Advent Invites Us Home Talk at St. Peter s Dec. 2014 A few weeks ago I was in conversation with someone who had been at St John s soon after we became a Catholic Parish back in 2011. He caught the eye of someone he knew and was surprised to see him at St. John s and so asked him: what are you doing here. His response captures what I want to focus on with you this evening in my Advent Meditation. He simply said: I am home. Now of course at one level by saying he was home this person was saying I am in my home parish. But at another level he meant so much more. Here was someone, who like me, had not always been a Roman Catholic, having formerly been an Anglican. Becoming Catholic helped him to discover what it meant to now be home. This reminds me of Scott Hahn s conversion story written with his wife Kimberly in Home Sweet Rome or the apostolate run by Marcus Grodi; The Coming Home Network, where Protestants, atheists, agnostics and others exploring Catholicism receive much support. In Home Sweet Rome Scott Hahn describes, in a chapter entitled, One Comes Home to Rome what it meant for him as he came closer to conversion to Catholicism: The Holy Spirit was revealing that the Catholic Church, which used to horrify me so much, was really my home and my family. There was an exhilarating sense of homecoming as I discovered my father, mother, my older brothers and sisters. 1 I have discovered since becoming Catholic in July 2012 that this experience of homecoming has been palpable for me too. For years as an Anglican I had a feeling of dislocation and an experience of estrangement 1 Kreeft, P. (1993). Foreword. In Rome Sweet Home: Our Journey to Catholicism (p. 87). San Francisco: Ignatius Press.
and confusion and I felt like a distant relative who didn t really belong. Or kind of like the black sheep of the family who was always stirring up trouble and other family members were kind of embarrassed to have me around. As a Catholic I now realize I am part of the biggest family in the world, and although there are more than a billion brothers and sisters whom we call our next of kin, I have never known in such a personal what it means to be home, to be in the family. In thinking about this theme of Home I realized how apropos it is for Advent. As we continue our journey through Advent we are invited to think about the meaning of the Incarnation. At the heart of the Jesus Story is the theme of family which finds a concentrated focus in the Holy Family. Their home is the one we enter into and share with them as we discover more fully our place within the Home of the Church. But this theme of the Home is not only brought to mind when we think of the coming of Jesus 2000 years ago. It is also a theme that looks to the end of time, when after the Second Coming of Jesus Christ there will be the New Jerusalem. Of that great event St. John hears announced in Revelation 21.4 Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them. Now think back to another passage where St. John uses this same word dwell. In John 1:14 he famously states: And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us. It is the same word John uses in Revelation 21 when he looks forward to the New Jerusalem when God will dwell with us. So be it the First Coming as referred to in John 1:14 or the Second Coming looked forward to in Revelation 21.4 this theme of God being at home with us is clearly expressed. In a modern translation of the Bible called The Message this meaning is made even more explicit for we read in John 1.14: The Word became 2
3 flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. 2 Then in Revelation 21.4 we read: I heard a voice thunder from the Throne: Look! Look! God has moved into the neighborhood, making his home with men and women! 3 This is indeed the theme of the whole Bible. God moving into the neighbourhood. This is further appreciated when we understand that another way to visualize this verb dwell is with the phrase: God pitched his tent. God has come among us and from the Bible s first sentence to its last we have this wonderful story of God making his home with us here on earth so that one day we will be welcomed by him to his home in heaven. St Athanasius who lived in the 4 th century understood so clearly the familial aspect of God s relationship with us when he simply and profoundly stated: The Son of God became the Son of Man so that sons of men could become sons of God. 4 Pope Saint John Paul II also reflected on this same theme by showing us that God in His deepest mystery is not a solitude, but a family, since He has in Himself fatherhood, sonship, and the essence of the family, which is love 5 2 Peterson, E. H. (2005). The Message: the Bible in contemporary language (Jn 1:13 14). Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress. 3 Peterson, E. H. (2005). The Message: the Bible in contemporary language (Re 21:3). Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress. 4 Hahn, S. (1998). The Mystery of the Family of God. In L. J. Suprenant Jr. (Ed.), Catholic for a Reason: Scripture and the Mystery of the Family of God (p. 11). Steubenville, OH: Emmaus Road Publishing. 5 Hahn, S. (1998). The Mystery of the Family of God. In L. J. Suprenant Jr. (Ed.), Catholic for a Reason: Scripture and the Mystery of the Family of God (p. 7). Steubenville, OH: Emmaus Road Publishing.
4 When we turn to the Catechism of the Catholic Church the very first paragraph speaks about God s eternal purposes in familial terms: God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life. For this reason, at every time and in every place, God draws close to man. He calls man to seek him, to know him, to love him with all his strength. He calls together all men, scattered and divided by sin, into the unity of his family, the Church. To accomplish this, when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son as Redeemer and Savior. In his Son and through him, he invites men to become, in the Holy Spirit, his adopted children and thus heirs of his blessed life. 6 From the beginning of the Biblical Narrative through to its most definitive and glorious climax in the Book of Revelation the theme of God making his home with us in this world so that one day we will be at home with him in heaven is everywhere present. Now at times because of our experiences in life we can experience doubt when thinking about God s fatherly love for us. On occasion we might ponder, How do I know that I am God s child? In answering this question I am appreciative to Dr. Scott Hahn, who in Catholic for a Reason gives to us a clear parallel between earthly paternity and heavenly paternity. How do children know they are yours? In answering this question Scott Hahn observed: That s easy. First, they live in my house. Second, they are called by my name. 6 Catholic Church. (2000). Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd Ed., p. 7). Washington, DC: United States Catholic Conference.
Third, they sit at my table. Fourth, they share my flesh and blood. Fifth, my bride is their mother. Sixth, we ve always celebrated birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, and vacations together. Seventh, they receive instruction and discipline from me. 5 These are rock-solid grounds to assure my children that they ll never have to wonder to whom they belong. Then Dr. Hahn goes on to ask: Has Our Heavenly Father given us any less? Well, if you put it that way that s exactly the way Our Father has put it. And we call it the Catholic Church. First, we live in His house. As members of the Catholic Church, we live in the house which Christ promised to build as a wise man does upon the rock (cf. Mt. 16:17 19; 7:24 27). As Hebrews puts it: Christ was faithful over God s house as a son. And we are his house if we hold fast our confidence and pride in hope (Heb. 3:6). In Ephesians Paul brings home this same point when he states to those who are his gentile readers: So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone (Eph. 2:19 20). Second, we are called by His name. In Baptism, we are marked for life in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Mt. 28:18 20). We were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it (Eph. 1:13 14). Our family unity is thus based upon
the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all (Eph. 4:3 6). Third, we sit at His table. We partake of the table of the Lord (1 Cor. 10:21) as God s children in the Eucharist, which Jesus instituted in the presence of His disciples as they were at table eating (Mk. 14:18). 6 Fourth, we share His flesh and blood. In Holy Communion, we come to share in Christ s flesh and blood, according to His command in John 6. Truly, truly I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him (Jn. 6:53 56). Fifth, His bride is our mother. The Church is Christ s bride, the heavenly Jerusalem (cf. Eph. 5:21 32; Rev. 21:1 10, 22 23), and also our mother. But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother (Gal. 4:26). Even more, Jesus gave us His mother, the Virgin Mary, to be our mother: When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, Woman, behold, your son! Then he said to the disciple, Behold, your mother! And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home (Jn. 19:26 27). Sixth, we celebrate as a family. We gather together as the children of God to celebrate, most especially in the Eucharistic banquet: Christ, our paschal lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us, therefore, celebrate the festival (1 Cor. 5:7 8). For this reason, God calls us to be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing
and making melody to the Lord with all your heart (Eph. 5:18 19). As Catholics, we celebrate different feast days to honor our Blessed Mother and our spiritual brothers and sisters, the saints not only for their holy lives, but also their glorious deaths, which marked their own joyous homecoming. 7 Seventh, we receive instruction and discipline from Him. Our Heavenly Father even uses our labors and sufferings to instruct and discipline us. My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor lose courage when you are punished by him. For the Lord disciplines him whom he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives. It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? For they disciplined us for a short time at their pleasure, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness (Heb. 12:5 7, 10). Our Heavenly Father s omnipotent love is the most fundamental reason why the Roman Catholic Church exists. More than just using it to maintain unity of doctrine, morals, and worship, God empowers the Church as His family for the purpose of blessing His children and establishing the communio of His family down through the ages and all around the world. In sum, Our Heavenly Father has given to us rock-solid grounds for assurance, more than any earthly father has ever provided. And so we can exclaim: See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are (1 Jn. 3:1). Not only can we know that we are God s children, but we can be confident that our omnipotent Father will get us home safely: I am sure that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:6). 7 7 Hahn, S. (1998). The Mystery of the Family of God. In L. J. Suprenant Jr. (Ed.), Catholic for a Reason: Scripture and the Mystery of the Family of God (pp. 15 18). Steubenville, OH: Emmaus Road Publishing.
8 Advent provides a time to recollect on the great gift we have been given as those who belong to the family of God. Indeed Advent is a time of the year when we are invited home. But as is true with all families, we can come to take the family of our Church for granted. When I moved to Calgary back in 1989 I fell in love with the Rockies. I could not get enough of time spent hiking the trails and basking in their glory and splendour. It struck me as odd that there were some Calgarians who took the Rockies for granted. They were so familiar to them because they had spent their whole life in proximity to them that there was a kind of ho hum indifference. The same thing can happen at times with people who have been Catholics their whole life long. Familiarity can breed a kind of ho hum indifference to the Church. And yet when we think about what the Church is to be, the family with whom we sojourn in this world, as we prepare for the eternal family of the future, then we will have a renewed sense of wonder and praise at this most special and particular gift. When we can look at the family of the Church as the means God has left us to prepare for the family that will be ours in eternity, then the dual themes of the Incarnation and the Second Coming form a unity. Remember Athanasius said: The Son of God became the Son of Man so that sons of men could become sons of God. The whole of our earthly life is the opportunity God gives to us to come to share ever more fully in the family likeness of the Blessed Trinity, Father,
Son and Holy Spirit. Thankfully God has left us with a visible family on earth that is to be a prototype of the family that we will one day be part of in heaven. This family is like a model, a template of the family that when we see Jesus face to face will be the real deal. The family that we experience imperfectly in this life will be perfectly formed in the next. Therefore we are invited this Advent to take to heart the gift and opportunity to fully participate in the life of the Catholic Church and more particularly in the life of St. Peter s. For the parish is the place where we learn to practice and grow in becoming sons and daughters of the Father and our blessed Mother, siblings to Jesus and one another as we grow in the love made possible by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. I would like to end by quoting from a homily by St Jose Maria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei. In a sermon preached on Christ the King Sunday, Saint Jose Maria pays tribute to our mother, the one who epitomizes what it means to be in the family. Listen to the request he makes of her: Mary, the holy Mother of our king, the queen of our heart, looks after us as only she knows how. Mother of mercy, throne of grace: we ask you to help us compose, verse by verse, the simple poem of charity in our own life and the lives of the people around us; it is "like a river of peace." For you are a sea of inexhaustible mercy: "All streams run to the sea, but the sea is never full." To be in the family, to know that we are at homeis to be enveloped in the sea of God s paternal and Mary s maternal love. Such a love experiences God dwelling with us in the present as we anticipate the full experience of his dwelling with us in the future, when we will be at home with God and God at home with us. Such hope invites us to compose verse by verse the simple poem of charity, which is the verse of all those who when asked 9
what are you doing here at St. Peter s, what are you doing in the Catholic church can simply and sincerely say: I am home 10