This Week’s Thought from Fr. Bob Warren, SA In our first reading, Isaiah is talking about a time when God will live with His people. Then it actually happened, and God did break into human affairs physically. He became human like us in all things except sin. All of humanity should have rejoiced, but only a few shepherds did because the rest of humankind was busy. They were busy with more important things and would not stop for the baby. It has been that way ever since. Even when we know He is coming, even when we set aside a special time of preparation, we fill it with cards, shopping and gifts. We forget it is all about the baby. Once in a while someone remembers. One person was St. Paul, who just could not get over the fact that Jesus came, that God became human and that He was coming again. He kept repeating, “Rejoice, be thankful, be prepared.” They did for a while and then they forgot again. Why do people forget certain things, even when they are reminded? It is because they do not really hear them. Some people do not hear certain things. It is called “functional deafness”. A nice way of saying that people hear what they want to. None of us likes to hear things that hurt, especially, things they cannot do much about. Who wants to hear that they have a serious illness or a loved one is dying? So often we do not want to hear these things because we just cannot handle them. Perhaps, that is why so many people have difficulty hearing about a baby born 2000 years ago who was sent for the rise and fall of many. And, we know how most people feel about rising and falling. We cannot handle it. The baby was a light shining in the darkness. And you know how dark things hate to have the spotlight thrown on them. We cannot handle it. The baby became a simple honest man who shot straight as an arrow through a crooked world. He did what he was supposed to do among clever people who did what they wanted to do. Our world has never quite discovered what to do with a simple, honest person. They cannot be bought, sold or used. They are practically worthless except to wonder at, talk about or get rid of. So, they did. You see, they could not handle Him. Jesus was unique and one of a kind. He is one of a kind in His origin, birth, character, teaching, miracles, death and resurrection. But, we have not told the entire story. Truth is not really truth until it is experienced, becomes part of us, is lived and felt. Grief, for instance, it can be explained, described and analyzed, its chemistry and psychology laid bare. But, until we lose someone we love, we do not know the truth about grief. Love can be explained, described and analyzed. It is chemistry and psychology laid bare. But, until we love, until we give ourselves to another, we do not know the truth about love. The uniqueness of Jesus Christ can similarly be explained, described, analyzed, documented and proved. But, until He becomes a part of our life experience, we really will not understand His uniqueness. The uniqueness of Jesus Christ is understood by a husband and father who stops drinking and who transforms the money he would spend on drink into food. The uniqueness of Christ is understood by a businessman who has found a larger purpose in life than climbing another rung on the corporate ladder. The uniqueness of Christ is understood by a busy mother whose fifteen minutes a day in prayer and meditation give her the strength and stamina to carry on. Millions of people, rich and poor, male and female, young and old, have found Jesus to be one of a kind. They have found that He gives a joy in living that entertainment cannot produce. They have found that He provides the peace of mind that tranquilizers cannot give. They have found that He supplies a moral rudder in today’s confusing sea of conflicting ideologies. The Lord is coming; prepare a path for Him in your life. Others can point the way, but only Jesus, the child who was born in straw, surrounded by shepherds who were created by Him, who would grow up, can say – “I am the way, the truth and the light”.
Posted on: Mon, 15 Dec 2014 13:08:52 +0000
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