Christmas day has finally dawned. There’s been so much anticipation, so much hype, that it’s hard for one day to bear the weight of all the expectations.
“O come, O come, Emmanuel!” Each Advent season we hear it sung, sometimes in such beautiful chant that we think for a minute that it might be nice to live in a monastery and sing like that all the time.
We tend to think that the trial of Jesus happened only at the end of his life before the rulers of the people, Pilate and Herod. In reality, Jesus was on trial for the entirety of his earthly mission. Every time he did or said something it raised implicit questions from “Who does he think he is?” to “Is this the one to come?”
Look at your Advent Calendar. Can you spot John the Baptist with his 100% organic outfit and odd, non-vegetarian diet? Although he hardly fits the cute calendar images, he’s a key character of the Advent season.
First Sunday of Advent: We begin the season of Advent with readings that direct our gaze to the ultimate and the immediate realities of our lives. The first Sunday of Advent always looks to history's end.
We have only one, very short, document written about Jesus during his own lifetime: the inscription explaining the reason for his execution. Luke quotes it as saying: “This is the King of the Jews.”
Have you run into those churchy types whose very presence makes you aware that you don’t measure up? They don’t have to publish their religious résumé. Something about their bearing broadcasts it without any need for a printed copy.
Today’s Liturgy of the Word opens with Amos quoting God, crying out, “Woe to the complacent.” Even with all the drama of hearing God shout, the last word is the key.
This week the scriptures invite us to consider profit and loss and grace. The prophet Amos, a rancher and orchard owner by trade, goes on the offensive against his wealthy colleagues who have, as Pope Francis would say, allowed the culture of prosperity to deaden them.
