King Ahaz and the tribe of Judah were terrified about the possibility of being
attacked. They wondered where they could
turn for help. In desperation, they
turned to the Lord in their distress. The Lord spoke to Ahaz: “Ask a sign of
(me), the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” Ahaz
responded that he would not put the Lord to the test. Isaiah told Ahaz that as a sign, the Virgin will conceive and give birth to a
Son who will be called Emmanuel. That
will be his sign. And that sign, that
prophecy given to Joseph by the Angel Gabriel, foretold the birth of
Jesus.
We also have signs that God gives to us – we have signs of the season all
around during Advent. We light candles on the Advent wreath to count down the days of waiting. We do works of charity as signs of the season, signs of our faith– we see such
generosity and kindness from so many of our parishioners in helping out others
in need as a part of the Care Tree. We’re called by the Church to partake of the sacrament of reconciliation during
Advent as a sign of our repentance and transformation. And we sing “O Come O Come Emmanuel” during Advent as a sign that we yearn with
expectation for the coming of the Lord. But, we might want other signs altogether. We might want a sign of hope in our lives
during Advent in the midst of the reality of life. We might want to hear the Lord’s voice, loud and clear, for a specific purpose:
to tell us the answer to our prayers, to heal a loved one who is sick, to help
us to finally overcome an addiction we are struggling with. We might want the Lord to speak to us in a dream like the way he sent an angel
to speak to Joseph, to come into our hearts to make us whole, to heal those
wounds and problems that are troubling us.
However, the sign we receive from the Lord might be totally unexpected. Take Joseph in today’s Gospel – he had already figured out how he was going to
solve the situation he faced with Mary, doing so by not shaming her, by treating
her with dignity and respect by divorcing her quietly. Joseph wasn’t looking for a sign from God, but the Angel came to him anyway,
giving him instructions to take Mary into his home to be his wife. Joseph was a righteous man who listened to God's will. He said “yes” to God, becoming an integral part of God’s plan of salvation for
all.
A wonderful sign we see in our Church today is our new pope - Pope Francis.
We see him talked about everywhere.
He was named one of the most powerful people in the world by Forbes
Magazine and Person of the Year by Time Magazine. We know that Jesus was very different from
the expectations the people of Ancient Israel had of the Messiah; Pope Francis
likewise is very different from what many people expect from the pope. He is not living in the papal palace, but in a small apartment. And while he is not afraid of making decision
or asserting his authority, his humility, his honesty, and love for the poor
has touched hearts everywhere. The pope wants us to be a Church that welcomes people into the Body of Christ,
that stands up for the values of our faith, but at the same time, treats people with compassion. In fact, what he said of the Eucharist itself touched a lot of hearts, saying
that the Eucharist is not a reward for good behavior, it is not to designate an
exclusive club, but rather it is a sacrament of healing to help people. It seems like in recent years, just as how politics and society in general have
become polarized and divided, with people calling each other names and labeling
each other, Christianity has become the same way. It is easy to label someone, isn’t it? I
remember even at seminary, while at a friendly lunchroom conversation, one of
my fellow seminarians asserted with great passion that he thought missionaries
like me, whom he equated with socialists and communists, were what was bringing
the Church down, and that I had no business being ordained a priest. The look I gave him was one of puzzlement and confusion, as I became a
missionary to proclaim the Good News to the poor and to help alleviate their
suffering and poverty in any small way I could.
I didn’t do so as a political statement or to overthrow governments. Pope Francis has been a beacon of hope in our world, not only to Catholics, but
to many people of different religions and different walks of life. I want St James here in Tupelo to be a beacon
of hope and life as well. And the way I think we can do that is not by labeling people or separating
ourselves, but rather by forging unity and walking down a road of discipleship
together. We have a lot of diversity in our unity as Catholics here at St James, and in
many ways, we can all learn from each other and have a richer faith journey
because of this diversity. Recently, I saw a painting of St Joseph that was painted by Frenchman James
Tissot over 100 years ago. He shows Joseph at his carpenter’s bench with tool strewn about. There is clutter all around his workshop,
with its window’s looking out at the busy streets of Nazareth. In the middle of this busy scene, Joseph is resting at his table, his chin
leaning on his hand as he is deep in thought. We normally think of Joseph as calm, patient, and strong, but this painting is
entitled, “The Anxiety of Joseph.” Whether this painting depicts Joseph the day before the dream with the Angel
Gabriel, or the day after, we can only imagine the anxiety Joseph was feeling
in his life. Yet, in the midst of his reality, Joseph had a message of hope – he had
assurances from God, he had the upcoming birth of his son. Our age can be called an Age of Anxiety as well. Like Joseph, in the midst of our anxiety, we
await Christ’s birth with hope. We also have Pope Francis giving us hope in a message that is welcoming and
that is drawing people to look at the Catholic Church with interest and
excitement. I have hope that we can journey together here at St James as disciples of
Christ with hope, enthusiasm, and joy, not just as individuals, but as a
community. After the Advent and Christmas seasons are behind us, we are going to look at
ways we are called to make our liturgies and our parish more engaging, more
dynamic, more life-giving, more welcoming.
And all are invited to be a part of this journey. It will be exciting at times, and might be
painful and scary at other times. But
both the Lord and Pope Francis are inviting us to do so. We awaiting the coming of our Lord at Christmas. And we await the journey of faith that is
before us.
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