acknowledge and imitate.

Now journey with me back to 1971, a year of funny hair to be sure, but here is the old Classic “Come and God With Me to My Father’s House”

I. The Paradox of this Night – In a way, we are too familiar with the Christmas story, and so many of its strange paradoxes and stunning “absurdities” fail to shock and amaze us. And yet it does not take long to consider that no human being would ever craft this sort of entrance of God into our world.

Surely we would envision God’s entrance in Cecil B. DeMille proportions.  (DeMille was producer of “The Ten Commandments” and other classic Hollywood Epics, in case I’m showing my age). Yes, there would be grand sets, a cast of thousands, palaces, trumpets, processions and signs and wonders seen by the whole world! Kings and Queens, heads of State, would be featured as among those first notified by Angelic Ambassadors of the imminent arrival of God, and they would set out to meet God in reverential fear. A palace or temple (on a lofty mountaintop) with polished marble floors, high ceilings and walls gilded with gold and fine carvings would be the place of God’s arrival. All would be in readiness for the arrival of God!

And when he came he would not come as an infant. He would not come as the reputed child of a peasant couple from a “hick town” in the north. No! God would come in all his glory, child of no one, and Father and King of All; very adult, indeed he would come as the Ancient of Days! He would descend on a kind of lightning bolt escorted by myriads of the heavenly hosts in a display so stunning that no one in the whole world could miss it.

And as for God’s enemies? They would cringe before his awesome glory, realize how wrong they had been, and either repent, or run away in a futile attempt to escape.

Yes! such is the entrance that fits our God; at least as we would design it.

And thus the real Christmas stuns us by its humble simplicity. And if we really ponder how different it is from any human standard, we cannot avoid saying, “Are you kidding?” Even the few details that mildly comport with our notions (angels, wise men, a star, emperor talk like Evangelion and Kyrios) are so understated. Only a few hidden souls even seem to notice or experience these .

And then there is the crushing poverty and utter humiliation. He comes as an infant. Yes! God as an infant! And not only is the Lord not born in a palace, as would befit him, he is not even born in a warm house. He is born in a filthy, smelly stable, not far from animal dung;  a cave really, down beneath an Inn while people comfortably lodge above. An ancient antiphon of the Church speaks to our astonishment:

O magnum mysterium,(O great mystery)
et admirabile sacramentum, (and wondrous sacrament)
ut animalia viderent Dominum natum, That animals would see the newborn Lord
jacentem in praesepio! (lying in a manger (food trough))

Yes, it is a great mystery. Why all this? Why so hidden? Why so lowly? If God is going to enter and announce good news, why so secret? It is almost as though he doesn’t want to be seen or known! Why this “silent night” ?

In a word, “Humility.” How is pride to be conquered? By humility! Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hatred cannot drive out hatred; only love can do that. And pride will not drive out pride; only humility will do that.

What does pride have to do with it? Everything! Satan in pride said, “I will not serve!” and so he, along with a third of the angels fell from heaven like lightning. Adam and Eve disobeyed God in pride saying, in effect, “I will not be told what to do. I will decide what is good and evil, I will know good and evil for myself and not be told by anyone, even God who gave me everything.”

This is pride. And God will conquer it with humility. He is born in a very low place, in grave need and poverty. He is acknowledged and praised only by a few “nobodies” and a few foreign wise men. Scripture says of Jesus lifetime of humility:

1. Being in very nature God, He did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a slave, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he therefore humbled himself, becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! (Phil 2:4-8)
2. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. (2 C0r 8:9)

Yes, this is God’s way. We humans try to fight fire with fire, violence with more violence, abused power with more abused power, and crime brings crime forever and the cycle of violence continuously spins. In striving to vanquish our foes, we become too much like them, and Satan wins no matter who loses.

But God catches Satan not by being like Satan, but by being different. He vanquishes hate with love, darkness with light, retribution with mercy, and pride with humility. God’s “foolishness” traps Satan and the worldly-wise in their own designs. Humility conquers pride because pride can only rush headlong into its own premises. In a battle against humility, to win means you lose! And thus Satan “won” at the cross, but, in the process, lost everything for He gave Jesus a chance to humbly obey and thereby undo prideful Adam’s disobedience.

And thus tonight the Lord comes humbly, silently, almost stealthily. His methods are utterly incomprehensible to a prideful world, governed by a prideful and fallen angel. But here he is, in all his puzzling paradox and we ought to pray and repent to understand even a little.

II. The Peace of this Night – In the midst of all this paradox where pride is overwhelmed by humility, comes this offered blessing for those, like the Shepherds, humble enough to hear it: and on earth peace to people of good will (Luke 2:14). Yes, though many angels spoke this, only a few were humble enough and had their wills disposed enough to hear it.

Peace…what is this peace that is offered to us? For too many, the word “peace” is something of an abstraction. We know it is the absence of war and conflict. But what is peace, more positively, more fully understood?

The Greek word translated here as “peace” is εἰρήνη (eirene) which most literally means, to join or tie together into a whole; to have wholeness; the experience we have when all essential parts are joined together. Peace is God’s gift of healing and wholeness.

And thus tonight, if you are I are humble enough to find Jesus in the humiliating and unexpected reality of his birth, he has this gift to offer you: peace, wholeness, integration, healing. But it is a gift offered in humility, and available only in humility and to the humble. It is not a gift we will find in the pride of our own agenda and expectations. Healing and wholeness come only through humility. Pride is poison, humility is healing.

And, as most of us know, who have lived long enough to experience it, our greatest healings and the deepest sources of our peace have come not from our strength, but from our weakness, from the difficult and painful moments of our life, from those moments when were were humbled enough to authentically cry out, “Help Lord!” And then he went to work.

Tonight the Lord enters our pain. He is found in poverty, in humiliation and even rejection. He is found in a low place, a cave where one has to stoop to enter. But this humility is necessary to overcome our pride.

And in the midst of the Lord’s humility and ours too, a little hand is stretched out, so little he can only hold our finger. Yes, in this humble place, with our humble God there is a healing, a gift of peace that is offered. And if we are humble enough to be of the good will to receive it, is ours.

Somehow an old song comes to mind. I have it on the best of the authority that one of the humble shepherds sang it on his way back from the humble cave, where the humble Lord’s infant hand took hold of his and the peace offered to those of good will became his. Yes, I have it on the best of authority that that humble shepherd sang this song:

Shackled by a heavy burden
Neath a load of guilt and shame
Then the hand of Jesus touched me
And now I am no longer the same

He touched me, oh he touched me
And oh the joy that floods my soul
Something happened and now I know
He touched me and made me whole

Since I met this blessed savior
Since he cleansed and made me whole
I will never cease to praise him
Ill shout it while eternity rolls

And on Earth, Peace, to all of good will.

What is the perfect gift? We tend to answer this question more in terms of what we want. But today’s Gospel teaches us that the perfect gift is what God is offering, more that what we specifically want. One of the goals of the spiritual is to come to value, above all else, what God offers more than our latest interest of perceived need.

In reviewing today’s Gospel I am going to take a stance regarding St. John the Baptist that I realize is not without controversy. As the Gospel opens John, who is in prison, sends disciples with a strange question for Jesus: “Are you he who is to come, or should we look for another.”  This is a strange question for the one who pointed Jesus out and spoke so powerfully of him.

Many of the Fathers of the Church (Chrysostom, Gregory the Great, Theodore of Mopsuestia, inter al) have interpreted John’s question as merely rhetorical and a way of teaching his reluctant disciples to follow Jesus.

I however adopt here a different stance. That John’s question is sincere and manifests some puzzlement, even discouragement for the reasons stated below.

I mean no impiety by this. The depiction of biblical figures, even the greatest heroes presents them in very human terms. Abraham, Jacob, Moses, David, all the judges and prophets, on down to the apostles, present men (and women too) who are not perfect from the start, who struggle to understand and have perfect faith, and some of who sinned greatly, even to include murder. This is one of the most powerful aspects of the Bible, that God is able to take and work with imperfect and struggling human beings and draw them to great sanctity and accomplishments.

And thus, out of no impiety, but out of respect for biblical tradition I approach this Gospel at what seems to me to be its face value. If St. John is merely asking a rhetorical question, it seems odd that Jesus did not get the memo and sends and answer back to him, asking him (and us) not to be scandalized (shocked) by the manner he goes about fulfilling Messianic texts.

I do not argue that St. John is sinning or has failing faith;  only that he, like all the prophets and patriarchs, (and us) must sometimes struggle to understand God’s ways. Even Mother Mary, when Jesus was twelve and said he must be in his Father’s house, did not understand what he was saying and had to ponder these things in her heart (cf Luke 2:50-51).

There is a humanity and a human dimension at work even in the greatest saints, and it is from that perspective that I explore this gospel. Am I too bold to take a stance different that some of the Church Fathers? You decide. I surely do not deny that they could well be right. John’s question is odd given his courageous faith. But something tells me to emphasize the humanity of John’s question more than a possible pedagogical purpose. As such the Gospel can speak more to, who even more that St. John struggle to understand some of God’s ways.

The Gospel today is best seen in three stages as John the Baptist,  and we with him, are encouraged to make a journey from puzzlement, through purification to perfection; a journey to understand that the perfect is gift is not of our own imagining, but of God’s true offer. Here is a Gospel that encourages us to find and appreciate the perfect gift.

I. Puzzlement – The Gospel opens strangely: When John the Baptist heard in prison of the works of the Christ,  he sent his disciples to Jesus with this question,  “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?”

This is a strange question given what St. John had already done. With delight John had pointed out Christ when he came: Look there is the Lamb of God! (John 1:29). With humble hesitation he had baptized the one who would change everything. He encouraged his disciples to follow after the one who is mightier than I! Why now this question?

Is John puzzled? Is he discouraged? It is hard to say. While some argue he doesn’t really mean the question seriously, he is just encouraging others to ask it. But that had not been John’s approach in the past. He just said, “Look, there he is!”

So perhaps John is puzzled or even struggling to understand. Consider that John had been looking for a Messiah who would root out injustice, crush the wicked, destroy the oppressors and exalt the poor and the oppressed. Recall his words from last week’s gospel:

Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. (Mat 3:10-12)

Yet now John is in prison! Placed there by a tyrant, an oppressor. The very sort of man John was sure that Messiah would cut down and cast into fire. Where was the hoped for deliverance? Where was the exultation of the lowly and casting down of the mighty? Where was the axe being laid to the root of the tree?

Jesus was not doing this sort of thing at all. Though he had some confrontations with religious leaders, his main work seems to have been healing the sick and summoning average people to repentance and faith.

So perhaps John’s question is genuine and he is puzzled or discouraged, or so it would seem. And thus we see the very one who had announced Jesus, and pointed him out when he came, sending his disciples to Jesus with a question: Are you he who is to come, or should we look for another?

Now John was not wholly baseless in his expectation of a wrathful coming of the Messiah. There are many texts that spoke of it. For example here are three:

1. Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; as destruction from the Almighty it will come!…Behold, the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the earth a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it….I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pride of the arrogant, and lay low the haughtiness of the ruthless. Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place, at the wrath of the LORD of hosts in the day of his fierce anger. (Is 13:6-10)
2. Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken asunder by him. (Nahum 1:6)
3. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? (Mal 3:2)

So John had worked hard to call people to repentance to get them ready for the great and terrible day of the Lord. John’s puzzlement is thus understandable as Jesus does not slay the wicked, but instead goes about healing and preaching and, instead of slaying the wicked he is enduring scorn and ridicule from those in power.

The perfect gift for John would be to see all injustice rooted out, to see the threshing floor cleared and the distinction between the wheat and the chaff made obvious, for the wicked to be burnt with fire and the righteous shine like the firmament. Like many of the prophets, John’s sense of the perfect gift was But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream! (Amos 5:24)

Of itself this is a good and biblical vision that will one day be accomplished. But for now, is it the perfect gift, is it the gift that Jesus wants to offer? What is the perfect gift?

II. Purification – Jesus gives an answer to those sent by John that draws from a different tradition of Messiah texts than what John had emphasized. The Old Testament texts that spoke of the Messiah were complicated and at times hard to interpret. While some texts spoke of his wrath toward the wicked and unjust, others spoke of his healing and mercy.

The differences in the description of the Messiah had a lot to do with context, audience and also the possibility that the Messiah’s ministry might be accomplished in stages. Hence, while John the Baptist is not wrong in his application of the wrathful and vindicating texts to the Messiah, the New Testament tradition came to understand such texts more of the Messiah’s second coming than of his first.

Jesus thus gives the following answer to those sent by John:

Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.

In this answer, Jesus is stitching together many quotes and prophecies about the Messiah, mostly from Isaiah. For example consider the following:

1. In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see. The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the LORD, and the poor among men shall exult in the Holy One of Israel. (Isaiah 29:18-19)
2. The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good tidings to the afflicted; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn ( Is 61:1-3)
3. The dead shall live, their bodies shall rise. O dwellers in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For thy dew is a dew of light, and on the land of the shades thou wilt let it fall. (Is 26:19)
4. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing for joy. (Is 35:5-6)

Thus, there is a need to purify our sense of what is best for God to do, to come to a better appreciation of the perfect gift.

Jesus says something quire remarkable in today’s Gospel to those who are disappointed in his lack of wrathful vengeance: And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.

For indeed, many of us have been hurt by others; or have been deeply troubled that the wicked seem to prosper and the just struggle. When will God act, why doesn’t God do something! Indeed, it is very possible for us to be puzzled, discouraged, even offended at God’s inaction or slowness to act.

To all this Jesus simply says, And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.

It is essential to accept Jesus teaching here in order to have our sense of the perfect gift purified . Rejoicing in any other gift than grace and mercy is very dangerous. Hoping for a wrathful punishment to be inflicted on the proud and all sinful oppressors, or wishing this upon individuals or even whole segments of the world is a very dangerous thing. Last time I checked, none of us are outside the category “sinner.”

Here then is the necessary purification in our thinking: God’s greatest gift is not the crushing of our enemies. God’s greatest gift is His Son Jesus.Here is the perfect Gift.

Further, it is not Jesus’ wrath that is his greatest gift, it is his grace and mercy, here is perfect gift from Perfect Gift. Without Jesus and boatloads of his grace and mercy we don’t stand a chance.

Even John the Baptist of who Christ says, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist, even he needs lots of grace and mercy as we shall see.

III. Perfection – And thus we see that the perfect gift is the grace and mercy of Jesus. It is not the destruction of our enemies, it is not a sudden and swift ushering in of justice before God’s chosen time. The perfect gift is the grace and mercy of Jesus which all of us, without exception desperately need.

In order to emphasize the absolute necessity of grace and mercy, and the perfect gift that they are,   Jesus turns to the crowds and speaks of St. John the Baptist:

Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, “What did you go out to the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? Then what did you go out to see? Someone dressed in fine clothing? Those who wear fine clothing are in royal palaces. Then why did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written: Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way before you. Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist.

And thus John the Baptist was the pinnacle. The best that this world has produced. But pay attention to what the Lord says next:

Yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Do you see what grace and mercy can do? Do you see that they surpass any worldly excellence? For the world can produce only human and worldly excellence. But Grace and Mercy produce heavenly excellence and make us like unto God.And without these gifts of God we don’t stand a chance. Even John the Baptist needed grace and mercy, Mother Teresa needed grace and mercy. Grace and mercy are the perfect gift, are the necessary gift.

One day the perfect justice of God that John and all of us seek will roll in. But until and unless you receive the perfect gift of Grace and Mercy through Jesus, you will not endure the perfect justice of God! So until that time, it has pleased God to offer us the perfect gift of his Son, who by his grace and mercy will prepare us for that day.

If you seek the perfect gift this Christmas, look to Jesus, for he alone can bestow the grace and mercy that we desperately need. If even the holy John the Baptist was in need, how much more you and I. Grace and mercy far excel any thing we can ask or imagine.

Do you want to give the perfect gift for others? Then bring them to Jesus, bring them to Mass. Jesus awaits us in prayer, in the liturgy, in his Word proclaimed, in the sacraments. Jesus is the perfect gift. The destruction of sinners is not the perfect gift. Their conversion and salvation is.

Find the perfect gift this Christmas, find Jesus. Give the perfect gift this Christmas, give Jesus. Give Jesus the perfect gift this Christmas, give him the give of your very self. The perfect gift. http://findtheperfectgift.org/

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