Faithfully Watching

“God is faithful,
and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord.”

1 Cor 1:9

Blessed Advent to you! Happy New Year! Advent marks the beginning of a new liturgical year, and the Church reminds us of Jesus’s command to “watch.” For what is it that we are supposed to watch?

In the Gospel for the First Sunday of Advent Jesus told His disciples “Be watchful! Be alert!” In Mark’s Gospel this comes right after Jesus tells His disciples about the persecutions and tribulations that are to come and right before His betrayal. Of the several theories of the dating of Mark, some suggest that Mark’s Gospel was written in the 60’s/70’s AD about 30 years after Jesus’s Ascension and right at the time when the Temple was destroyed and when the Christians were being targeted. So, we can see that Mark is trying to remind the Christians to persevere and to keep watching and keep being faithful even when all seems hopeless and when their fight seems to be a losing battle. So, for the early Christians they were faithfully watching for the Coming of the Lord for some thought that His return was imminent. But what are we, who live nearly 2000 years later after this time, watching for? Are we still watching?

In one sense we are still watching just as the early Christians were — we are watching for the Coming of the Lord for we know neither the day nor the hour, so we must always be ready. But, we are also watching for the Lord in a different way — are we aware of the different ways and the the different people through whom the Lord speaks to us? Do we see Him in the poor? Do we see Him in the needy? Do we see Him in the those whom we do not like? Do we see Him in those who have hurt us? Do we see Him in ourselves?

Many people today question the presence of God. Some as why can’t God show Himself as He did in the past. One reason is that God has already fully revealed Himself in His Son. Jesus Christ is the fullness of revelation. It is not that God does not show Himself, He has already radically drawn close to us by taking on our flesh and remains with us today in a most tangible and substantial way — in the Church, in the sacraments, and most especially in the Eucharist. Jesus is fully present — body, blood, soul, and divinity — in the Most Holy Eucharist, but do we see Him? Do we choose to seek Him out? Do we spend time with Him? St. Paul reminds us that “God is faithful.” God is always faithful to us and His love and mercy never ceases. God is faithful to His promises, and He promises to remain with us. The question is not whether God remains with us, but rather will we choose to remain with Him. God is always waiting for us — in the Eucharist, in the sacraments, in our brothers and sisters. Have we been watching for Him?

Brothers and sisters, this Advent we must make time to watch and wait with our Lord. Yes, we wait faithfully for the Second Coming of Our Lord, but we must never forget that we too are waiting and watching for the coming of Our Lord at this very moment, in the here and now, in the Eucharist, in the Sacraments, and in each one of our brothers and sisters for we bear the image and likeness of God. May the Lord come to find us patiently and faithfully watching, not in idleness but rather in loving service that is rooted in relationship with Him.

Who is Your King?

“Amen, I say to you, whatever you did
for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.”

Matthew 25:40b

Today the Church celebrates the last Sunday in Ordinary Time, the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe or “Christ the King.” This means that one week from today, a new liturgical year begins with the season of Advent. As is the custom with the end of every year, we are invited to reflect on this past year, not necessarily on how well we’ve achieved our weight loss goals or how well we curbed a bad habit or fostered a new one, but how we well we have lived out our call as Christians, as people who claim to follow Christ, whom we celebrate today as King of the Universe.

The kind of king that Jesus is stands in stark contrast to the kings we read of in history, even the first king of Israel. Jesus is not a king who sits on his throne and wields power from his scepter or that passes edicts and gives commands while staying in the palace. Jesus is a king who is a servant, a servant who talks to sinners and associates with the outcast, a servant who is despised by His own people and who ultimately dies the death of a criminal. This is the King of Christians. Do you still wish to follow this king?

In the readings given to us today, we are reminded that the Lord is our Good Shepherd who leads His sheep to green pastures and restful waters. Jesus tells of the judgment on the nations with the imagery of the goats and sheep, where those who feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit the sick and imprisoned, and welcome the stranger will “inherit the Kingdom” that has been prepared for them, while those who do not will spend eternity with the devil and his angels. At first this may sound like people have been predestined to go to either heaven or hell but that is not the case. God wants all of His children to go to heaven, but sadly not everyone wants to or at least chooses to lead lives that lead them there. God does not send anyone to hell; in fact we send ourselves to hell. How? Hell is the absence of God, and so if we choose to not believe or choose to live lives that are not in imitation of our King and Lord we are saying we do not want God, we do not want heaven, and so the only other option is “not God,” which is hell. Do you choose heaven or hell?

The ways the righteous ministered to the Lord that Jesus mentions in the Gospel are what we call today the Corporal Works of Mercy. Jesus reminds His disciples that to really serve Him, we must serve the least ones — the poor, the rejected, the outcast, and the vulnerable. To serve Christ we must serve one another. Do we do that? I don’t mean if we wait on one another, but rather do we truly care about the eternal fate of our brothers and sisters? Do we pray for them? Do we share with them how God has worked in our lives? Do we invite them into a relationship with God? Do we talk to those who are lonely or accompany those who feel alone in this life? Do we help the poor or do we walk by and drive by without even acknowledging them? Do we help the immigrant or do we judge them quietly and laugh at their struggles? Do we visit and help the elderly and shut-ins or do we let them live out their final days in isolation and seclusion? Do we help the dying to die with dignity or do we see them only as a body occupying a bed that is needed? Do we love the unborn and fight for their lives? If we choose to neglect anyone, we neglect Christ. If we choose to reject anyone, we reject Christ.

Brothers and sisters, I must admit, it is not easy to live as a Christian today, but God doesn’t ask for us to be perfect. We ought to strive for perfection, and when we fall short we must turn to Our Lord for strength to do better. Jesus did not say only those who have loved perfectly and served perfectly or those who ten times out of ten fed the hungry and welcomed the stranger will inherit the Kingdom. He only asks that we try and do our best. So brothers and sisters, as we come to the end of our liturgical year, how well have you followed the Universal King, Our Lord Jesus Christ? Have we chosen to follow a different king? I recently saw on a few cars a sticker that read “Do you follow Jesus this closely?” It’s funny but it’s also a great question to ask ourselves. Now I’m not saying you should tailgate other cars, but I am saying we should tailgate Our Lord and His Cross. Keep your eye on the prize and the Lord will lead you to His Father. Let us reflect with the Lord today and ask Him for the grace to love more deeply and to serve more willingly.

Living Out Our Call

“A man going on a journey
called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them.
To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one--
to each according to his ability.
Then he went away.”

Matthew 25:14-15

When was the last time you thought about how well you’re living out your call? Or the last time you thought about your gifts and talents? Each one of us is endowed with certain gifts and talents that can help build up the Kingdom, but sometimes we may choose to use them for other ends or not use them at all.

The Lord tells a parable to His disciples about a man who before leaving for a journey entrusts his possessions to his servants, “each according to his ability.” Then the parable goes on with what each servant did with the “talents” (money): the ones with the most traded them or invested them and multiplied the talents, but the one with the least out of fear hid the talent in the ground. When the man comes back he praises the two who used the talents wisely and entrusts to them greater responsibilities but scolds the servant who hid the talent when he could have simply placed it in the bank so that it could at least earn some interest. This last servant was cast out into the darkness. If we were to read this literally, we may think that Jesus is overly concerned about money, but Our Lord was trying to convey a deeper message, a message that concerns us, our calling, and our salvation.

Each one of us has been created by God out of love — despite our struggles and challenges or upbringing, we are each the product of the eternal Love of God — and has been given different talents and gifts. These talents and gifts perhaps helped us discern what we want to do with our lives — our jobs, our careers, our professions, our callings. We have each been called by God to play a role in the life here on earth that will lead us back to Him in heaven. What is your calling? Our calling isn’t necessary simply what we are “good at,” but rather that ways in which we can realize God’s will for our lives here on earth. Wherever we are in our lives, God’s will can be realized.

If we are teachers, our calling is to be the best educator we can be, not measured by how much material we can cover, but rather how we come to encounter God in each one of our students and how we remind our students of how much they are loved by God. If we are politicians, our calling is to listen not simply with our ears but our hearts to those whom we have vowed and promised to serve and do that well. If we are office workers, our calling isn’t simply fulfilling our quota of work or checking off every task on our to-do list, but also to get to know how colleagues, to see them, to listen to them, to serve them, to help them, and to share with them when appropriate and as appropriate how God has worked in our lives, not in an attempt to proselytize, but rather to simply convey and share what is important to you.

At the crux of all our callings is relationship. All of our relationships ought to be anchored and rooted in the one relationship that truly sustains us and points us in the right direction — our relationship with God. So, if we are saying to ourselves, “I am not sure what my calling is,” perhaps we do not yet know the One who calls us. When we grow in our relationship with the One who calls us, our loving God, we will come to know what our calling is and where He is leading us to live out that call. There is no greater joy and enduring peace than when we are living out the calling to which we have been called and using the gifts and talents given to us in building each other up. You are called and you are loved!