In this Sunday’s Gospel, Mary goes to see Elizabeth. It could be that she wanted to be with her relative and help her because of her pregnancy. It is also possible that she left home for a little while to make sense of what was happening. Like Elizabeth, Mary’s life had dramatically changed. Her “yes” to the angel was a “yes” to a new life. I suppose Mary wanted the simple, “normal”, life. Her “yes” to the Lord opened up a path that she couldn’t have even imagined.
Some people may wonder where Joseph was. After all, how could he let his betrothed travel a long distance alone. Some artists will depict the Visitation with Mary greeting Elizabeth and Joseph greeting Zechariah. I think is the most realistic way to reflect on this scene. All four of them were called to say “yes” to God with a “yes” that would mean walking down paths that they could never imagine.y s we begin to celebrate the mystery of Christ’s birth, let us make a commitment to be like these two holy couples and take the risk to say “yes” to God and walk whatever path he lead us down.

There is a big difference between happiness and joy.  Many people think that what they want is happiness and spend a lot of time trying to find it.  However, happiness is a matter of a neurochemical process in the brain.  Maybe this will help to understand this.   I love chocolate chip cookies…. In fact, I can eat a whole box of Freihofer’s chocolate chip cookies in one setting.   Don’t ask me why; they just taste good.  However, the happy feeling doesn’t last long.  Once the sugar rush is over; the happy high is over and I want more.  Happiness is not a permanent thing; it ebbs and flows depending on a lot of things.

Joy, on the other hand, is something deeper and permanent.  Joy results from a deepening and living relationship with Jesus.  Many this example will help.  Just over three years ago, my Mom died at 93 years.  Even though she lived a good live and we were able to keep her home, it was one of the hardest things I have gone through.  On the day of her funeral and everything was over, I went back to my brother’s house, got changed and went out for a bike ride.  I had decided that at the end of the ride I would stop back at the cemetery.  As I rode in the cemetery, got off my bike and walked to her grave, despite how sad I felt, I felt the most overwhelming sense of peace and joy.  My Dad had died almost 40 years ago and she had missed him everyday since.  As I walked to their graves, I knew they were back together and were home with the Lord.  This is joy.  It is not dependent on anything.  Joy is rooted in God himself and is always there and we can always depend on it.

Isn’t this the true meaning of Christmas?  Jesus took on flesh to show us that life is not about chasing fleeting happiness; His birth shows us that life is about a relationship with him that is so deep and abiding that even the darkest moments of life are permeated with His Divine Light and Presence.

As the feast of Christmas draws near, may we find our true gift and joy, not under the Christmas tree, but in Jesus and our relationship with him.  Rejoice in the Lord always in all things.

On channel 41, there is a great show called Property Brothers.  They are 2 twin brothers from Canada.  One sells real estate; the other is a contractor.  They work with people who want to have a new house, but often can’t afford what they want.  They end up buying an older house and the contractor brother rehabs it into something that the buyer often cannot imagine. 

God is both of these brothers.  When God created the heavens and the earth, he entrusted humanity with its care.  Unfortunately, throughout history we have forgotten we are stewards and not owners.   Through out history, what God intended for the humanity as been ignored and abused because we create walls of power, shaky foundations on selfishness and pride, or a roof of greed and envy. 

However, the promise God has given through out the course of time is that He will remake the heavens and the earth into what he intended and something even better. 

This is the exact reason Jesus came among us.  He is the incarnate sign of the Promise.  He came to show us exactly how we are to be the People of God.  Jesus built us into living stones of the new Temple.  However, for this to be accomplished, old walls and realities need to be destroyed and demolished so that something new can be built.  The Scriptures use the metaphors and images we heard in the Gospel.  Jesus called this rebuilt world, “The Kingdom of God”.  The Kingdom we pray for every time we say the Lord’s Prayer is this Kingdom.  We ask God to mold us into this Kingdom and to restore and rebuild us into what God original intended and is creating anew. 

Advent can be a time when we destroy old walls.Advent can be a time when we recommit ourselves to the foundation of the building which never is weaken because the foundation is God himself with Jesus as the cornerstone.   This is what Discipleship is all about.  We are God’s contractors.  Our challenge this Advent is to pull the structures of oppression, sexism, poverty, hatred and prejudice, violence and war and erect the walls of peace and equality among all people, the furnishings of acceptance and care for those who are hungry and struggling, the door frame of acceptance of all people into our church here as a sign of the door frame of our hearts, to commit ourselves to tenderly care for all that is beautiful in the world and humanity.   

May this Advent time be a time to look into our inner house and the outer house of our parish community.  May we ask ourselves what are the walls we need to let God remove and what dream does God want to make real in us.  May His Kingdom come!

From Father Tom

Over the years, probably because of my degree in social work, I tend to take a more global or wider view of things.  I am always fascinated about how interconnected all things are.  One of my favorite images of organizations and the world is a giant spider web.  What I do affects you; what you do affects me.

This is the core of the great commandment.  Jesus tells us to love God, to love others and to love self.  We are not isolated beings.

Our love of God needs to be foundational.  It is not a one-way street.  God doesn’t passively sit there absorbing all our love.  In fact, we don’t even initiate it.  God does.  God created us out of love.  Our love for God is a response to what we have first received.

If we can accept this, then we need to turn to the reality that we must love ourselves.  How can we hate or not like what God created and God loves?    God never stops loving us, even when we try to stop him.  Being created in the image of Love, we need to see that Love in the mirror every morning.

Once we get to this point, then love of neighbor becomes easier. Charity cannot be limited to cleaning out our closets and giving our second-hand stuff away. To truly live the Great Commandment demands that we walk out of these four walls and get our hands dirty, together, as Christ’s Body.    It challenges us to look beyond the color of person’s skin, their accent, who they love, the sex and religion, their external appearance and see what God sees:  The reflection of His Divine Image.  We must see the God who we see in the mirror every morning.

The life of discipleship is summed up in the Great Commandment.  It is the mission statement of this parish.   Dave and Lora, our parish trustees, will now give you an account of how well we are living as disciples and where we need to focus for the next months in to continue the mission.