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| Fourth Sunday of Advent |
| December 21, 2003 |
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| Gospel Reading
according to Luke 1:39-45 |
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Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of
Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with
the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said, "Blessed are you among
women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord
should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my
ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by
the Lord would be fulfilled." |
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| It's
hard to believe that the Advent season, time of preparation and awaiting is coming to its
end or rather its fulfillment. Even St. John the Baptist, who was our guide through those
past four weeks is giving us a break. Today's Gospel reading is much different from what
we've heard this far, it's joyful and announces the Good News we've been waiting for. The
news that we will celebrate in a few days, news that changed the dynamics of the entire
world two thousand years ago. |
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to this point the Advent season was filled with gospel readings and reflections that were
supposed to help us to understand our place in the universe, our relationships with other
people, our beliefs and our faith. Today's reading is about faith. Because that's what it
all comes down to. Faith makes us the kind of people we want to be, people of hope, people
of courage and power, people of joy, people of God. Blessed is she who trusted that the
Lord's words to her would be fulfilled, said Elizabeth to Mary, and so are we. |
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us then take a moment and take a closer look at our faith. In order to do that I would
like to invite all of you on a short trip to the distant town of Niagara Falls. It won't
be necessary however to change our physical location. |
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| I'd
like you to sit back for a moment and become part of a story. You are at Niagara Falls and
part of a crowd of people who have come to view the magnificent falls. You notice this
tightrope extending across the Falls and a man approaching it, pushing a wheelbarrow full
of what looks like heavy rocks. You and the people around you gather together near him and
you hear him announce that he is going to cross this tightrope pushing the wheelbarrow
full of bricks. You, being the caring person you are and wishing no harm to this man,
shout out, Man, you can't do that. You'll fall and kill yourself. C'mon, be sensible. The
man looks at you and says, Oh I can do it, you just watch! |
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| Everyone
around you starts talking and wondering what this seemingly crazy man has in mind. The man
takes his wheelbarrow and starts to make his way across the tightrope which stretches over
the Falls. You watch very carefully and notice that you are sweating as he takes each
step, at times looking like he's going to fall. He makes it to the other side and turns
around throwing his hands in the air and wearing a big smile. Then he grabs the
wheelbarrow again and makes his way back, and again you wait with worry until he reaches
ground again. The crowd claps and cheers the man as he slowly walks up to you, the
doubter. He says to you, Now do you believe that I can do it? You say, Well, yes, I do. He
asks again, Do you really believe I can do it? You say, I told you - yes I believe you can
do it. At that, the man empties the wheelbarrow full of bricks, looks at you and smiles
and says, OK. Now, you get in the wheelbarrow! |
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want you to just hold on to what you are feeling in response to that invitation which
challenges your very words of belief. Are you a little scared, or dumbfounded? |
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| If
you could now imagine that the man with the wheelbarrow is much like our God - who seems
to always offer us new challenges - new ways of stretching or increasing our trust - and
often simply saying, Get in the wheelbarrow without a lot of time for processing. |
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| If
you're hesitant a little and unsure you're not alone. It's an invitation to participate in
a journey of faith, not knowledge and certainty that can be verified at any point by
anybody. If you want to come along you have to have an open heart, you have to be able to
love and respect others, you have to trust, and you have to display a desire for what's
beautiful, what's good, and what's true. You also have to have a clear mind and a good
doze of common sense so that you be critical about what you hear and what you see. You
have to be able to use your own experience to differentiate what is true and pure from
what could be an attempt to manipulate and undermine your beliefs and convictions. |
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| If
you can fulfill those requirements you will accept faith as a gift and grace. Our faith is
indeed a gift God entrusted in our hands. And God demands from us a responsible approach. |
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| Faith
is like a flower, it can be very beautiful and attractive but we have to see to it that it
receives the needed nourishment for proper growth and development. Only then will we be
able to appreciate its beauty and fragrance. Only then will we experience its power. Only
then will we be able to see that faith indeed can do miracles in our lives. Because,
blessed are we who trust that the Lord's words to us would be fulfilled. |
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| Let
our faint be a proper response to God who trusted us enough to let his Son become one of
us. Let us not be afraid of the wheelbarrow it won't fall off the tightrope because it's
God who is pushing it. |
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| Advent homily by
Fr. Mark Kalwak, SVD |
| Light
your Christmas
Prayer Candle |
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| Mission
Mass League |
Mission Rosary |
Prayer
eCandles |
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| ©2002 Society of
the Divine Word, USA Western Province - All Rights Reserved |
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