Feast of the Holy Family

Sir 3:2-6, 12-14
Col 3:12-17
Mt 2:13-15, 19-23


On this Sunday in the Octave of Christmas, it is appropriate that we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family, the Family that came to be when the Christ was born to Mary. We celebrate because this Family redefines forever what family means. What family is, who family is, changed forever with the formation of this Holy Family. Yes, they certainly looked like countless other families of their day, they look like many families of our own day. But there is something different here, a fundamental shift. Perhaps in order to see this we need to look at what a family is. A family is a group of people who are related, who share a heritage and a history. At it core what a family is, is a community, a group of people tied together by a common goal, a common purpose, a common belief. There may or may not be a blood relationship, that isn’t the most important thing. The sharing, the commonality, that is community. Families and clans are, for the most part, closed systems. One must be born in or married in to be a part of the family, to belong to that community. The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph formed a community, a new community, a new family, a family open to all persons. The community of the Holy Family reflects for us the Ultimate Community, the divine family that the birth of the Christ calls us to. Christ calls us to share in this divine mystery, to be a people who partake in the divine life of the Trinity. Christ calls us to be a part of this family, this community, this People of God.

Deacon John
Feast of the Holy Family
Dec. 30, 2007

Me and Poindexter

As you may have noticed, I have added a picture of St. Peregrine, the patron saint of cancer patients, to the side of this blog, along with a link to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. I added these things because on Dec. 7, 2007, my life was instantly changed. It is amazing how a little word, cancer, can in less than a nanosecond make the whole world different, never to be the same again. Multiple Myeloma is an incurable, but treatable, form of cancer. I have been diagnosed with this disease. I DO NOT say this in any attempt to garner sympathy (ugh!), however I am grateful for any and all prayer. It is my hope to speak to the spiritual dimension of my journey, to share my journey through this challenge, to continue to speak and to learn. I decided that I must lean on our good and glorious God, and fight for all I am worth. Hence the name of this post, Me and Poindexter. No offence to anyone actually named Poindexter, but I had to name this cancer to give it a face, to make it something I could grasp. So the battle is on, and I am looking for where God wants me to go in this struggle. I will occassionally post this progress here, but plan to establish a new blog, Me and Poindexter, to track where I am being led in this new challenge. Where I am going I do not know, but perhaps in prayer we can travel there together.

Deacon John

Feast of Stephan

Dec. 26, 2007

Feast of Stephan

Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59
Mt 10:17-22

The juxtaposition of the Feast of Stephen, immediately following Christmas, is an interesting contrast. Straight from birth to death, from entering this life to entering the life to come. The life that is made possible by that very birth, and the sacrifice to be made by the one born. Life that springs from death. Yet is that not just what the one born on the day before this Feast of Stephen came to teach us? Indeed the Christ came to teach us that in speaking fearlessly for God, without regard to the personal cost, we follow the example set by Christ. In following that example, we may be faced with a fate similar to Christ’s. Certainly in our world, at least in our part of it, such an occurrence is quite unlikely. You may be unpopular, you may be seen as odd or eccentric, indeed you may be a laughingstock to some. Not quite the fate of Christ, but uncomfortable, nonetheless. Speaking for God, standing for light, for truth and beauty against the darkness never is. Yet it is what we are called to do, it is who we are called to be. Stephen met the fate he did by simply following the example of the one who was born, by speaking fearlessly for the one who was born. Stephen placed his fate in the hands of the Christ, whose example he followed. Can we, should we, do any less?

Deacon John
Feast of Stephen
Dec. 26, 2007

Is 9:1-6
Ti 2:11-14
Lk 2:1-14
It’s been a dark time. The days have been growing shorter, the light becoming less and less, yet we have reason for hope. I checked sunrise and sunset times for my home, Louisville, Ky. and saw that on Dec. 21, the sun rose at 7:56 A.M. and set at 5:26 P.M., a short day indeed. Yet today, Dec. 24, 2007, the sun rose at 7:57 A.M. and sets at 5:28 P.M. A longer day, not by much perhaps, but longer none the less. No wonder ancient humans looked for the winter solstice, the return of the light, for with light comes hope that the world will continue. Today we await the rise of the Son, bringing new light, a previously unknown light into the world. With this Sonrise we have hope, hope that our redemption has come, that we need have no fear, that our God has kept the promise of salvation. God enters our history in a real and personal way, and opens for us the way of peace. Little wonder that the prophet says, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone. You have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing.” The darkness is banished, not only for a season, but for all time, for those who choose to follow the path of peace given us by the rise of the Son. Let us this day, this day of great joy and celebration, dedicate ourselves to following that Light, seeking true peace, seizing the salvation offered us in the rising of the Son.
May the Blessings and Peace of Christ be yours this Joyous Christmas Season.
Deacon John
The Vigil of Christmas
Dec. 24, 2007

Fourth Sunday in Advent

Is 7:10-14
Rom 1:1-7
Mt 1:18-24

I used to open a lot of prayer services by saying, “let us pause for a moment and place ourselves in the presence of God.” Then I went to a conference and heard a priest recount a story about his teaching days in the seminary. A seminarian came to him and asked how he could put himself in God’s presence. The old priest replied, “Ah, but when are you not?” When are we not indeed? This last Sunday in Advent calls us to remember that we are in God’s presence, always. The Christ comes and is to be named Emmanuel, “God is with us.” The Christ came to us once in human form, taking on our life, living as we live, experiencing what we experience. He lived, he suffered, he died, he rose, and ascended, returning home, but never really leaving us. As the Christ told us, “I am with you always, until the end of the age.” Through the Spirit, the Christ lives in our hearts. Each day in the Eucharist, the Christ comes again in a powerful, personal way, to become one with us, and we one in Christ. This blessed season only serves to remind is that we are indeed not alone. Creator, Spirit, Christ, God keeps us close, always there to remind us of how much we are loved. How can I put myself in the presence of God? “Ah, but when are you not?”

Deacon John
Fourth Sunday in Advent
Dec. 23, 2007

Second Sunday in Advent

Is 11:1-10
Rom 15:4-9
Mt 3:1-12

Ah, pity the poor Pharisees and Sadducees. Blasted again for missing the point. John tells them to produce good fruit as evidence of their repentance. Stop leaning on your laurels, claiming that as children of Abraham, you are the Chosen Ones. John warns them that being Children of Abraham doesn’t guarantee anything. It isn’t who are you, what is your heritage, it is what have you done with that heritage. How many have been brought to God, or have too many been forgotten while ritual and rule were upheld. Rules are great, they keep order, but the rules aren’t enough on their own. John’s warning was meant to steer them to a path of repentance, not for rules sake, but for God’s sake. The love of God and the sharing of that love, that should come from the rules, but the rules can’t get in the way. God’s love, and the sharing of that love transcends any rule. John’s warning was to the Pharisee and Sadducees, but it is a warning that we should, that we must, heed. It is far too easy for us to find ourselves in the role of the Pharisees. You want rules? We’ve got’em.
Rules, they are necessary, but they are not the point. It isn’t the keeping of the rules that makes us holy. We are certainly not headed to heaven just because we belong to the Church. We must, we must remember that the rules, that membership in the Church, are transcended by the love of God. We have to avoid the rules trap, the one that says, you must say this prayer at this time in this way with these words, possibly in this particular language, or it doesn’t count. Really? Do you really think that God cares? If using a particular formula or a particular language brings you closer to God, makes it possible for you to truly enter into prayer, then by all means do it. Just leave the door open for everyone else. I think God just wants us to pray, to communicate, to love God and one another. Sharing love, with God and each other, that is the reign of God.

Deacon John
Second Sunday in Advent
Dec. 9, 2007

First Sunday in Advent

Is 2:1-5
Rom 13:11-14
Mt 24:37-44

Pie in the sky. A pipe dream. That is all that many believe the idea of peace on earth and human solidarity is. A silly dream that can never be. Just look at the world around us. We are at war. Violence is on our streets and even in our homes. If not real violence, than the fictionalized violence we can’t seem to get enough of on television. We have bought into the idea that we, humans, are all so different that we cannot ever meet on common ground. How can we reconcile this acceptance of never-ending conflict with our belief in God, our belief in Christ? The reign of God is not a pipe dream, nor is it something that will happen someday. The reign of God is here, now. It is in us, and it is up to us. When we accept Christ, we cannot accept that peace and the solidarity of people is impossible. Certainly the world in its current condition does not reflect the reign of God, but do we, in our individual lives, try to reflect that reign? I may not be able to change the entire world on my own, but I can influence the world immediately around me. When we, as followers of the Christ, together climb the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, we can have an impact. When we beat our swords into plowshares, we can bring others to follow. It is up to us. Shall we work to establish the mountain of the Lord, or simply see it as a pipe dream, pie in the sky, foolishness? “O house of Jacob come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!”

Drop down dew, ye heavens from above, and let the clouds rain down the Just One.

Deacon John
First Sunday in Advent
Dec. 2, 2007