Fr. Frank Majka, SJ – The Bridge

And Best of All

After the Advent waiting, Christmas finally arrived and we heard “the glad tidings of great joy to all the people” that Jesus had come. But that’s not the whole story. A significant part of the good news is that he came to stay. His name after all is God-with-us (Emmanuel) not God-with-us-for-awhile.

Maybe we simply take his presence for granted, so that, after two thousand years, the novelty has worn off and the fact that Jesus is still with us is just the way things are. Some say they wish that they could have lived in the days when Jesus was on earth. But he still is, and that is part of the “great joy to all the people.”

The very idea of the Creator’s entering his creation and sharing the life of his creatures, the notion that this was not something that God would do just for a time, the realization that Jesus is the permanent sign of God’s commitment to share our life — we can’t let these things get stale in our awareness. If we lose our amazement that Jesus is with us, we risk not appreciating what an overwhelming act of love the Incarnation of Christ truly is and how it changes our very notion of God and how God relates to us.

So, as we pack away the decorations over the next few days, let’s try to renew and refresh our awareness of how amazing it is that the Jesus who came, did in fact come to stay. He’s never left us and never will.

Three Advent Companions

Isaiah, John the Baptist and Mary are three Advent companions to whom we can pay attention as we prepare for Christmas.

Isaiah, in the central part of the book that bears his name, told the people that God would be with them, even after they had lost their Temple and their homeland. He told them this because he knew that God would not let anything, either the sins of the people or the might of Israel’s enemies, cancel out his promise to care for them.

If we have had the experience of wondering if God has left us alone to face the loss of hopes, dreams or relationships, Isaiah’s message reminds us that God will be with us, too, no matter what circumstances we are in.

John the Baptist’s message was to the people of his time who longed for something new. He assured them that the Savior for whom they were waiting was closer than they guessed and that change would certainly come. But they would also first have to make changes in themselves. They needed to make right their actions, minds and hearts.

As we wait for Jesus, do we need to change or re-arrange anything in ourselves in order to prepare for the salvation which he will bring?

Finally, when Mary said yes to the Angel Gabriel’s message, her answer came from her firm conviction that she was no more (but also no less) than the handmaid of the Lord. Once she knew that the request was coming from her Lord, she immediately agreed to do whatever God was asking because she knew that she was, above all, God’s servant.

Are we, too, ready to say yes to God’s will and requests? Do our answers come from the conviction that we, like Mary, are no more (and also no less) than servants and handmaids of God?

The days of Advent are growing shorter, and Christmas will be here soon. But we can still spend time with Isaiah, the Baptist and Mary, and our Advent will be better for doing so.

100% Good News?

The Messiah is coming! That’s the good news of Advent. But when he comes we can presume things won’t stay the same, and that can be a bit unsettling.

So, we might ask ourselves, as we prepare for Jesus’ coming, if there are any changes his coming would bring that we might not like. Are there ways of thinking and acting that we don’t want messed with, material possessions or relationships we want to keep but which Jesus might want us to give up?

Change isn’t easy even when we know it’s for the better. For instance, if schools stop serving junk food like high-fat fries and high-sugar soda, you can bet some students won’t like it, and some parents may object if the items on the new menu cost more.

Advent gives us some time to get our heads and hearts ready for Jesus by becoming aware what changes his coming might call for, especially ones to which we may feel resistant. Advent also gives us time to pray for the grace to welcome him and accept all that his coming will offer us even if it challenges us to change who we are and what we do.

Thanksgiving Thanks

Every year Americans celebrate Thanksgiving, and St. Paul reminds us that being thankful should be a permanent feature in the life of a Christian, something we practice every day of the year.

While we may have many things to be grateful for, from material blessings to our health and everything else in between, this Thanksgiving we might want to concentrate on the people we are grateful for, whether they be among our family, our parish, our neighborhood, our co-workers or our circle of friends.

You might find it helpful to write their names down on a piece of paper and, next to each name, write one or two ways this particular person has been a blessing in your life. That could include some ways they have affirmed you but also how they may have challenged you to be a better person.

And, important as it is to identify these people, it would be wonderful if we were able to find a way to express our gratitude to them. A note, a call, an email or a card could be a thoughtful way to let them know that we appreciate them and the love they have given us. Even if they have died, we can talk to them and express our thanks to them in prayer. The belief in the “communion of saints” assures us we are connected to them and they to us.

Above all, we shouldn’t forget to say a sincere thank you to God, since, as the Bible tells us, all good gifts around us are sent, in one way or another, by God as signs of his love.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

God’s Building, God’s Temple

St. Paul wrote the Corinthian Christian community that they were God’s building and God’s temple (1 Corinthians 3). He used these images to help the church he’d founded at Corinth understand and appreciate who they were. At first sight, comparing a community to a material structure like a building or temple may seem to be a stretch. But the two images have something to tell us today.

First, “God’s building” is a way of saying the community belongs to God. It is God’s building, God’s place, and we can find him there. Notice, though, that Paul doesn’t say that the Christian community is the only place where God is. The Catholic teaching is that God lives and acts in countless places, including many non-Catholic and non-Christian religious traditions, and among all people who strive to live the best lives they can.

Second, to say that the community is “God’s temple” means that it is the place where God and the people come together “more formally” and where, through prayer and worship, we who follow Jesus find our common faith strengthened and we experience ourselves as one community despite our many different personalities and talents. It is where God creates us as church over and over again.

So, if the Christian community is where God lives and continues to create a single body out of many individuals, then it makes sense for Paul to call his Corinthian Christians the building and temple of God. And in our own day, these images can help us more deeply understand and appreciate who we are.