*****
“There has been none greater than John the Baptist…”
Francis de Sales considered John the Baptist to be one of the greatest saints because his life and mission were not to draw the attention of people to himself but to point to another. In his Sermon for the Second Sunday of Advent, the Doctor of Love - in speaking of John the Baptist - states, “He did not want to draw disciples to himself, but only to his Teacher, to whose school he now sends them so that they might be instructed personally by Him.” (The Sermons of St. Francis de Sales for Advent and Christmas, edited by Lewis S. Fiorelli OSFS)
Jane de Chantal also comments on the example of humility we find in John the Baptist.
“I would say that St. John never spoke in a more admirable manner than when he was asked who he was, for he always relied by a humble negative; and when he was obliged to answer positively, he said that he was only a voice, as much as to say that he was nothing; word in truth, well worthy of a prophet and of the great among them.” (“Exhortation XV”, St. Jane Frances Frèmyot De Chantal: Her Exhortations, Conferences and Instructions, Translated by Katherine Brègy)
In this holy season of Hope and Expectation, we can focus our attention on the model of John the Baptist who pointed the way to Christ. On our daily “earthly pilgrimage” to the fullness of the Kingdom, our lives and witness to Christ should not draw attention to ourselves but lead others to come to know and to encounter Christ. Like John, we are His messengers and ambassadors.
Today, in a spirit of humility, may we recognize that God uses each of us as His instruments to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ to others.
*****
“Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” In his book This Saint’s for You! Thomas Craughwell writes:
“On December 9, 1531, Juan Diego – a Nahua Indian who had recently converted to Christianity – was on his way to Mass when he heard singing on the summit of Tepeyac Hill. Curious to discover the source of the music, he followed a trail up the hill and at the summit met a young woman: dark-skinned, beautifully dressed and standing amid dazzling light. Speaking to Juan in Nahuatl (his own language), she introduced herself and instructed him to go to the bishop of Mexico City and tell him to build a church in her honor on the spot. Twice he attempted to persuade the bishop to do as Mary had asked; twice, the bishop turned him away. Juan wasn’t surprised that the bishop didn’t take him seriously: after all, he was a poor peasant. Juan urged Mary to ask someone with more status to deliver her message. Instead, Mary promised to give the bishop a sign that would prove to everyone for all time that what Juan Diego has reported was true. So, she commanded him to return to Tepeyac and gather flowers there. At the top of the hill he discovered gorgeous Castilian roses, growing six months out of season. He picked the flowers until his cloak was full. Them he carried them back to Marty, who took each rose in her hand before replacing it in Juan Diego’s cloak.”
“Tucking the edges of his cloak so that not a single rose would fall out, Juan hurried to the bishop’s palace where he was meeting with some of his chaplains and several servants. Juan entered the room and said, ‘You asked for a sign. Now look.’ He opened his cloak and the magnificent roses cascaded onto the floor. But more astonishing than the roses was the image on his cloak: a perfect portrait of the Virgin Mary as Juan had seen her, beautifully dressed and with the dark complexion of an Indian. The bishop became convinced and built a church on Tepeyac Hill and enshrined the miraculous image over the high altar.” (This Saint’s for You!, pp. 370 – 371)
We can all relate to Juan Diego. After all, haven’t each of us wondered from time to time in our lives how – or why – God has chosen us to be instruments of His will, sources of His hope and bearers of His Good News? Haven’t we ever suggested – perhaps not in so many words – that God would do better in selecting people with “more status” to give voice to God’s will for the people He loves and cherishes so much?
Juan Diego - however reluctantly – became convinced that what was spoken to him by the Lord (through His mother!) would be fulfilled. How much do we need to be convinced that what we speak on behalf of the Lord will be fulfilled?
And, yes, even through us?
*****
“Which of the two did his father’s will?”
Talk is cheap. One incurs no cost at all when simply saying what one will do. It’s a different situation all together when it comes down to someone actually doing what they said that they would do.
There is something of both sons (from today’s Gospel) inside of each of us. It’s easy to initially “yes” somebody to death, only not to follow through in the end. By contrast, it’s also easy to say “no” to something, only to eventually come around and follow through in the end.
Let’s face it. Sometimes we do the right thing for all the wrong reasons. Sometimes we do the right thing only as a last resort. Sometimes we do the right thing because it’s the only option we have left. Sometimes, we do what we know is right against our will.
How can you do the Father’s will today? By - however reluctantly or enthusiastically - doing it, rather than merely talking about it.
*****
In his book This Saint’s for You, Thomas J. Craughwell writes:
“John of the Cross had joined the Carmelite order and was ordained a priest just at the time that St. Teresa began her reform of the order’s nuns and friars. Many convents and priories had grown lax. The old austerity had given way to opulent furnishings and expensive food and wine: gossiping with visitors took precedence over prayer. Teresa won the approval of the superiors of Spain’s Carmelites, as well as of King Philip II, to restore the Carmelites’ original principles. But not all the friars wanted to be reformed, and they took out their frustration on Teresa’s chaplain, confessor and protégé, John of the Cross. In 1577 a band of renegade Carmelites kidnapped John and imprisoned him in their priory in Toledo. He spent nearly nine months locked inside a tiny cell with only a three-inch-wide slit for a window. His friar-jailers gave him so little food he almost starved to death. He was refused water for washing and his habit became infested with lice; he was denied candles to dispel the gloom or a fire to warm him in winter. He was brutally flogged, bearing the terrible scars for the rest of his life.”
“Terrified of being locked up forever, John took refuge in meditation, mentally composing some of his finest mystical poems. He also plotted his escape. By mid-August 1578, he managed to dismantle the lock on his cell door and made a rope by tying together strips torn from his blankets. Late one night he crept out of his cell, hurried to the parapet and used his makeshift rope to climb down the priory’s outer wall. Weak and disorientated, John called upon the Blessed Virgin Mary for help. She must have heard his plea because after staggering through the city he found himself at the door of one of Teresa’s convents. Once the nun’s recognized him, they brought him inside their enclosure (something normally forbidden under both Church and civil law). When the friar-jailers and local police arrived looking for John, they searched everywhere except in the enclosure.”
“Once he had regained his health and strength, John wanted to return to his quiet life, but civic and religious leaders prevented this from ever happening. First he served as head of a college; next he was prior of a Carmelite house; and then he was made one of the superiors of the order in Spain. Since he had to be out among people, John took the opportunity to teach others about the joy of meditation. ‘Contemplation,’ he taught, ‘is nothing else but a secret, peaceful and loving infusion of God, which, if admitted, will set the soul on fire with the Spirit of love.’” (This Saint’s for You! pp. 268-269)
John of the Cross learned the wisdom of meditating on the Lord’s law day and night the hard way.
Here’s hoping we learn the same lesson with a lot less difficulty!
*****
“I will praise you Lord, for you have rescued me.”
God has indeed rescued us. He has rescued us in so many ways. We might not think about it much, but the most fundamental way in which God has rescued us is by creating us – each and every one of us - out of love for us. Francis de Sales wrote:
“Consider that a certain number of years ago you were not yet in the world and that your present being was truly nothing. My soul, where were we at that time? The world had already existed for a long time, but of us there was yet nothing.”
“God has drawn us out of that nothingness to make us what we are now and God has done so solely out of his own goodness…”
“Consider the nature God has given to us. It is the highest in this visible world; it is capable of eternal life and of being perfectly united to his Divine Majesty.” (IDL, I, Chapter 9, p. 53)
It would be enough to praise God for having rescued us from nothingness. So much the more should we praise God for the lives God has given us - lives capable of being united forever with Him in this world and in the world to come.
How can we praise the Lord today?
*****
“Observe what is right; do what is just.”
In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales exhorted:
“Be just and equitable in all your actions. Always put yourself in your neighbor’s place and put your neighbor in yours: then you will judge rightly. Imagine yourself the seller when you buy and the buyer when you sell: you will sell and buy justly. We lose nothing by living generously, nobly, courteously and with a royal, just and reasonable heart. Resolve to examine your heart often to see if it such toward your neighbor as you would like your neighbor’s to be toward you were you in your neighbor’s place. This is the touchstone of true reason.” (IDL III, Chapter 36, p. 217)
As sons and daughters of God, we are made in God’s image and likeness. We are to judge – and live – by God’s standards, i.e., to do what is right and just. May this same God give us the grace we need to live “generously, nobly, courteously and with royal, just and reasonable hearts”.
How well are we living by God’s standards in our relationships with one another?
*****
“The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ…”
“Genealogy (from Greek: γενεά, genea, “generation”; and λόγος, logos, “knowledge”) is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members. The results are often displayed in charts or written as narratives. The pursuit of family history tends to be shaped by several motivations, including the desire to carve out a place for one’s family in the larger historical picture, a sense of responsibility to preserve the past for future generations, and a sense of self-satisfaction in accurate storytelling.” (Wikipedia)
Today’s opening chapter from the Gospel of Matthew is Scripture’s version of Ancestry.com. Bridging the Old and New Testaments, it outlines the “genealogy of Jesus Christ”. As such, it carves out a place for Jesus within the larger picture of salvation history. As such, it strives to preserve names from past generations for future generations. As such, it tries to tell the story of Jesus’ predecessors as accurately as possible. As such, it attempts to provide as much information it can about the kinship and pedigree of those who came before Jesus.
Many of us assume that the “genealogy of Jesus Christ” ends with Jesus Christ. We assume that the story ends with the third set of fourteen generations. Nothing could be further from the truth! The “genealogy of Jesus Christ” isn’t limited to the names of his predecessors. It continues to this very day in the names of his followers. It continues in the present generation – in the lives of people like you and me.
Today, how can we live up to our God-given pedigree? How can we give convincing witness of our divine kinship? How can we demonstrate that we are sons and daughters of God – brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ?
