Come, O Come, Emmanuel

Earlier this week, I posted an invitation to add your name to a letter the Interfaith Peace Network of Western New York is sending to President Obama calling for an end to the war in Afghanistan.  Included among the 574 who signed the petition (so far) were 432 parishioners from St. Joseph University Parish, Buffalo, NY. 

I truly admire the passion and commitment to Christ's invitation those precious people expressed. 

They, who were stirred to action by clergy who see the role of the church in carrying out Christ's invitation to peace, have demonstrated that rare and beautiful courage the world so dearly needs today.  Among those inspirational clergy is Ted Pijacki, deacon, who gave the following homily last Sunday.  

Ted is a man of many wise words, has written several books, taught on both the college and high school levels, has served the Diocese of Buffalo as director of formation for the diaconate and is passionate about peace.  His homilies so ardently shared at the parish have often inspired action on a number of important spiritual and political imperatives.  This is one I just had to share with you. I hope his eloquence will also inspire you to do as his parishioners have done and sign the peace petition (see Monday's blog).

My Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Christmas is about having memories as well as creating memories. Today’s readings are about memories of Emmanuel - which translates as God with us. This name goes back 1000’s of years and is brought into our consciousness as an important focus for Christmas. 

As I think back to Christmas as a child and then later with our own children, I have a memory of gifts piled under the Christmas tree. There was a tremendous sense of mystery, wondering what was hidden under the mask of wrapping paper and bows.

What looks like chaos under the tree is actually very orderly as tags on each gift indicate who it is for and who it is from. And then the bows and wrapping paper fly off the presents and we have chaos again.

And everyday as I go to the mailbox I marvel at the fact that millions, if not billions, of greeting cards, catalogues and credit card bills, are chaotically dumped into the postal service stations and miraculously, one or two days later they travel across the city or nation and arrive in an orderly fashion at their proper destination.

Our readings today explore that tension between order and chaos. Most people like a life with some degree of order. We like to know where we are headed, what dates and times we have scheduled appointments to avoid conflict and chaos as much as possible.  

The simple gift that we give to you, of a parish calendar is a valuable tool to help bring order into our lives. But even with calendars and planning, the unexpected sometimes happens and chaos can take over. Look at poor St. Joseph. He probably had a sense of where his life was headed, what his hopes and dreams were for Mary and his carpentry business. And then Mary shows up pregnant with a child that is not his.  

Out of that chaos Joseph can restore order by divorcing her or having her stoned. But then he has that mysterious encounter with the angel who reminds him that throughout history – Emmanuel – God has been with us and is now with him in this chaotic situation. And so he is to name him Jesus, meaning God is salvation in times of chaos.  

While what happened to Joseph in its specifics, being called to be guardian of the Messiah, is clearly not part of our experience, most of us find at some point in life, perhaps sometime in the past year, our orderly plans for life are drastically changed.  

It might be through the loss of a job, sickness, financial misfortunes, divorce or an unplanned pregnancy; it could be troubles with children or the death of a loved one that turns our world upside down. Order gives way to chaos and it usually doesn’t seem to have anything HOLY about it.  

This is exactly where the story of Joseph and the life that he lived from this point of chaos can help us. When those chaotic disturbances impact our lives we can ask: Where is God in all of this? What might God be calling me to do with this chaotic situation to restore order, so that it becomes an opportunity for God to act through me?  

In times of chaos, our mantra might be the Advent refrain, Come, O Come Emmanuel. During Advent we hear about John the Baptist which reminds each one of us that through your own baptism, God is with you, God is in you and God works through you.  

While our Gospel tells us that Joseph passed the Emmanuel – God with us – test, our first reading tells us that King Ahaz failed that test miserably. The prophet Isaiah reminds the King that it is God who brings order and peace to our lives and not the proposed military alliance that the King sought with the Assyrians.  

Isaiah demanded that King Ahaz trust in God’s protection and not fear the warring states. In the prophet’s mind faith is not simply going through the motions of an interior assent to a series of creeds and beliefs. Rather, faith is a posture of confidence in how he acts based on the premise that God is more present than are enemy forces. And so in 734 BC Isaiah announced to King Ahaz the Emmanuel prophecy – that the pregnant woman is a sign that God is with us and that the king should move away from war.  

As our bulletin insert last week reminds us: throughout Advent we hear the words of Isaiah: For unto us a child is born and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor and Prince of Peace. 

This long history of Emmanuel – God with us – from the days of Abraham to Moses and the Exodus; from Isaiah and the War Years to Jesus born in the poverty of a manger; from the writing of the New Testament to our world today – calls us to recommit our lives to what enriches life and not to what diminishes it.  

We proclaim our faith in the way that we live our lives; in the kindness with which we treat others; when we stand for justice; and when we show compassion to those who are suffering and struggling.  

Former President Dwight Eisenhower, who saw the horrors of war firsthand, sounds prophetic in the quote written in last week’s insert:

"Every gun that is made,

Every warship that is launched, 

 

Every rocket fired, signifies,

In the final sense,

A theft from those who hunger and are not fed, 

those who are cold and are not clothed. 

Living with a war economy is not a way of life at all, 

in any true sense. Rather, it is humanity 

hanging on a cross of iron." [Dwight D. Eisenhower 1958] 

Today your voice – the voice of Emmanuel – can speak out if you believe in the sign of the woman with child, by signing the petition asking the President and the WNY Congressional Delegation to end the war in Afghanistan, in the Community Room after Mass. It is a real opportunity to speak for the Prince of Peace.  

None of us is called simply to exist in this world as some neutral force that won’t affect the world around us. It is impossible to be that – because we are constantly affecting the lives of others whether we are aware of it or not.  

The question then is, “What difference will I make in this world? Will I use not just my time, talent and treasure to make Emmanuel’s presence known, but will I use the daily opportunities of my life to achieve that end? Will I bring order where there is chaos?”  

A simple carpenter from Nazareth did, and it made all the difference in the world.