Behold the Wood

Christmas Midnight 2018

Everyone loves the baby Jesus, the Christ Child, in the manger scene. There is something endearing about the story of Mary and Joseph making the trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem only to discover that there was no room in the inn. Even the most hardened heart is touched. The crèche is not just a favourite among the children, one could consider it to be a religious kind of doll house with almost life sized figures, but it also brings out the ‘inner child’ in all of us adults.

The baby Himself is a threat to no one, eliciting nothing but nostalgia and compassion. No wonder Christmas is so popular even among those who would never think of themselves as Christians. No one is offended by the Christmas story, as long as one does not get too preachy or religious about it. But for us, the meaning of the manger is far from a sanitised or romanticised depiction that we see in popular culture. For us Christians, the significance of the manger is found only in the suffering of the Child who was laid to rest within it. Eastern Christians depict the Christ-child not wrapped in swaddling clothes but in funerary embalming strips (making him look like an Egyptian mummy) and the manger is painted to look like a coffin instead of a feeding trough for animals. Strange, you may think. But, what the Eastern Christians wish to illustrate through their iconography is that the manger has no particular significance apart from the cross. Though many, following Lady Gaga’s anthem, would claim that they were “Born this way”, our Lord was “Born Crucified.” The good news is not just that Jesus was born of lowly estate, but rather that He was born to “bear the sins of many.”

We must celebrate this good news at Christmas as well as on Good Friday and Easter. The "Passio Domini", the passion of our Lord is not limited to the three paschal days, from the passion of our Lord at the Mount of Olives until His death on the Cross. In the widest sense the Passion of the Lord really begins with the Incarnation. What the world needs to know is not just that Jesus was laid in a manger at Bethlehem, but that He was laid in a tomb outside of Jerusalem only to rise the third day as proof that His work on earth had been accepted by the Father.

Our Lord chose a manger because He had to face the cross. As He would end His life by undergoing deep humiliation, so He began it. From first to last, Jesus identified with the lowliest of men, for He did not come into the world to command general admiration. Rather, He came to rescue man from sin. Each of us, without exception, is a willful sinner incapable of self-redemption. Our sin divides us from God, who is righteous, and renders us unfit to live eternally in His presence. Yet because we are His own creation, God loves us and desires to enjoy our fellowship forever, and because He loved us, He was willing to send and sacrifice His Only Begotten Son to become one of us, to die for us, in order to save us.

If we have come here for the Christmas mass, hoping to catch a glimpse of the baby Jesus in the manger, have we lost sight of the one, who is nailed to the crucifix that stands before us at the altar? Do we not contemplate the infinite condescension and humiliation of the Lord, the Creator's Son, the Son of God, who did not shrink back from becoming man or from dying on the cross? Is not the search for shelter in an animal stable a way of the Cross for the LORD, who is suffering as He comes into what is his own , but his own people did not receive Him? Is Bethlehem not a Mount of Olives as well, where the Lord and in a special way, the Blessed Virgin Mary and St Joseph as well suffered an agony, as they were not able to find a lodging for the Son of God who was entrusted to them? Is the stable of Bethlehem not a Golgotha as well, where the Lord begins His life in a manger in order to yield it thirty-three years later, on another wood, the wood of the Cross?

The Passion of the Lord began with the Incarnation and continues until to the last chapter of His death on the Cross. The birth and death of the Redeemer, one could say: the Manger and the Cross, are inseparable! Theologically, Christmas needs Easter, and Easter needs Christmas as we put into words our understanding of the Son of God who came amongst us and who died for us. They make sense of one another. Born in the wood of the Manger, the Lord died on another wood, the wood of the Cross - and all this is because of the sin which was committed at the wood of the tree of knowledge in the earthly Paradise. Yes, the child Jesus born this very night, was not just “Born the Son of Mary and Joseph,” “Born King of the Angelic Hosts”. No, He is so much more. He is “Born Crucified.” Let us never forget that in our revelries today.

You may have noticed that this year, our manger scene seems to be competing with another major scene located in the newly refurbished sanctuary of our Church. But technically, there is no competition. This is because the manger points to the cross. Beside the manger stands his mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and his adopted father, St Joseph. Beside our crucifix we have created two tabors or niches to contain the statues of Mother Mary and St Joseph. The position of Mary may make sense as the Fourth Gospel tells us that she was present at the foot of the cross at the time of her son’s crucifixion. But St Joseph’s presence is inexplicable. At the time of our Lord’s crucifixion, St Joseph was according to tradition already dead. Why do churches traditionally depict the parents of Jesus beside the main crucifix, one on his right and the other on his left?

In regards to the placement of Mary, she is on Jesus’ right hand from “his point of view” — that is, from the point of view of someone looking out from the sanctuary. This is in accordance with the Jewish tradition of having the Queen Mother sit at the right hand of the King (1 Kings 2:19). Pope St Pius X confirms this tradition in Ad Diem Illum Laetissimum by declaring “Mary sitteth at the right hand of her Son.” The left side of the church, Mary’s side, was also known as the “Gospel Side” of the church, and the connexion between Mary and the Gospel is explained by understanding that Mary is the “New Eve,” she played a pivotal role in Salvation History. St. Joseph’s presence on the right side is then seen in light of Mary’s privileged role. But the juxtaposition of these two figures flanking the Crucifix is meant to draw us back to the scene of the Incarnation, to the scene of the birth of Christ. Both the manger and the cross are connected – one marks the beginning and the other, the end of His earthly life – and to help us better visualise the connexion of these two events, we have Mary and Joseph who both stand as the principle witnesses.

So, this year as you do every year, enjoy the Christmas season. Sing the carols with joy, and bless others with gifts and laughter. But don’t forget that it is not just the manger that saves us; it is not just the birth of a baby that reconciled us to God, but the death of a man, the Son of God, who came to “save His people from their sins.” Only this message, that offends so many in the world, will save the world. We can only understand the manger, when we see the Cross.

Divine Physicality

Fourth Sunday of Advent Year C

Gnosticism is one of the most ancient philosophies or ideologies known to man. It had its origin in paganism but burst into full flower when several groups who appropriated its teachings eventually broke from early Christianity. Many are not aware that Gnosticism is still quite active and alive. Today, this ideology is found in several religions of the East, in the New Age movement and also in secular modern thought. At the heart of Gnosticism is a hatred of the material world, in particular, the human body. One can already see traces of this in the transgender movement. The pagan Gnostics rejected the material world as the evil creation of an inferior Demiurge, the world-making deity, that later Gnostic heretics identified with Creator God, as revealed in the Old Testament. Against the orthodox understanding of the goodness of all creation, they believed that the material world was irredeemable, and therefore that human redemption meant salvation of the immaterial soul — the divine spark—from its imprisonment. The doctrine of total depravity in Calvinism which has influenced much of Protestantism is quite loosely similar to this notion, thus the Protestant distrust and even rejection of any physical or visible representation of the divine.

All this is of course at odds with our Catholic sensibilities. Catholicism is physical as it is spiritual. Physicality is at the heart of the principle of sacramentality – “outward sign of inward grace” – the invisible concealed and revealed in the visible. Our faith is not about ideas or dead texts found in a book, but about the Word becoming flesh. This is what the Incarnation means – “in the flesh.” It is centered on one born of a woman, born under the Jewish law, to save us not through the promise of future incarnations of our 'spirits', but through the offering of His body once and for all. The ministry of Jesus is to poor human bodies. He opens eyes so that they see, ears so that they hear, and He loosens tongues so that they speak.

Likewise, the scene of the Visitation is pregnant with the physical (forgive the pun). The visitation of Elizabeth by Mary is about bodies: pregnant bodies, a kicking foetus, sounds reaching ears, and mouths speaking. Elizabeth hears and believes and proclaims. Our attention is drawn to her hearing and her speaking. Even the movement of the child within her womb is a revelation. Revelation is communicated to Elizabeth and faith is established in her through physical events: her meeting with Mary, their conversation, John the Baptist leaping in her womb, with the Spirit working through these things. Not just spirit, but spirit and flesh.

Likewise in the second reading from Hebrews we are told that Jesus, on coming into the world, is given a body. By presenting Christ’s taking flesh in this way, Hebrews tell us a number of things about the mystery of the Incarnation. They tell us first about the importance of the body, of Christ’s body. Christmas is a very physical affair. It is about God, who is wholly spiritual and immaterial, sharing in the material bodily lives of our humanity, so that we may have a share in His divinity. It recognises the fact that we are bodily creatures, part of a material creation, and that our bodies and the physical world around us are of real value in the eyes of the God who created them. Our bodies are essential to our common life together, to the way we communicate one with another, and share our lives with each other. All this was affirmed when God communicated with us, spoke with us, by becoming one of us, by taking a human body to Himself from the body of a human mother, when the Word became flesh.

But Hebrews does not tell us only of a body. It tells us about Christ’s activity. Christ has come to do God’s will. The human body, human life, is brought to perfection by the action of Christ. The Son of God, did not just come to heal our bodies but He came to suffer and die, and He rose again, in order to become the source of our salvation. He came not only to save the immortal spiritual soul, but our physical bodies. Here we see how the communion between us and God is restored: Christ takes a body that can die. It is not enough for Him simply to be human, and it is not enough for us simply to be human. He does God’s will, and so brings us the forgiveness of our sins. No longer need we take animals to represent our sacrifice, no longer do we need to make any burnt offerings for sin: it is done in the body of Jesus Christ offered once, and for all, and continues in the offering of ourselves, our bodies, in union with Him in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. We participate by grace in Christ’s offering of Himself, by receiving His body and blood at the altar, and by becoming more deeply as members of His one body, offered in one Spirit to the Father.

Ours then is a physical religion. At its heart is the woman who said 'let what you have said be done to me', and the man who says 'behold I have come to do your will in the body you have prepared for me'. The physicality of the Visitation, and in fact of the other great events in the history of salvation recorded here in the Gospel of St Luke; the Annunciation, the Nativity of our Lord, His Passion, Death and Resurrection, all point to the physicality which we experience whenever we enter our churches. It points us to the tabernacle where not just the soul or divine spirit of Our Lord resides, but where both His soul and divinity, body and blood are physically, really, substantially and continuously present. If you love our Lady, you must love the Eucharist. You see, the primordial tabernacle, the first vessel for Jesus Christ, is the Blessed Virgin Mary.

How do we react when we find ourselves so near to our Lord, to His “physical” presence? John, the child in Elizabeth’s womb, could not contain his joy and leapt, danced, rejoiced at the approach of Jesus. I think it is fair to say that few of us react with such poignant and uncontainable joy when we come close to our Lord. In every Catholic church, there present is Jesus Christ – in His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. Fully, truly, really, and substantially present. This is not a mere symbol, nor even some manner of imperfect presence. Far too often we are guilty of falling scandalously short of appropriate reverence for the Eucharist. Let us pray that we will experience the same excitement as did a child in his mother’s womb.

Apart from St John, we have Mary, our Blessed Mother, the perfect example of devotion to Jesus, of reverence for His Holy Presence. She leads the Church to keep vigil at the crèche, awaiting the birth of her son. Consider the words of Saint Teresa of Calcutta: “In the mystery of the Annunciation and the Visitation, Mary is the very model of the life we should lead. First of all, she welcomed Jesus in her existence; then, she shared what she had received. Every time we receive Holy Communion, Jesus the Word becomes flesh in our life – gift of God who is at one and the same time beautiful, kind, unique. Thus, the first Eucharist was such: Mary’s offering of her Son in her, in whom he had set up the first altar. Mary, the only one who could affirm with absolute confidence, “this is my body”, from that first moment offered her own body, her strength, all her being, to form the Body of Christ.”

I would like to make a final comment on the Feast of the Visitation, which is now celebrated on the 31^st of May every year. In the year 1389, Pope Urban VI extended the celebration of the feast of the Visitation to the entire Church.  It was a tumultuous time for the Church, who was experiencing the effects of the Great Schism – the Church was divided into East and West. Urban VI hoped that Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary would visit the Church and put an end to the turmoil. In our busyness to make preparation for Christmas, let us never forget to ask our Mother to pray for the Church and put an end to the turmoil we are experiencing now.

Gaudete in Domino semper

Third Sunday of Advent Year C

On this, the third Sunday of Advent or Gaudete Sunday, we sense a definite mood change. The austerity of what can be a sombre, though hope-filled penitential season, is replaced by a shift of emphasis. We see a burst of colour appearing at the Mass today as rose-coloured vestments replace the violet and we are enjoined at the Introit to: Rejoice in the Lord and again I say rejoice or Gaudete in Domino semper, hence Gaudete Sunday.  But why this shift in emphasis? We are edging that bit nearer to celebrating the coming of Our Lord at Christmas, that is undeniably true, but also because St John the Baptist is proclaiming the Coming of our Saviour.  ‘I baptise you with water, but someone is coming, someone who is more powerful than I am, and I am not fit to undo the strap of his sandals; he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.’ John’s proclamation is sure and certain, filled with hope and, one must assume, wholly joyful. Can we also feel such joy welling up from the depths of our hearts as we hear this news?

Today’s liturgy summons us to embrace Joy! In fact, it is framed as a commandment in the second reading. St Paul tells the Philippians, “I want you to be happy, always happy in the Lord; I repeat, what I want is your happiness.” But I guess for many of us, the message just doesn’t seem to make any sense, especially when we feel no excitement or exhilaration in our lives.  A lot of us believe that joy or happiness is equivalent to pleasure or having fun or getting what’s on our wish-list. After last week’s reminder that Advent is a time to apply the brakes to immediate gratification, deny ourselves of some of the pleasures of this festive season, mute our carols and dampen our excitement, it’s hard to imagine how Advent can be a season of joy. The solemnity of Advent seems to have taken all the fun out of Christmas.

Our search for pleasure and fun, in fact, has often distracted us from the authentic pursuit of Christian joy. We have become a distracted people. Here’s the root of the problem: we believe that pleasure and fun leads to joy. What we fail to recognise is that one of the roots of the desire for pleasure is the feeling of emptiness and the pain of boredom following from it. In our culture we are conditioned to consume what we want, not what we need. Much of our culture and economy is based on gratifying desires. This is why the endless pursuit of happiness doesn’t necessarily lead to joy. Excess prevents us from being thankful with what we have. We become insatiable. In fact, the cycle of manufacturing and gratifying desire becomes an endless pursuit of happiness. The endless pursuit of happiness often leads to financial burdens that create fear and anxiety. We are sold products that are supposed to eliminate our fear and worry. But rather than eliminate fear and anxiety, this endless pursuit merely puts additional pressure on the desire for gratification.

The painful truth is that life is often not the fairytale we expect. So what do we do when happiness eludes us? Where do we go when we have run out of avenues to manufacture and pursue pleasure and fun – when the effects of drugs, alcohol and sexual debauchery wears out, when the roller coaster ride ends, when the party is over? The answer is simple - We choose joy. But here lies the difficulty, how do we distinguish true joy from mere pleasure and fun? Unlike pleasure and fun which are often selfish and self-centered, joy is always directed outward. Inner joy leads to kindness, generosity, and love. St Paul wrote to his friends at Philippian epistle of joy, in spite of the fact that the Philippians were actually under a lot of financial pressure. In 2 Corinthians, Paul praises the Philippians church: “out of their severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity”. Most people believe that we derive pleasure and happiness from receiving. That is why most kids (and even some adults) think that they can find joy under a Christmas tree. But the wellspring of joy is actually giving. We see generosity at the heart of the Baptist’s preaching in today’s gospel. Three groups of people ask John the Baptist what must they do. John exhorts them to share with those who are needy, be just and fair in our dealings; to refrain from intimidation and extortion to acquire what we want, and finally, to be satisfied with what we have. In other words, the secret of authentic joy comes in being generous, in self-giving and thinking of the other, whereas we lose joy when we are selfish or greedy and think only of our own needs and wants.

It is hard to be happy and joyful when you are greedy and ambitious. When you are never satisfied with what you have, when you are always afraid of losing what you have, when you are jealous of other’s prosperity – it’s really hard to be happy. It is only the man who has discovered God as fulfilling his every heart’s desire, who will be happy. Only God can fill the emptiness in our hearts. Only God can satisfy our deepest longings. Only He can be the source of everlasting joy. It is not found in my hobbies, my relationships, my work, food or entertainment. Nothing is wrong with these, in fact I am glad I can find happiness in so many things; it is a great gift. But here is the irony, this kind of joy doesn’t last. I get so busy manufacturing my own happiness that I fail to desire lasting Joy that comes only from God.

Joy comes from knowing that we are redeemed. As the first reading reminds us, it is the joy of knowing that God has removed the judgment hanging over our heads; it is the joy of knowing that our Lord, our Mighty Saviour is in our midst and that “He will exult with joy over you, he will renew you by his love; he will dance with shouts of joy for you as on a day of festival.” That joy is not found under the Christmas tree. That joy is not found in all the new expensive toys and gadgets and branded clothing we thirst for. That joy is not found in a new job with better pay and prospects. That joy is not in someone that you’ve just met, even though you’re married. That joy is found only at the foot of the cross. Only when we come to recognise the love of God as displayed on the cross - the Son of God who has died for our sins, only then can we experience joy, lasting joy, real joy, the joy of a forgiven sinner, one who has been redeemed from sin and death.  The joy of knowing that my salvation has been won by Christ on the cross and that He will return to complete what He has already begun. If our lack of joy is a consequence of our separation from God, then the reason for our joy is being reunited with Him.

In a little over a week, we will celebrate the most astonishing and wonderful event that is Christ’s birth here in our midst, and the thought of this should truly fill us with such joy and peace. It’s not found in the presents we will find under our tree, or the parties that we are planning to attend, or the carols that we hope to sing. These things can bring us happiness but true joy, real joy, lasting joy, can never be manufactured. So, like the three groups of men who came to see John, we too must ask, “What must we do?” To prepare meaningfully for Christmas can be exceedingly difficult but not impossible. It is made possible because of what the Baptist has announced, “Someone is coming!” In fact, He has already come. The one who has baptised you with “the Holy Spirit and fire,” the one who “has repealed your sentence” and “driven away your enemies” and the very one who is even now “in your midst;” and therefore “you have no more evil to fear!”  This “Someone”, as you already know is Christ. When He fills our lives with His love, joy and peace, nothing can take away these things. With Him at the centre of your lives, nothing, absolutely nothing can take away your joy. Once again, the Church commands us:  “Gaudete in Domino semper: iterum dico, Gaudete. Dominus enim prope est.” “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice. Indeed the Lord is near.”