Bob Jensen

Today we celebrate many things, namely the National Day of Prayer for the African American Family, the World Day for Consecrated Life, Groundhog Day, World Wetlands Day, and SuperBowl Sunday. Liturgically we celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord when Mary and Joseph bring their newborn child, Jesus to the temple. As narrated in Luke’s gospel “Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord, and to offer the sacrifice of a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons, in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.”

 

Simeon and Anna saw much more to this scene than a common couple fulfilling the Law. Simeon takes the child in his arms and says “nunc dimittis”- “Now you can dismiss  your servant, O Lord for I have seen it all!” Now that the Messiah has come he can die in peace. Hopefully we too are ready for death because we have received Jesus into our lives by welcoming the most vulnerable in our society

This week I will be on my annual retreat in Seaside, Oregon. I’ve always loved being near the ocean. It provides a wonderful setting for rest, reflection, getting some exercise, and some good food. Last year I was surprised to learn that a waitress remembered me coming year after year. In fact, when I was leaving she said, “I’ll see you next year.” I will be sure to lift all of you in prayer. Also pray for me. I hope to solidify some of my dreams for my future retirement. May the Lord bless you in every way.

In putting together my reading list for the winter months I’m trying to have a good mix of both spiritual, fiction, and non-fiction. A few of them are as follows: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon, the seventh book of The Eye of the World series by Robert Jordan, Heaven’s Prisoners by James Lee Burke, Into Your Hands, Father by Wilfred Stinssen, The Rabbit Angstrom novels by John Updike, The Education of Henry Adams by Henry Adams, Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban, and Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Let me know which book tickles your fancy.

Just a reminder that I have a box of books in my office that are yours for the taking.

 

It is only fitting that our 29th anniversary of our parish falls in the weekend on which we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Our patron John is taken aback at the request of Jesus for baptism. But as a sign of his solidarity with sinners, Jesus went through with it. He was awakened to his child of God identity and then went forth to awaken others to that same fact. May we pray especially for our parish community that we might live out our mission statement “the Catholic Community of St. John the Baptist, where stewardship’s a way of life, and the diversity of our gifts is used to answer Christ’s call to proclaim and live the Gospel.”

Thank you for your wonderful Christmas gifts. I appreciate your kind generosity. May the Lord bless you and your family this new year in every way

 

On the Sunday of the Epiphany of the Lord, we hear about gifts in the gospel reading. The image of gift is an appropriate one since today, on  Epiphany Sunday, we acknowledge and celebrate the gift of God’s saving grace offered to everyone in the birth of his Son Jesus.

Each Epiphany Sunday, the Gospel reading is Matthew’s account of the visit of the Magi. Three important truths are revealed in this sacred story. First, God alone directs salvation history. King Herod tried to exercise control over the newborn Christ, assembling the chief priests and scribes of the people and meeting secretly with the Magi in an attempt to conceal his true motives to harm the infant. But God protected the baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph ,and the Magi, directing all of them to safety. A second revealed truth is that God prepared us for this gift through the words of the Jewish prophets. We hear that the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem fulfills what the prophet Micah had foretold nearly eight centuries earlier: “Bethlehem...from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel” (see Micah5:1). A third revealed truth is that Jesus is God’s gift to all nations. The Magi who brought gifts to Jesus are traditionally identified as Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar. These three astrologers from the East represented the other major nations of the world in the time of Christ.

 

Epiphany celebrates what the visit of the Magi reveals to us: God’s gift—the gift of his newborn Son—is a gift offered to all people, for which god has long-prepared the world.

 

Although we have two days left  in Advent season I can’t help but  wish all of you a blessed Christmas season. In his apostolic exhortation  Evangelic gaudium, Pope Francis reminds us: “The joy of the gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. Those who accept his offer of salutation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness and loneliness. With Christ joy is constantly born anew.” This reminder that joy is born anew is in essence what we celebrate at Christmas-not the birthday of Jesus, but rather the Incarnation of the Word made flesh, when God broke into human life to take on human flesh in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. Indeed the words of Isaac Watts’ traditional Christmas carol are true, “Joy to the world, the Lord is come.”