Gospel Reflections for December 17 2017
The Voice of One
John has a great message in today’s Gospel that someone is coming who will make all things new. I am sure that people then must have felt, “Well, it is about time!”
The ancient world had so many problems. The people felt oppressed by both Roman soldiers and even their own leaders. They felt crushing poverty, disease, warfare, and frequent famine. Life was tough! Thank God, they felt, that someone was coming to make all things new.
Today, I hear many comments from parishioners about the state of the world, our nation, and even our state as well. People worry about North Korea, the Middle East, the continual allegations of harassment, and most especially, the tremendous political divide in our country. Everything is taken so personally, with feelings hurt and friendships ended.
You do not have to be a great detective to discover evil and badness in the world. However, a person with the heart of Christ can still see what is good in our world, and there is plenty of goodness to see for those with that Christ-like heart.
John saw the same evil world then as we do today, yet why is he so hopeful? His heart is open to God’s grace, and it allowed him to recognize God still loves this world, despite the mess we have made of things. Even if he was the only “voice crying out in the wilderness” he would not stop speaking of the goodness of God. He proudly proclaims that God still wants to send His Son to us.
Rather than focusing on all that is bad, John sees the love of God who will come to this dangerous planet to share His life with us.
Can we expect that the Savior John mentions will solve everything? Yes, we can, because Jesus did arrive and has already inspired many. The spirit of the Lord is upon so many people here at St. Bruno, in those who adopt-a-family for Christmas, who donate food, who volunteer in our religious education programs, or school events, or our outreach programs for the poor, or serve as ministers at Mass. He is with those who fight fires and protect us overseas in the military too.
You can be that “one voice” in whatever activity you are involved in that will not be silenced by the difficult state of the world. You are called today to be that one voice.
That will change everything!
God Bless!
Fr. Dave
Dear Father Dave,
I think of the vibrant and melancholy sound of a train, whistling in the night, moving toward its destination and announcing its presence as it penetrates the soul. It makes us think. Remember. Perhaps in its own way, it’s the voice crying out in the wilderness….
God bless you for all that you do.
Kathleen
Beautiful image of the train in the night.
Loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee your beautiful words!! Each one of us has to touch the world with our Jesus’ precious love, in word, in deed, in action!! Dick and I sooooooooooooooooooo loveeeeeeeee our precious faith of love and joy!!! Every day we will try to bring our loving Faith, our precious Jesus, our beautiful Blessed Mother to our world and make it beautiful!!! You inspire us to loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!
Merry Christmas Father Dave!!
We loveeee you!!
Loveee, franca and Dick
Well said!
While there are many things going on in the world that may cause me concern, it’s good to keep in mind that “God still loves this world despite the mess.” That’s an amazing kind of love and it helps me open up to the reality that God’s grace is present in my own day-to-day “mess”. Thank you for your encouraging words.
Yes, God still loves this crazy world, …and us in it!
Fr. Dave
We had our Choirs Christmas Concert last night. One song that we sang was “All My Heart This Night Rejoices”. Another was
Gaudete, gaudete, Christus est Natus Ex Maria Virgine. Gaudete. For joyful Gaudete Sunday. Even Silent Night in German, Spanish, Korean and Zulu proclaim the coming of Christ as the voice crying out in the wilderness.
There is much goodness in the
world!!!
God Bless the World with Peace
Yes, I think that music truly can express the best in humanity, especially Christmas music.
Father Dave,, Thank you for your good words, as always. Yes, the world is always beautiful, as it is God’s World, and each of us must be the ‘one voice’, as you said, crying like John in the desert of our world which has often been poisoned, but not wholly, by the sinfulness of all of us. The worries and furies of friends and family, infected with hostilities against the Pope , or the President, or anyone else who comes to mind, have distracted us today,. We are losing our focus in Advent, a season of joyful expectation. I am grateful to you for your weekly focus on Faith to help us keep our balance. Merry Christmas Father Dave to you and your brother priests and deacons and parishioners.. Madeleine Sorensen
Merry Christmas!
Thank you Father Dave for the reflection on John the Baptist. At grouping this morning the topic came up of the miraculous conversion of the Indians of Mexico when the Virgin of Guadalupe appeared. We are talking big numbers of people here. I think that is inspiration for great hope. Those Indians are alleged to have been pagans with evil practices. So like John, we should be able to hope for the conversion of evildoers and peace on earth.
Yes, nine million converts in ten years. Amazing what Mary’s intercession did for the America’s then.
i have so much hope in the message of Jesus
thank you and God bless
love
alejandro
Merry Christmas!
I like your emphasis on all the good things that are happening in spite of all
chaos and upheaval around us. It seems that the divine spark within us lights up
as we respond in kind to help.
We also see the impact that evangelization is having on the lives of people as we tap into
the many sources that are available to us, especially Bishop Barron.
Like John the Baptist in one heart and mind they are preparing the way of the Lord.
Well said!
Hi Fr. Dave, I enjoy your practical advice not just for Holy Days but every day. We need to apply our faith to our daily lives. A unique way to maintain “peace of mind” is Adjectival! Each time I face secular articles and try to evaluate the value of the content, I pay little if any attention to the name or identity of the author. God has gifted each human being with unique gifts aligned very closely to why He created us at this time and put us on earth where we walk among those He wants us to evangelize. If or when we begin to take anecdotal information to influence others against another, we help feed the hate and fear that infects our neighborhoods, our schools, and our country. Adjectives used to define a topic oral or written can often be spotted by the Headline or content…”Once Popular ( Model or Athlete) Runs for Office”…”Former Priest Marries Former High School Sweetheart”…turn the page.
Judy Tomsic
Yes, …turn the page whenever you read a biased headline. We never want to let those with little love or faith affect our love and faith.