Bob Jensen

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.”

 

I write this after having returned from the funeral of Fr. John Renggli. He was a person filled with the joy of the Kingdom. Rarely, if ever, did I hear him say anything negative about someone. He always looked for the positive in the other. He had a self-deprecating sense of humor, quick to laugh at his own foibles. Even during the last few years as he slowly lost his memory he still pulsated with joy in the present moment.

I mention all this because today we celebrate Gaudete Sunday, lighting the pink candle of the wreath. Gaudete is a Latin word meaning to rejoice. Although we continue to wait for Christ’s coming it is almost as if we can’t contain the joy that lies therein. May we be people who know of the joy of the Lord.

 

This Advent Sunday we hear the fiery preaching of John the Baptist, introduced for the first time in the Gospel of Matthew. It almost goes without saying that John the Baptist is Jewish, and he is preaching to fellow Jews. But because he is considered a Christian saint, it’s possible to overlook that he is a Jewish prophet calling the Jewish people to repentance, as prophets had done for centuries before. He directly confronts the Pharisees and Sadducees, name-calling them a “Brood of vipers.” They are not to rest assured in their being part of the chosen people of God, the children of Abraham. For God can raise up children of Abraham from the stones. This message is so stark it nearly needs to be recast to our own day for those of us who might feel secure in our Christian or Catholic identity.  We can hear John telling us that God can make Christians from the stones. There is no inherent value of guarantee of salvation simply by being Christian. Such a statement is shocking. But John would say something more is demanded. We are to repent, for the kingdom is at hand.

We are familiar with the stories of John the Baptist and his preaching. But when we read them with careful attention to detail, new meaning pops from the page. Let us not grow complacent in the face of such a baptism. John’s baptism only prefigures that of Jesus, the mightier one. An interior renewal is called for. Resting in our identity as chosen by God, even as a Christian, is not enough.

 

As we approach Thanksgiving Day it is important for us to pause and reflect on our own sense of gratitude for all that we have. The Gospel story of the healing of the ten lepers illustrates the importance of thankfulness. Although it was not imperative in their actually healing (faith is), it separated the nine from the tenth who recognized what had happened and returned to show his deep gratitude. Not only had Jesus freed him from his physical contagion; he also validated the Samaritan as a human being worthy of respect even if he was a foe of the Jews. He was given a second chance at life. Whereas the others returned to their old ways of living, this Samaritan was now free to walk a different path, namely one which followed Jesus with a new vision. Our healing may not be as dramatic but may we recognize that Jesus is inviting us to a whole new way of life. May we be people of thankfulness seeing the world anew.

It never fails that when we have had a lapse of a few months without a funeral that they come in threes. This is happening in November no less which is the month we especially remember the dead. Two of these funerals involved daily mass attendees. Bill Arrigoni whose funeral was November 8th was a faithful steward whose wife Madeleine died about 13 years ago. Bill always refused to go out for coffee with the ladies after daily Mass. He felt that it would be disloyal to Madeleine. He was loyal to the very end. Wanda Serbesku whose funeral is November 21st was a sweetheart. I will always remember her loving support over the years, especially remembering my birthday and anniversary. I will greatly miss Bill and Wanda. Well done, good and faithful servants.