Faith

And THIS IS WHY we have a Christmas Day – 4th Sunday of Advent – Isaiah 7:10-14/ Matthew 1:18-24

The Gospel of today practically tells you the Christmas story except of course for that one verse which says that Jesus was born. It you read the infancy narrative in the Gospel of Matthew you will begin to feel a bit lost if not cheated. There is no manger, no shepherds, no long journey to Bethlehem, no angels proclaiming glory to God, no cows or sheep or donkey. Yes, it does mention the wise men but it also mentions the despot Herod who wanted to kill Jesus and then killed the children in and around Bethlehem and then mentions the flight in Egypt. All in all, there is no sparkle or tinsel to this Christmas story in the Gospel of Matthew. So, what’s the point in proclaiming this Gospel at all so close to Christmas?

Matthew had one purpose and one purpose only, to proclaim the fulfilment of the promises of God. The narrative took place in fulfilment of the promises that were spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means God is with us.”

God keeps his promises even if they are not tied in beautiful bows and delivered on a one-horse open sleigh. That’s the point of today’s Gospel; God is faithful. Interestingly, the way he works in our lives is often strange and even scandalous. Here is a narrative of an unwed mother, a reluctant fiancé who now wants to divorce his to be wife, a rather pushy angel that wants to communicate the will of God.

God communicates to us that if his own son’s birth could be fulfilled when everything seemed impossible then how much more will he deliver in our lives when we think all is lost? That is the Christmas miracle, that is the Christmas story and that is the Christmas promise. God always keeps his promise because God loves us.

What is it that seems lost to you today? What is it that you think God has bailed out on you? What is it that you are struggling with, gasping for breath as you feel yourself being sucked underwater? There is a promise that we are reminded, “Look the virgin SHALL conceive.” There is no if and might and maybe. It is a firm promise. The virgin SHALL conceive so that God will forever be with us; Emmanuel.

While the Gospel of Luke will focus on the big yes of Mary, the Gospel of Matthew will tell us of the silent acceptance of God’s will in Joseph’s life. The poor chap does not a spoken word recorded in the Gospel of Matthew. His name appears seven times in the entire Christmas narrative but his voice is not heard once. He certainly had doubts and perhaps negative thoughts and even wanted to divorce Mary but was told to do the will of God. His obedience is recorded in one line, “when he awoke from his sleep, he did a s the angel of the Lord commanded him” and this was not the only time he was spoken to in a dream.

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Christmas Vigil Mass – The nature of sin, the need of a saviour – Isaiah 62:1-5/ Matthew 1:18-25

By human standards, the Christmas story is filled with scandal. It is the stuff that tabloids would relish as they publish. Newspapers would be selling like hot cakes. The headlines would read, “an expectant bride an enraged fiancé.” The bi-line would proclaim, St Joseph to divorce Mary.

There is nothing sentimental or romantic in the first Christmas story; it is uncensored, not airbrushed, filled with scandal and then even when the marriage is salvaged; thanks to no less the intervention of Gods own angel, the story of Christmas is one of poverty, homelessness, refugees, attempted murder, mass murder, selfishness and fear.

Today, none of that is reflected in our celebration. The Church is decorated with tinsel and lights, the altar is adored with flowers, food and drink will flow, music will fill the air and dancing feet will burn a hole in the ground. We have bought new clothes and dolled our faces. There is no sign of the pain and fear and struggle of that first Christmas.

So why then do we celebrate that day with such rejoicing? What gives life and colour to this day? Just one sentence; “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given!” A son, who as St Matthew tells us, “Will save their people from their sins.” The tinsel, the bells, the lights, the music, the kulkuls, the vindaloo are simply our way of telling the whole world WE ARE SAVED. God gave us HIS son to be OUR brother, to SAVE US and take us to heaven. All of what we do is just an external expression of the internal reality.

But what if that internal reality is nonexistent. What If I am sitting here in Church just because it is something that I do every year at Christmas? What if I have not accepted the truth of Christmas that Jesus has come to save me, to free me from my sin? What if I am here right now in the most beautiful dress and the latest bespoke suit, what If my menu at home for Christmas lunch is the best I have ever cooked and the decorations in the house is beyond spectacular but I have not accepted Jesus for WHY he came and WHO he is to me? He came to SAVE ME, he is my SAVIOUR!

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The second day of Christmas – My true love gave to me a crown of martyrdom

Right off the bat, let me wish you all a Happy feast my dear parishioners here at St Stephen’s Church, Cumballa Hill and also to you, our well-wishers. Today, we step into the 75th year of this faith community being raised to the status of a parish.

We have been reflecting on the joy of Christmastide. Don’t let the commercial world dictate terms to you. They may take down their décor from their stores but you continue with the joy of Christmas. Their business has cease, our ministry never ends. To that effect we continue to embrace the message of the incarnation and continue to receive the gifts that Jesus gives us at Christmastime. Yesterday he gave us the gift of his light, today he gives us a shining example of Christian life in the martyrdom of St Stephen.

The English word martyr is derived from a Greek word which literally means “witness.” St Stephen is presented to us as the first witness who is soaked in blood. Ironically, the Christmas story is soaked in blood; Stephen is stoned and then the innocents are massacred.

The name Stephen is Greek and translates as ‘crown.’ It was to him that the crown of martyrdom was given. According to Acts 6, Stephen is a foreign-born Jew or a Hellenist who spoke Greek. The Hellenists were a minority in the Christian community and they complained that their elderly widows were been neglected. Stephen was one of the seven men chosen by the apostles to be a deacon or steward to help with this task of distribution of food so that the apostles might be able to carry on with their ministry of prayer.

St. Stephen, following on the heels of his Master, died for the sake of the Gospel. He died for the sake of being true to Christ. Stephen is correctly accused of following the Christ, but he is falsely accused of preaching that Jesus would destroy the Temple and taught against the law of Moses. His accusers twist the teachings of Christ for their own benefit.

St Stephen was full of the spirit. St Luke explicitly mentions this fact four times in the two chapters in which he appears in the Acts of the Apostles.

We might wonder how short the ministerial life of Stephen was. Even though he was filled with the Holy Spirit and had abundance of wisdom, he was still stoned to death by the angry mob of the city who were unwilling to soften their hearts and let his words reach their hearts. We might wonder at our own circumstances when we try to convince people of the truth of the gospel. We need to understand that logic, wisdom and even miracles are not enough to convert a sinner. Only God’s mighty power can do that, as He later proved with through the life and work of a bystander who consented to Stephen’s death; Saul later became St Paul.

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The twelve days of Christmas – On the first day of Christmas my true love gave me light.

Today, I begin a brief series of reflections called the twelve days of Christmas. The twelve days of Christmas spans from Christmas Day till January the sixth, the traditional day that celebrates the arrival of the Magi or the wise men.

For the secular world, Christmas day is the climax of a long commercial build up to the festivities surrounding the season. The day after Christmas everything seems to crash! For Catholics, these days and those up to the Baptism of Jesus, constitutes what we call ‘Christmas tide’.

Today is Christmas day, the first day of Christmas. The popular song associated with these days first finds mention in a 1780 children’s book called Mirth Without Mischief. There is no evidence that this popular song sung at Christmas has anything to do with persecuted Christians who devised a way of teaching catechism. Yet we can turn this interesting song into a meditation of sorts for the next twelve days.

The Gospel of today taken from John 1:1-18 is called the prologue. One of the themes central to the prologue is the description of Jesus as THE light. He is the “light of all peoples.” As light, he ‘shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome him.’ He is testified as the light by John. John was just the lamp but Christ was the light. He is the ‘true light which enlightens everyone.’ This word of God, this light and life became flesh and dwelt among us.

Reading this text, one may mistakenly assume that Jesus simply came to obliterate and remove all darkness forever. Yet we know that darkness still exists. It is true that over the years this darkness has been diminished by the goodness and kindness of thousands of acts of love, yet the darkness of this world exists because the human heart would rather have its will than let God have his way.

Yet through it all, St John reminds us that “the light shines in the darkness” and maybe that’s the thing. Maybe that’s the gospel writer’s point. It is not that Jesus obliterates the darkness. Christ did not come to make interventions in the world but transformations in our lives. He did not come to stop a war in Ukraine but came to inspire us to talk words of peace. The presence of THE light, the presence of Jesus calls and challenges us to change the situation, and make it much better.

This, I think, is the message of the incarnation, the story behind the story that we will tell each other this day. God enters into the darkness to sit alongside of us as a Providential advocate, a Providential presence; God with us, Emmanuel. God refuses to dwell in the heavens above and from a safe distance watch the drama of human life play out. Instead, our Provident God climbs right into the darkest places to be with us; and in that holy and luminous action, we find reason enough to hope.

Happy Christmas.

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Love never fails, humans fail to love! – Homily for the nuptials of Ryan and Shelly – 11.12.22
Matthew 11:2-11
By and large there is a tendency to pick and choose ones reading for a nuptial mass, sadly even on a Sunday, disrupting the liturgy of the Church. It’s as if we want to tell God what we want to hear, rather than listen to what God has to say. The Gospel of today, the third Sunday in Advent has much to say to us as pilgrims in this advent season and much for you, my dear Ryan and Shelly to ponder, as you begin this new journey.
The Gospel of St Matthew 11:2-11 is also found in Luke 7:18-23 with a few minor differences. The thrust is the same; John sends two of his disciples to ask Jesus, to enquire what ought to be for us the perfect advent question, “are you the one to come, or should we wait for another?” (11:3)
Right away this question should strike us as odd and even alarming. Was it not St John the Baptist who in John 1:29-36 affirmed Jesus as “the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world?” Is John having doubts about his own cousin? How could John doubt Jesus when Jesus so graciously hailed John as one who was greater than any born of woman?
There are two reflections that we can ponder on based on this question. The first, do I have expectations of others that leave me deflated when not matched. The second, is it wrong to have doubts?
Let us tackle the second question first. Is it ‘wrong’ to have doubts? Clearly John had doubts or as some would call it ‘second thoughts’. One might think that a doubt such as this is a grevious offence against God. John doubted if Jesus was the Messiah, the anointed one.
Our lives are filled with doubt. A decision such as this that we are participating, a marriage of two young people, is fraught with doubts and understandably so. Is the person I am marrying the right one for me? Will they be there for me in good time and in bad?
To have doubts is not sinful or wrong; to have doubts is human; yet to be paralysed by doubt is grievously harmful. There would always be marriages around us that fail, that does not make marriage a failure. There are people who profess their love and do not live by it, that does not make love a failure. It is natural to begin to have doubts when we see failed marriages of others in what ought to be a “happily ever after” for them; but to paralysed by doubt and reject marriage and love would be foolishness.
Yes, we should not “fall” in love blindly. Marriage needs to be well considered. Perhaps some of us would be better off as bachelors or spinsters. Perhaps some are called in God’s service. All are not called to marriage. But should we feel that we are called to married life, then a leap of faith is what we called to. Do not let your marriage or your relationship become a case of paralysis by analysis.
How is doubt overcome? It is overcome through faith. The apostles had doubts. “Lord, we believe, help our unbelief.” Thomas was questioning enough to be labelled doubting Thomas. Yet in moments like this the Lord asks us to trust in him, to put our faith in him, to walk with him. “Doubt no longer he says to you both, Shelly and Ryan, but believe!”
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