Church of St. Mary at Clinton Heights

I am wondering how much freedom a person has if their leaders are kings and queens. As far as I know, a king and queen is not elected. The throne is passed down. The average person never has a say in who will lead their nation. History teaches us that some royalty have been good and the country has flourished in many ways; others tyrants and still others who ruined their countries on the backs of their people. But, the normal person has no choice. To be a part of the Kingdom of God, however, demands a choice from each one of us. We are not the serfs and subjects of a kingdom where there is no choice. God, the ruler of the universe, invites us everyday to be a part of the Kingdom of heaven. It is not enough to be baptized. We must choose our baptism everyday because in baptism we were invited into the Kingdom of God. But, our baptism also acknowledges our free will. Because of that, we are given the choice to be a part of God’s Kingdom….every single day. Our King is not a tyrant or removed from our lives on a golden throne locked up in a castle. Our King is not sitting in some far away place never interacting with us. Our King walks among us all the time. But, the parable shows us where: In the naked and the sick, in the hungry and thirsty, in the stranger and prisoner, and the naked. As I was looking at the Pieta at St John’s/St Joseph’s during the reading of the Gospel at the four pm Mass, I had a revelation. This image was the Gospel made real. The image of Mary, the image of the Church, holding the bruised and broken Body of Christ, is the reality of the Christian life. She is our model and teaches us to embrace His Wounded and Suffering Body no matter what. Every generation of Christians is called to take care of these people no matter who they are or what they look like because they are Christ among us. “As often as you do this, you do it for me.” In the choice to be a part of the Kingdom of God, it is not option to take care of the most vulnerable of society. Our choice to have Christ our King is also to choose the take of those most people most people would just want to forget. Each generation defines the most needed differently, but, they are still among us. Christ is still among us. This is not an easy choose. Some days, it is just easier to be the person who is afraid of the King so we do the minimal or we just ignore what the King wants and we walk by him or ignore him and not care. As we approach the Advent season next Sunday, let us all reflect on our choice to be a part of the Kingdom. A practice we may want to develop is to wake up every morning and say out loud: Today I choose to have Jesus the King of my life. Today, I choose to life in the Kingdom of heaven. Today I choose Christ. Jesus is the King of all the universe and yet, right among us everyday. May we make the decision to see him and care for him, in the best way we can.

O Lord and Master of the universe Grant me the courage to accept you as the King of my life, right now and every day of my life. Open my eyes to see you in the most vulnerable among us: those with out heat and adequate winter clothing, those who wake up every morning unable to live with alcohol or heroin , those in jail and those imprisoned by mental illness and prejudice, those who no one else cares about. Jesus open my eyes to see you in the most vulnerable among us. May I choose you today and one day may I hear you say: Well done, good and faithful servant, come into the rest of my Kingdom.” Amen

We celebrate on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day.  Most of us will gather with family and/or friends and share a meal and company.  In the midst of all our celebrations, we need to aware of the blessings we have all received this past year.  I cannot help but think about the farmers who worked hard in the fields so I could have something to eat.  We cannot forget the migrant workers who worked in the hot sun for little pay so we could eat apples, strawberries,  and many other seasonal foods.  Another group we cannot forget all those who work in the service jobs….those who work in fast foods, waiters and waitresses, people who work in the supermarkets, the people who run the gas stations, the nurses and aids in the hospitals and nursing homes, among many.  We all need to be thankful for our police, firefighters and emergency personnel who everyday keep us safe or get us to the hospital when we are sick.  The Thanksgiving theme this year is not about thankfulness for the material things or the food on the table.  Our thanksgiving needs to be about the people we interact with everyday who we may not see or just assume will be there.   May God bless them all with peace and joy.

The parable of the 10 bridesmaids is a challenge to be aware and alert and ready for Christ’s coming at the end of time, and to be ready today.  In the time of Jesus, the wedding celebration was different than what we do.  The groom would go the bride’s house accompanied by his family and friends, and would jokingly haggle with the father of the bride about the dowery.  The higher the price; the most precious the bride.  At this, of course it was all symbolic, the dowery had already been settled but it could take some time.  When it was all over, the bridegroom would bring the bride to his house for the ceremony and celebration.  However, since no one knew how long the father and groom would spend haggling, people were sent ahead to announce the coming of the bridegroom.  This was the job of the bridesmaids ….they were to light the way for the bride and bridegroom and announce the time of the wedding was near.   They had to be prepared and ready because they didn’t know how long the “haggling” would last. 

We are the bridesmaids……we need to be ready to announce the coming of Christ the Bridegroom.  Our challenge to is to keep the lamp of faith alive, filled with oil of grace, and our faith burning brightly.  How?  By actively engaging the life of faith. 

We need to be actively praying and renewing our spiritual life.

Our weekly attendance at the Eucharist and celebrating the Sacraments,

By reading the Scriptures,  and other spiritual writers

By actively embracing acts of charity and justice

we replenish the oil of our faith. 

The parable is a challenge to realize that our life of faith, our relationship with Christ is an investment.  But it is not a static investment.  It is not a lamp that will keep burning when we do not put oil into it.  The 5 wise bridesmaids put an effort into their work.  They kept their lamps filled with oil and the wicks were trimmed.  They kept awake and alert looking for the bridegroom.  They did not sit around looking for someone else to do the work.  The 5 foolish one expected to keep their lamps lit with someone else’s effort.   They put the minimal amount of work into it. 

Our faith life will not survive on a minimal amount of work.

  To wait for the Bridegroom is to be active…

to keep enough oil on hand….our works of charity , our life of prayer..

to trim the wicks…to be challenged by the Gospel to a constant conversion of our hearts..

to change the behaviors that are in our way of getting closer to Christ….

to be awake….to be alert to Christ’s presence everyday;

even in the places we least expect….

and finally, to announce the coming of the Bridegroom by our actions and by our words.  Doing this things, the second coming of Christ will not be surprise….it will be the welcoming of an old and beloved friend    We will miss him, and end up outside of the wedding feast.

 

O Lord Jesus, Bridegroom of the wedding feast of heaven,

Help me to be ready for your coming.

May the oil of the lamp of my faith be constantly replenished by the Eucharist and prayer

May I be trimmed as a wick to burn brighter by allowing you into the parts of my life that need to be changed and grown

Keep me awake in my faith…may I never grow complacent or tired, but always alert

O Lord Jesus, host of the wedding feast, may I be alert and ready to announce to all the you are here.