As many of you know, it took 10 years for me to get back to Virginia. I’ve written about that before. That’s ten years of planning to go into a short three-day trip. On the drive down we had opted to stay at a hotel about halfway there. We looked up restaurants, hotels, and even the Mass/Divine Office Times at a monastery on the way. Because I’m no longer a young man, we also planned rest stops every few hours to get out of the car and stretch. What I found though is the closer I got to my home town, the more excited I was. As we passed landmarks, familiar signs, and even ran into people that reminded me of where I was. I had google maps running but as we came into Kentucky I began to not need it. I knew my way. I just couldn’t stop. So instead we drove all the way through the night just to get there.
That’s where we find Joseph and Mary during Advent. The census has called them home to their ancestral homeland, their ‘home town.’ Whereas we used google maps, the Holy Family had no such luxury. They had to rely on the sunset and sunrise, the moon and the stars, familiar landmarks and roads, and even follow along with the crowd, their cousins and family, in order to get to Bethlehem. They were also expecting a child. While that is exciting, it also means more preparation. It means we need to have things for the journey we don’t need at other times, to have plans in place for rest stops, comfort, and even in the event of the birth.
When we were expecting Moira my family drove up from Virginia to help us out. We got the house cleaned up. Put locks on the cabinets and moved the chemicals to higher, safer places. Put together a new crib they bought us, and a changing table. We had to have bottles, diapers, and baby food… oh my. As the day of her birth became closer, we began to see signs that she was getting closer. The belly got bigger, the appetites changed, and for some reason, I, the husband, got all the morning sickness. I was craving some of the strangest food (who eats french dressing on waffles with whipped cream? This guy!) We knew she was close because it was being revealed by the natural progression of things.
That’s what Advent is all about. The signs show us that the birth of the Savior is coming. Of course, we are celebrating it on the birth of Jesus, but we are also expecting His return. He promised to come back again to get us after preparing a place for us. So Christmas is a time to remember what our faith is all about. The Church is the one who calls us to begin our journey. Reminding us to take time to really think about the Nativity of our Lord. The Bible, the Sacred Scriptures, reminds us in the Liturgy of the Word of how to get there. They are our map, our signpost, to show us how to act and behave to get to Heaven. The homily by the Priest or Deacon break open the Word to explain to us how to apply it to our lives in this day and time. That’s like the Star that guided the Magi to Bethlehem to find Jesus. It is through this progression of our Worship that we are lead to the Source and Summit of our faith, the Eucharist, the Holy Sacrament of the Altar.
The Saints are the family that journey with us. They know the way to the manger, they’ve seen it before. It is in their example that we can be sure that we are on the right path, heading in the right direction. Our faith reminds us that in Heaven Jesus is the light by which we see. That’s why in some Christian art He is depicted as the Sun. Jesus is in a way the sunrise and sunset that remind us what direction we should be heading, and what direction leads to darkness and death. Mary is depicted as the moon. That’s because she in a way that no other ever has, reflects or lets the light of God shine through her. It is in her actions, in her word to always “do whatever He tells you” that we see the will of God expressed fully by the only person to give birth to God, ever.
When we got to Virginia my wife and I had to walk up to the car late at night to get some clothes out for the next day. I was struck by how dark it was. I’ve lived near the city for so long, it’s never really dark. I honestly couldn’t see the ground. It wasn’t disturbing, just difficult to see where we were walking. My brother A.J. came out to help us see. He took out a “1,000,000 candle power light”. (I may be exaggerating that number.) When I mentioned it to a group earlier today, my wife said she could still see it when she shut her eyes. He didn’t point it at the ground, but right at our faces. That reminds us that we as Christians are supposed to be more like the moon, more like Mary, than like that bright light in the dark. If we try to force our light, try to shine it directly in their eyes, not only are we hurting their eyes… but we might make them stumble and fall. They can’t see if they are blinded by the light. A gentle, loving light, one that simply walks along with others, loving them as Christ Himself. That’s when we begin to shine a warm, welcoming light to show the path to Heaven.
All of this reminds us that while Christmas is indeed a time to remember what the birth and Incarnation of Jesus is all about, it is something we should be focusing on every single day of the year. The Mass is in a way Christmas every day, and Easter too. We gather together and in the procession, we watch as our family makes its way into the Sanctuary. They are journeying toward Bethlehem, towards Heaven, where it all begins. The Liturgy of the Word prepares us by pointing toward what comes next, being the star that guides us like the Magi to find Jesus in the manger. The word for manger means bread, a place of feeding animals, where we ourselves are brought together with all of creation to worship God Himself. Then in the Eucharist, we receive the greatest gift we can ever offer our children, our families. Jesus Christ Himself. Body and blood. Soul and divinity. He becomes incarnate in the Host, to come live in our bodies as living temples of the Living God.
Christmas. Christ’s Mass. It’s coming, are you being a star? A gentle moon-like light that points with Mary and the Saints toward Heaven?
(In Sunday school today I gave this talk to all of the kids who were able to attend. Today was our Family day. After the talk, we had a craft for the little kids to do. It was to make a star to remind them to be looking toward Jesus in the Mass. The image above is the star that our daughter made. It’s hanging on the tree at home now as a reminder of what it’s all about.)
A reflection on the readings for Sunday, December 22, 2019: Fourth Sunday in Advent.