December 22, 2007

4th Sunday of Advent - Birth Announcements

Several times each year I have the pleasure and privilege of receiving birth announcements from young couples whose marriage I have celebrated. I can always tell that they are rightfully proud of this child and it often becomes even more clear in the name they have chosen, especially for their firstborn.

Sometimes the names are not Christian names, of course, but they are always lovely and sweet. I'm sure the youngster will grow up, happy to be known by this unique name.

Undoubtedly, every Catholic has heard the story of the Irish monsignor who always insisted that any child he was asked to baptize needed to have a Christian name, at least for the books. Hence, if the couple had a name he did not particularly like, he would add Mary or John as a second name for the baptismal register! I'm sure the parents were a bit surprised when they asked for a copy of the child's baptismal certificate at the time of First Communion or Confirmation and found a name they did not even recognize.

I think it is true to say, however, that when parents choose a name for their child, they must ask themselves what their hopes are for this youngster: Will he or she bring honor and respect to the family?

I know of couples that spend considerable time searching for a name that may have a special meaning. Other parents look up the history of the saint after whom they will name their child. They want to be able to tell this youngster all the famous things their patron was known for. All that, of course, can add much to the youngster's pride when people ask, "Hey, what does that name mean anyway?"

Birth announcements in Jewish culture were obviously made differently than we make them today: First, they were assumed to be made by an angel-messenger or by God in a dream and, secondly, it was important that the name should have a meaning that would indicate the special role that this child would eventually have in the world.

Jesus' name, of course, came through the message of an angel in a dream. Iesous is a Greek rendering from the Hebrew Yehoshua (Joshua) which means, "to save" or the noun "salvation." Obviously, that is why Jesus was later recognized as the Savior, the source of our salvation.

Most of us, I should imagine, simply live with the name we were given at birth or at our baptism without thinking much about it during our lifetime. Perhaps it is also true to say that we are not much concerned whether name has any special meaning, Christian or secular. What does seem important, nonetheless, is to ask ourselves occasionally, perhaps often what it means for us to be named Christian. Obviously, we could have been born into any other religious faith, but the fact is, we are named Christian in memory of the Anointed One, Jesus the Christ.

That should remind us to ask whether we have somehow fulfilled the meaning of that name as we have grown up in life. At 50 or 60 or 75, are we still proud to be called Christian or Catholic?

Given that assumption, It might not be a bad idea occasionally to dig out that baptismal record, if, for no other reason, than to discover who our godparents were or who the celebrant of the sacrament was. Perhaps all these good folks are now long deceased, but it must be said that they played an important part in our life at that moment in our history. Someone thought it important enough to bring us to a church and welcome us into the Body of Christ. That was the beginning of something important in our life and the mystery of it all is that it is still happening at this very moment. We are all Christians by name and Christian by calling until the Lord eventually calls us home.

The scriptures: Isaiah 7: 10-14, Romans I: 1-7, Matthew 1: 18-24

Posted by Julie Galligan at 11:25 PM.

December 15, 2007

3rd Sunday of Advent - Meanwhile, We Wait

Back in the 1970's I spent three years in New York City doing graduate studies at Union Theological Seminary. Each day I needed to travel by subway from the Bronx, where I lived with the Holy Cross brothers, down town to 11 bth street and Broadway in Manhattan where Union Seminar was located.

Each morning as I ascended the stairs to street level I would notice a man with a long beard, a wool cap and heavy sweater wearing a sandwich board with the words: "The End is Near." No one seemed to be paying much attention to him, he'd been there so long, I imagine. But occasionally I would say to myself: "What if he's right?" What if the end is near? What then? Am I prepared? Here I was, of course, going on down to the seminary to study theology with the assumption if the end was near, it would probably not happen today. I imagine most other people entering or leaving the subway probably felt the same way, saying to themselves: "It's not going to happen today, so I might as well get on with whatever it is that I do in life." In other words, my hunch is that most ordinary folks do not believe that the end is near or even close.

It would be difficult even to get a consistent answer from people about what the end might mean? Does it mean the end of the planet? Does it mean that Jesus Christ will come again to straighten out the world?

Nonetheless, I think if you asked most Christians and Catholics if they thought that this world and everything that people do in this world would last forever, they would tell you, "no, we are living, as it were, in the "between times," between now and the moment Christ will come again. That will be the final moment in history. What we are experiencing now is only temporary." Of course, if you asked a Christian, "what's next," they probably would not have an answer. In short, what follows after life in this world is a great mystery.

It needs to be said, nonetheless, that Christians and other people of good faith have always struggled with the notion of end times: People generally do not believe that life in this world as we know it is the final answer to all questions, and yet we do not know how to believe in the coming of Christ at the end of time. How does one talk about that?

The point is that our entire Christian life hinges on the assumption that Christ will come again and that Christian life in this world is only a preparation for God's eternal kingdom. We believe in all this, of course, but how do we talk about it?

That is what our scriptures for this Third Sunday of Advent help us to understand more clearly: How do we talk about mystery, about the unknown about what we hope is or will be a reality some day?

We must grant, first of all, that the people of biblical times were as much puzzled about end times as we are today. Hence they chose to speak about this at least in metaphorical ways: First, by poetry, and, second, by prophecy.

Isaiah, a poet and prophet, whose words we hear in the first reading today, was a man who lived in difficult times and tried to bring some hope to his homeland and its people. Hence, he uses poetry to describe the mystery of God's coming He says it will be like spring when the dry land will once again produce fruit and flowers. If God can bring life out of the dark and cold winter, so too will God continually bring life and hope to his people. Isaiah's poetry in that reading is just beautiful. It is the kind of writing that can give encouragement to any of us even today.

The gospel for this Advent Sunday talks about a man who resembled the man I mentioned earlier standing at the subway entrance at 116th St and Broadway in New York City, John the Baptist. He believed sincerely that God had not abandoned the world and that someday God's plan for the universe would come to pass. But like the "prophet" with his sandwich board in New York, he was convinced that this coming of God could not happen unless some preparation on our part would take place.

It occurs to me to say then that what John is saying about being prepared for the final coming is what life could be for the Christian today. We have no idea what the future will bring, when the world will end, or when Christ will come again. So, we live, as it were, in "between times".

But that does not mean that we simply sit around and do nothing: Each time we gather for worship, as we are doing now, we are making Christ present and we are preparing for Christ's future coming. Each time we try to live our life as we think God has called us to do we are making Christ present and preparing for Christ's final coming.
So, ultimately it does not make much difference whether or not we can predict the end times or when Christ will come again. It is the present moment that counts and that is all-important. It is the only moment we have any control over anyway.

Perhaps the fact that I can still remember that man with his sandwich board on 116' St. and Broadway in New York City warning me and others to be prepared for the end, perhaps that has helped me live my Christian life a little better. At least I'm not so anxious about when the end will come. It's already here, actually, it always has been.

The scriptures: Isaiah 35: 1-6a, 1 James 5: 7-10, Matthew 11: 2-11

Posted by Julie Galligan at 11:22 PM.

December 08, 2007

2nd Sunday of Advent - The Extended Vision

When I first began thinking about this homily back in October, the cottonwood trees across the parking lot from my office had completed their annual cycle of shedding their leaves. At this point in the season, with the onset of winter, one would never imagine that the sap under the bark of those trees was already preparing them to produce leaves next May.

Experience tells me that this has regularly and predictably been happening every fall and every spring in the 15 years I have been looking out that window. If I doubted nature (and God's) power regarding that tree and nature's revival, my attitude about autumn, and, indeed, life in general would be rather dismal.

Another metaphor of life and death comes to mind from Ken Burn's October presentation on PBS of World War II with all its suffering and destruction. As I, a veteran of that war, watched the series, I thought to myself: Even we who are old enough to remember those days have forgotten how terrible those times were, especially for the families who lost their loved ones. So, we can thank Ken Burns for the opportunity to be reminded of the suffering humans can bring down on one another.

Watching those films and still photos of the destruction of the cities of Europe and Japan, it occurred to me to wonder whether anyone in those times would ever have imagined that sometime in the future all these cities and villages would one day be rebuilt and that you would hardly imagine that a war had ever occurred there.

My point in both these examples is to say that given enough time and a sense of determination, the future of the world can always be restored. Human beings can bring life out of death.

If a person is to have any hope for the future, whether in one's secular or spiritual life, we need to have a sense of the long-term vision of life. Of course, that is often hard to do when at this moment in our personal or common history, life does not look very promising. Perhaps we are depressed with the continuing war in Iraq, or perhaps we are dealing with some personal problem that seems overwhelming. Unless we can think beyond this moment, however, with its difficulties to the possibility of a better time, life will not be very hopeful. In short, we need to think beyond this moment if life is to have any meaning for us.

There are two scripture readings in our liturgy for this Second Sunday of Advent which can help us understand this sense of hope in difficult times. Experiences in history do not change very much.

The first example comes from the prophet Isaiah. These were not good days for the Israelite nation. The Assyrians were in a conquering mood and they were considered the most powerful nation in the Middle East in those days. They were gobbling up all the small nations around them much as Germany and Japan tried to do some 50 years ago. Israel, of course, was one of those small nations and they were living in mortal fear of their future. Their leaders believed that there was no way for them to survive, hence, they had practically given up hope for their country and its people.

So, here is Isaiah, always the one who looked beyond the present moment, telling the leaders and the people that they need to believe that there is a future for them. He uses a metaphor like the example of the cottonwood tree I used earlier. He promises that in a future age, a shoot, a bud will spring forth from the land which considers itself almost dead. That bud or shoot will be personified in a man of wisdom, understanding, knowledge and strength. Historians believe Isaiah was referring to the young king Hezekiah.

Christians, of course, have always interpreted Isaiah's prophecy to say that the one and only one who can ultimately bring peace to our world will be Jesus Christ. Notice the beautiful symbolic poetry of hope Isaiah uses: "The wolf will be guest of the lamb; the leopard will bed down with the young goat; the lion and the little calf will browse in the same pasture. In short, the impossible is possible if we hear the message of Jesus rightly. It may not happen today or right a way, but it will happen.

Then we hear again, as we always do in Advent, the voice of a second Isaiah, John the Baptist, with his strange clothing, his odd eating habits and his fiery threats of destruction about what will happen unless the world changes its habits. Notice, John chooses the tree metaphor again: "Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down." The assumption, of course, is that there is the life and hope under the bark of every tree, that is, in every human individual, every one of us, if only we care to make a difference, to make the world a place of peace and justice.

So, what sense does all this have for us, we who seem to live in a world where, like Isaiah's and John's, enemies are still enemies, where the wolf still threatens the Lamb?

The only answer is that it does not have to be this way: Those of us who have been listening to Jesus' words all these years could be doing something to bring peace to the small world where we live and work. If being Christian means anything, it should mean that we, like he cottonwood tree I spoke of a moment ago, should realize that we have in us the human and spiritual power to make a difference in this life, small as it may seem. The autumn trees that may seem dead and dying now have deep within them. the power of spring. Perhaps, in the end, that is what Advent, this season of winter, is saying to us. Spring will come and you can make it happen.

The scriptures: Isaiah 11: 1-10, Romans 15: 4-9, Matthew 3 1-12

Posted by Julie Galligan at 11:19 PM.

December 01, 2007

1st Sunday of Advent (Cycle A) - Will It Be Different?

When I announced a few moments ago that we were celebrating the First Sunday of Advent, you might have been thinking "my gosh, can it be, are we already into another Church year? Whatever happened to last year, all those Sundays, all those feast days, all that feasting and fasting, the Sundays we missed, the Sundays that were just the best we've ever had? Where did the time go?

One thing for sure: That year of grace is over; we will never be able to replicate those days again, whether we used them well or used them ill, they are gone forever. At any rate, there is no point in crying over what we've left undone.

The important point is that we Christians have another year of grace ahead of us. It is and always has been that way because Christ is the one who makes all time worthwhile. We began our liturgy, did we not, with the words: "From Christ who was, who is and who is yet to come, grace and peace be with you all.

In other words, the Christian calendar is built around the assumption that Christ is always present to our times and our age, always engaging us in something new. That is why our Christian calendar is circular and not linear. It goes `round and `round. Christian life never ends. The challenges never stop.

So, my friends, this is a Sunday and, indeed a season and a year with human hope built right into it. All, but the question that will continue to gnaw at us the whole year will be this: Will this new year, the calendar year and the current Christian year be any different than last year? What did we learn out of all those days and weeks and months that will make it worth our while to step into the new year of grace again?

Perhaps the only way to answer that question is to ask ourselves a question like this: What do I do in this world? What is my task? What am I responsible for? What is my career? What do I love? What are my hopes and dreams? Will this world be any better, more hopeful this year than last because of what I can bring into it with my insights, my skills, my intelligence my determination? Do I even care? Does anyone really care?

Well, let me give you a couple examples of some people who do care: The NBC evening news always has a short segment at the end they call "Making a Difference." They offer examples of ordinary people, women and men, old and young some who are retired and others who have jobs and careers, but in their spare time they do some small that makes a difference to the people of their community and even to others around the world. They ask for no recognition, they are not Nobel peace-prize winners, but they feel that they simply can't stand around when there is something that can make the world a better place.

Then, just as I was writing this piece, the mail person brought in the current issue of Newsweek. The cover story was titled: "How to heal the world, or at least make a real difference." It tells of four individuals, a doctor, a banker, an engineer and a scientist who are working separately and together to bring lifesaving vaccines to children around the world. These people already have careers, but they feel that they could do something more with their skills. Some kids somewhere in the world will live because of these four individuals. I don't know whether any of the four are Christians. It doesn't matter, at least to them.

But that does bring up a question for all of us gathered here today, we Christians: Is there something unique that we Christians can bring to this world of ours? I already find a hint of that in the first reading we just heard from the prophet Isaiah. Here are his words and remember, he could be speaking as well to any of us as he spoke to his own people. "They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; one nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again."

That was the challenge God gave the Israelites: Be peacemakers. Do something that will make the world safe from harm: Raise wheat for bread and grapes for wine. That is obviously better than manufacturing tanks and guns and fighter planes; all that they can accomplish is killing.

I realize most of us might say: "Hey, I don't do any of that stuff. Besides, how am I going to stop the war in Iraq or Afghanistan or any other place in the world where people are killing each other." I'm sure Christ isn't asking us to do that, but we can do one thing: We can bring peace to all the little battlegrounds wherever we live and work.

We all know that there are little wars that go on in families, communities, workplaces and schools. Those are the places where we could make a difference if we chose to. That would be a worthy cause for this coming year: Be a peacemaker!

St. Paul, in that second reading you just heard had some beautiful suggestions for his churches about what to do in their world while there was still time: "Wake up," he says: "Throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light."

That might be a great reminder to paste on our bathroom mirror to read every morning as we are brushing our teeth! Fight evil with good; challenge darkness with light. I'm sure all of us could interpret those words in all sorts of ways to fit our own life. Be a light for the world!

So, my friends, here we stand on the threshold of a new year (a year of grace) What will this year look like next December when we begin another Advent? Only we will know. But one thing for sure, like the people I mentioned in the Newsweek article and the NBC evening news, we can make a difference too. We've got a whole year to work on it. I'll check in with you next Advent to see how the year has turned out.

The scriptures: Isaiah 2: 1-5, Romans 13: 11-14, Matthew 24:37-44

Posted by Julie Galligan at 11:26 AM.

December 23, 2006

4th Sunday of Advent - From Unsuspected Beginnings

As I reflect on the past 13 years I have traveled to the towns and villages to celebrate the liturgy with all those Catholic people, I think of all the young folks I have "sort of" grown up with. I knew them when they were five years old and now many of them are in college. Some of these youngsters lived in very small villages with small schools or no school at all. In such a case their parents did home-schooling. I remember in one instance a youngster who lived in a very small village that had no school. He needed to travel across a wild river by boat or air in summer and by snow machine in winter to attend school in another village. Despite the isolated location where he lived and the difficulty in getting to school, he was a brilliant student and ended up being accepted at Harvard University. By now, he may well be a CEO of some famous company. At any rate, coming from small places has no relationship to the quality of the folks who come from there.

I imagine many mothers and fathers must wonder when their children are born how they will make their way in the world when they grow up. Undoubtedly, they have high hopes. I am told that today parents often begin worrying when their child is in kindergarten whether he or she will eventually be accepted in an "Ivy League" college. No wonder high school students are under such stress trying to pass the SAT and being in the top 2% of their class.

These thoughts came to me as I read the scriptures for this Fourth Sunday of Advent and the references in the reading from the prophet Mica about a ruler for Israel that would come from the unsuspected little town of Bethlehem. It was predicted that he would be a shepherd-person and a man of peace. This is, indeed, what the child born in Bethlehem did actually turn out to be: Shepherd of Israel and Prince of Peace.

I wonder whether Mary and Elizabeth talked about the future of their sons when they visited on that memorable occasion described in the gospel of Luke. Perhaps they were doubtful, like so many others, that no one of any consequence ever came from Bethlehem.

Yet, as we observe history, Bethlehem became the place that is celebrated today as the birthplace of the Savior, the Christ, the Good Shepherd, and the one who would bring peace and justice to all nations. Again, an example that the size of one's birthplace has nothing to do with the future success of its citizens.

I have a hunch that Jesus must have often thought about how people once looked down on the little village of Bethlehem where he was born. And the people who lived there must been proud that the prediction of the prophet Mica came true for them and their village.

Like Jesus, most of us come from places that no one imagines are particularly important or that will go down in history for producing famous people. But, again, like Jesus, our call is to go forth from this place where we were born and to follow our call to do things that will make the world a better place. It's all a great mystery, how we came to be born in this place and later find ourselves, like Jesus, following our vision in places we never imagined. Perhaps the lesson is that we must all at some time leave home to find out where we are meant to be and what we were meant to do in life.

The scriptures: Mica 5:1-4, Hebrews 10:5-10, Luke 1:39-45

Posted by Julie Galligan at 09:44 AM.

December 16, 2006

3rd Sunday of Advent - Ode to Joy

Although I know little about classical music, I do appreciate some pieces that are well known by most folks. One such piece is Ludwig Von Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D minor, opus 125 completed in 1824. It includes the music for a poem entitled Ode An die Freude ("Ode to Joy") by Frederich Schiller.

To give you an example of Shiller's composition, here are some lines from vss 39 to 48:

Joy, joy moves the wheels
In the universal time machine.
Flowers it calls forth from their buds,
Suns from the Firmament,
Spheres it moves far out in Space, Where our telescopes cannon reach.

It might be worth while to read the entire piece while listening to Beethoven's music accompanying it.

Beethoven's 9th has been used for church music and song for many years We have all probably caught ourselves humming it occasionally.. Even the European Union has chosen it as their official anthem. So, you can see how universally popular it is.

Given all this, my sense tells me that the music and words of the 9th Symphony might well be played and sung on this Third Sunday in Advent season because all three scripture readings for this Sunday contain the theme of joy. (Unfortunately, because of the length of the symphony, the liturgy might run a bit overtime; parking problems, you know.)

At any rate, for those who remember the liturgy before the Second Vatican Council, the seasons of Lent and Advent were traditionally penitential in nature and theme. However, one Sunday, the third Sunday of both seasons, was always set aside as a

"free" Sunday when the penitential spirit was lightened. Therefore, Lent's Third Sunday was named Laetare (rejoice) Sunday and the Third Sunday of Advent was named "Gaudete" ("Shout for joy... Sunday). Hence, although the penitential spirit of Advent is not stressed so strictly today, the element of joy still persists.

The first reading for the Third Sunday of Advent comes from the prophet Zephaniah. Zephaniah, like many of the other Jewish prophets, occasionally had hard things to say to the people of his country about their political and moral lives. "If life in the world seems out of whack," Zephaniah would say," count it to the misdeeds of the people. Good morals, justice, honesty and compassion, on the other hand, will give the nation reason for rejoicing."

Then we come to Luke's gospel and the introduction of John the Baptist, never a very happy guy. He is constantly preaching doom and gloom to the people for the quality of their lives. So, the folks listening to him rightly ask: "Hey, if you want us to do penance, just what is that we should do?" Bad question, because they should already have known what they should do. So, John goes right on to tell them. "If you have too many clothes, give some away to he person who doesn't have enough. If you have enough for dinner today, make sure that your neighbor has some too. If you're a public official, don't use your office to line your own pockets. If you are in the military, don't get a big head over your rank. Your job is to protect your country, not to be a bully."

So, I think we can assume that if people are trying to practice the suggestions that John makes, there will be a sense of joy or at least satisfaction in the nation or the community. It probably does not always work so well, of course, but the ideal is good.

That brings up the question of joy itself, joy as we in the Twenty First Century are used to thinking about it. The common way we think of it is like an interior sense of satisfaction or peace when all things are going well for us. We are filled with joy if some unsuspected piece of good luck comes our way. Or perhaps we are joyful simply if nothing catastrophic has happened today and we can feel at peace. Or, finally, we may feel joyful if we have a sense that all is well in the world. All those are reasons for joy.

Of course, if we are honest about it, we have to admit that joy is not simply a feeling about something that affects us personally. I think our sense is that the world itself could be a better place, a more peaceful place, a more just place. That would surely bring a universal sense of joy to everyone.

But unfortunately it does not always happen that way. If that is the way we would like to think of joy, we will be sadly disappointed. Life in the world is not always going well, in fact it is seldom going well. All we need to do is to read our morning paper or watch Good Morning America or the Today Show to know what life is like in the real world on any one particular day. Examples: On the day I write this in early October, many nations in the world are distressed over the fact (we think it's a fact) that North Korea has tested a nuclear weapon and there is nothing even the United Nations can do about it. It makes the world a less safe place to live. No joy there!

In the past several weeks in our own country there have been tragic murders of children in our schools: One, in Bailey, Colorado, another in an Amish community in Lancaster county Pennsylvania where 5 girls were killed and another 5 were seriously injured. No joy in those two communities, for sure.

Moreover, there is surely no joy in the Darfur region of the Sudan in Africa where thousands are dying from rebel attacks or the lack of food and water while the United Nations seems to stand helpless.

Then, lastly, the wars continue in Afghanistan and Iraq where thousands of our soldiers and local civilians have died. No joy in any of those places either.

So, where can we find joy in the world? It happens in unsuspected places. Take the Amish community in Pennsylvania. Most of us could not believe this when we read about in the papers: On the day that Charles Carl Roberts, the man who shot the little girls, was buried in the local cemetery almost half of those who attended the funeral were members of the Amish community. Indeed, reports said that the community actually forgave Charles Roberts soon after the shooting itself. It is their way: They are Christian pacifists and their rule is to forgive no matter what the circumstances. They take life seriously and they forgave Mr. Roberts with honest intent.

Radio commentators expressed amazement at this swift forgiveness because this is not the custom among most Americans, even among Christians. We speak of forgiveness but do not always practice it despite our recitation of the Lord's Prayer each day.

So, reason for rejoicing does happen, not as often as we might like, but it does happen.

The point is, we probably can't make it happen all over the world, but that's not our job. Our job as Christians is simply to bring some hope, some encouragement, some joy into the small world in which we live and work. It is obvious that some people go out of their way to bring sadness into other peoples' lives. Given that, could there not be some way for us, for those who follow Christ, to balance life out, to do some little thing today that will give someone a reason to know that life is ok? Even a smile or a cheerful greeting will do it. It may not change the world, but someone's life will change and that's all that counts.

The scriptures: Zephania 3:14-18, Philippians 4:4-7, Luke 3:10-18

Posted by Julie Galligan at 12:32 PM.

December 09, 2006

2nd Sunday of Advent - Life has Many Obstacles

It often occurs to me as I drive smoothly and contentedly to work in the morning, how lucky we are to have not only good transportation, but good roads to go with it. I can remember times when I was a kid that both the transportation and the roads were far from good. Often in summer, because of bad roads, we traveled twelve miles to Mass with a horse-drawn wagon. In winter, it was a sled, also drawn by horses. Given the roads, of course, an automobile would not have been of much use.

It is interesting when you think about it that our improved transportation has also demanded better roads. Not many people who own a new Mercedes would take the risk of driving the back country roads of Alaska. It is for that reason that the road construction industry is constantly improving our highways.

When I first came to Alaska, for instance, the highway to Glenallen was terribly dangerous. I hated to drive it. But every year the Alaska Transportation Department has been straightening the dangerous curves, making Caribou Creek canyon passable with a new bridge and cutting down some of the steeper hills. Now, it's a breeze, in fact there is a tendency even to go to sleep on the road because you don't need to be watching for obstructions at every turn.

It is interesting, as one thinks about it, that pathways, roads and highways have always played an important part, a metaphor, in understanding the ways of life, here and eternally.

When you reflect on it, life itself in some sense is a road, a way from birth to death, and for the Christian from baptism to Christian burial. In other words, life is never static; it is always dynamic, always calling us to new vistas, new opportunities to find God in the ordinary events of life.

I'm sure this sense of life's ways must have been particularly evident to people of the Middle East in times of the Old Testament because, for the most part, they traveled on foot, by camel or donkey. Life along the way was often difficult, dangerous and challenging. Nonetheless, whatever they came upon along their way must have been a source of excitement and probably made a deep impression on them. The roads and trails themselves also gave them a sense of life itself because they often took the travelers through deep valleys and over mountain passes. Travels were never simple or easy in those times. I'm sure those pilgrims must often have longed for straight and smooth roads.

That is why the prophet Baruch, in the first reading for this Second Sunday in Advent, can speak encouragingly to the Israelite people in exile and assure them that in future days they will come home to their own land and their own city over roads whose gorges have been filled in and whose high hills have been shaved off and whose sharp turns have been straightened, all for safe travel, for safe arrival.

You see, again, these words about roads are a metaphor for life itself: Life does often seem to have many obstacles; nothing in this world ever seems simple, but that does not mean that God deliberately makes our way of life difficult for us. True, we often encounter road-blocks in our daily path, but our faith is what helps us overcome them.

You probably noticed as you listened to the gospel that John the Baptist, that preacher of repentance, copies the same words of the prophet Baruch about roads with hills, valleys and sharp turns. But John has his own way of interpreting those words. Being a tough repentance-preacher, he warns his listeners to straighten out their life's ways, shave off the hills of pride and arrogance and fill in the valleys of sloth and laziness. Get on the straight path again and stay there. That was John's message

So, what could all these references to rough or smooth roads, straight or winding ways mean to us in our age? First of all, it is often true of us that we need to re-look at our life, to straighten things out, find out which way we are going if we have gotten off track. It's something we need to do all the time.

But at the same time, I would also say that if we are people of faith and good will, then despite, the road blocks we often find along our way, whether sicknesses, accidents, disappointments, unsuccessful efforts, temptations or whatever, our life should be hopeful, full of joy. Obviously, we cannot always control all the difficult circumstances in our life that confront us, but we always start over again, always realizing that God knows our ways and supports us in our daily struggles.

We know too that the road that Jesus chose was a tough one, often filled with obstacles, but he kept on doing exactly what he felt God was calling him to do. So, now Jesus stands down the road before us, a way he has already taken and beckons us to continue on. He says to us every day: "Don't give up your life's travels; the kingdom is always just a little further down the road

The scriptures: Baruch 5: 1-9, Philippians 1: 4-6, 8-11, Luke 3: 1-6

Posted by Julie Galligan at 10:59 AM.

December 03, 2006

1st Sunday of Advent - Vigilance

Every so often, I read an article in the news paper or hear something on television or radio about the danger that Big Brother is watching you. Actually, it's not a myth: Somebody, some Big Brother (maybe a Big Sister) is watching you. Ever since "9/11, as we all know, we have been living under heightened surveillance. In most big cities, if you happen to be walking down a main thoroughfare and if you choose to raise your eyes, you will see a little "not-so-hidden" camera peering down at you. Indeed, you may see several of these in a single block.

The reason for this, public authorities will tell you, is that they hope to avert incidences of violence before they happen or at least find the perpetrators before they get away.

But despite all this caution, many people today are beginning to worry about the abuse of power, about the loss of private identity or even about the possibility of being able to freely and innocently walk down the street without being watched over by some anonymous entity. It's obviously a different world since 9/11/01 and kind of scary. Who's watching whom these days?

But, again, authorities say, "be vigilant: If you see something suspicious, report it. Unfortunately, however, sometimes innocent people are reported for doing nothing illegal at all. At any rate, today the word is vigilance.

It may seem like a stretch, but for Christians who annually celebrate the season of Advent, you can expect to find all sorts of references to vigilance in the scriptures for those Sundays. Don't become alarmed, however. This is not a reference to the electronic-eye up there on the light pole. This warning to be vigilant comes from the early Christians' sense that the Lord Jesus would come back and come very soon as he had promised. Therefore, it seemed advisable "to be in the state of grace," as we once used to say, and not take any risks with our eternal salvation.

Of course, it's been some time now since that initial worry about Jesus' imminent return. Hence, we might ask, should we stop worrying?

Well, I would put it in a more positive way: I think we should always be concerned about how we are living our Christian life, not with the worry that we might be "going to hell." Rather, we should be thinking about new and creative ways that we could live as Christians.

All this concern in the scriptures about vigilance comes at the beginning of a new liturgical year, the new season of Advent, a very appropriate time to think again about the direction in which our Christian life has been going.

So, with that, let me offer some suggestions about how to be vigilant as we enter the new liturgical year. The question: Are there any opportunities out there to live our Christian life in a more creative way? Or do we just continue on in the same fashion as we did during the last liturgical year?

Here are some suggestions. They may not all fit everyone's tastes, but they may at least give you an insight you may not have thought of before.

First of all, Christian life is more than faithfully attending Mass each Sunday. Christian life is about "life," "life" lived in a whole lot of different ways. It's about learning and growing. It's about searching for new ways to experience Christ in our lives. It's about asking questions and finding answers. It's about dialoging with other Catholics to find out how they experience being Christian, even though they may not always agree with you about some issues.

So then, here are some thoughts on all this business of being vigilant:
Some day, get on the computer and check out the Vatican web site and see what Pope Benedict is saying. After all, he is our Catholic Teacher, the one responsible for orthodox Catholic teaching.

Or, you might want to check out the web site of the Archdiocese of Anchorage to see what is happening in your diocese. There are just a whole raft of things on that site that could enlighten your faith.

Or even closer to home: You might want to check out what is going on in your parish: Join a bible discussion group. Sign up for a new ministry you have never tried before. Start a Catholic book club with your friends and read some good Catholic authors. There are lots of good ones.

Perhaps you may want to subscribe to a good Catholic news paper or a magazine like U.S. Catholic

Or, if you cannot join a Catholic book club, check out the Catholic books section at Barnes and Noble Book Sellers when you are in Anchorage.

Or closer to home: Look up Google on your computer and type in "Things Catholic." Choose a topic and discuss it with your family.

Or, on the personal level: Decide that every month during the coming liturgical year you will try to learn something new about your Catholic faith.

In short, all that I have been suggesting has to do with watching, being vigilant for ways to grow in your faith.

Being Catholic can be an exciting experience if we're vigilant and willing to look around for ways to go about it.

No better time than now at the beginning of a new liturgical year.

The scriptures: Jeremiah 33: 14-16, I Thessalonians 3: 12-4:2 Luke 21: 25-2

Posted by Julie Galligan at 03:04 PM.

December 13, 2005

Fourth Sunday of Advent - House Hunting

I am sure most of you who have owned a home for a few years will tell me that your house (home) is the most important thing that you own. The people down in New Orleans have been saying that over and over since Hurricane Katrina. In the floods they lost not only their building but everything in it, along with all the memories. We keep a lot of things in our homes that are precious to us. If we lose the building, we lose practically everything.

Homes or houses, as we all know, also house our own histories. I'm sure you have memories of the house in which you grew up. I would think that this house probably formed your psyche, how you look at life even today. It wasn't just the house, of course, but every event that ever happened there, good and bad. Houses form our very character.

Some years ago I had the occasion to go back home: Well, almost home because the home where I grew up is not there any more. But it was important to me just to go back to the land where it once stood. I spent the better part of a day there just wandering around, letting memories flood back into my mind. I could even remember how certain events, some good and some not so good, have given me a sense of myself to this very day. Perhaps it was just as good that the house did not exist any more because it would probably have been in serious disrepair.

So, my point in all this is that the place where we were born, the place where our young consciences were formed are important to us. Unless we have roots to go back to, we will forever be wanderers on this earth, lost without foundations.

Well, my friends we come at last to the Fourth Sunday of Advent, and, as you might imagine, the scriptures will be nudging us closer to the feast of the Nativity which is only a week away.

But surprisingly, the scriptures for today are mostly about houses, houses for God, if you will, because the feast of the Incarnation is fundamentally about the fact that God has come, and will come eternally, to make his home with us.

Let us talk a little about houses, the houses we call temples, churches, chapels synagogues, mosques. Fundamentally, they are rather odd structures, not architecturally or structurally but odd in purpose. The question is this: Why should God
need a house anyway. You probably noticed that theme so clearly in the first reading from the Second Book of Samuel. There is a little political conversation going on between King David and the prophet Nathan. David is checking in with Nathan, his political and religious adviser, to see if it would be ok with God to build a temple in Jerusalem. At first Nathan says, "Sure, go ahead." But then, after consulting with God, Nathan decides that this would not be such a good idea because it was obvious to him that David did not want to build a temple to God, but rather to build a public edifice to honor himself and make himself look good and powerful with all the other kings of the Middle East who also had temples.

So, through Nathan, God says: "Look, for years I have not needed a house. I have been on the road, living in tents with my people ever since they came out of Egypt. Why do you now want to build me a temple?"

The point that God, through Nathan, wanted to make was that God truly lives among his people. That, in fact, is what the liturgy teaches us even today. God is with his people in the Eucharist, in the word proclaimed, in the minister of the Eucharist, but also in the hearts and minds of the people who have come to worship together.

The gospel backs the point of the first reading about God being eternally present with his people. Mary receives a message telling her that she will become the mother of God's Son, that God Himself, through the power of the Holy Spirit, will make his home with her and with all of us for all eternity.

When you think about all this, it is really pretty astonishing. God decides to make his home in the human body of a virgin so that he can be with the rest of humankind forever.

You might say, what is so significant about that? Well, what is important is that if God has taken up his home in the womb of the Virgin Mary, this makes each of our bodies, each of us personally a temple, a home for the Holy Spirit. That's a pretty astonishing realization if you think about it a little. It should make us think of our bodies in a whole different way, a sacred dwelling of God's Spirit.

I can remember some years ago, after celebrating the childrens' evening Mass of Christmas, standing near the Nativity scene, the crib, talking with folks. A little girl came up with her parents, and as she looked at the child Jesus in the crib and she asked her mother: "Where does Jesus live for the rest of the year?" That may sound like a naive question, but it is also a question with some very profound implications which only children could ask. If we don't know where Jesus Christ lives for the rest of the year, then Christmas ultimately does not make much sense.

The only answer I could have given to that little girl's question would have been something like this: "Well, true, Jesus is not in the crib for the whole year, but if you look around in church, you will see some people who come every Sunday to remember Jesus. That's the way Jesus chooses to stay with us all year long."

So, ultimately, I would have to say that God does not need a crib or a manger or a church, but God surely does need all of us. It will probably take a lifetime for us to get used to that mystery, but it's true nonetheless. Perhaps that's why it's all contained in the liturgy for the Fourth and last Sunday of Advent. We just need a little forewarning of the importance of the great feast we will celebrate next Sunday. It's almost too great a mystery to understand it completely just on Christmas.

So, when you go back to your homes today, whether they are large or small, whether they are a house or an apartment, think of them as the place where you bring Jesus every time you walk in the door. In that case, we would surely have to say that we have taken up residence with God or that God has taken up residence with us. Either way, that's really not such a bad option when you think about it.

The Scriptures: 2 Samuel 7: 1-5, 8b-12, 14a,16, Romans, 16:25-27, Luke 1:26-38

Posted by Julie Galligan at 09:57 AM.

December 05, 2005

Third Sunday of Advent - Everybody Waits, Including God

Most of us, at least those of us who are adults, probably feel that we pretty much have control over our lives. We have a mind, we have will power, we make decisions for or against things that pop up in our lives. That probably makes most of us feel pretty good. I guess, for the most part, most of us do have some control over our lives, or at least we would like to believe that we do.

But just think for a minute, about all the people who have control or at least some jurisdiction over you and your life. If you are a teenager, it's your parents. If you are a young adult in college, it's the professors. If you work for a living, as most of us do, you probably have a boss or at least an office manager who gives you orders or directions. Even those of us who are older often need someone to take care of us. Remember what Jesus said once to Peter. "Peter, when you were young, you used to go wherever you pleased and do what you liked. When you get old, someone else bind you and tell you where to go." (partly my own words!).

Then, of course, there are all the situations in the world we can't control and so we wait: Young couples can't wait for their first child. A mother waits patiently for nine months while the baby grows in her womb. Young people can't wait until they "grow up" and can leave home. Workers wait for a raise or a better job. Then, of course, there are always those annoying moments in daily life when we have nothing else to do except wait: The supermarket line, the light at the corner, the line at the bank, the appointment who is late.

At any rate, all of us are bound into systems of control: The police can tell us what to do, the courts can do the same. Even my bishop can tell me what to do, although he seldom does actually give me "orders." Even the church or the pope can tell us what to do and what not to do.

In short, if we are citizens and Christians, there will always be someone who will give us directions and even orders. It's the price we pay of being a citizen of this world. Perhaps it's even the price we pay for being human. We pay a price for growing up in life. It obviously doesn't happen all at once. Perhaps that is why we often find ourselves impatient with the pace of life. Nothing ever seems to happen quickly enough. Even this computer I am pounding away at never reacts as quickly as I would like it. So, I wait, and wait.

It occurred to me once that waiting is actually part of world history. The world itself and life in the world moves at it’s own pace and usually not quickly enough for us. Everything in the universe has been evolving slowly since the beginnings of creation and continues to do from moment to moment. But in the meantime the world waits for our work to fill it up, to fulfill it with goodness.

I've often even wondered if God waits? I suppose you'd have to say that God has no other choice than to wait for each of us to "get our act together." Perhaps we could say that God has been waiting for all eternity for the world or the universe to become what God has planned for it. It's a great mystery. We'll never understand it.

I think it would also be true to say that Jesus had to wait around a lot . He, obviously, had to wait around for his apostles to catch up with his ideas about the kingdom. He was always asking them whether they still didn't understand. We also know from Jesus' own words that he knew his own suffering and death were imminent, but could not do anything about that. So, he waited for the end to come.

Finally, I suppose we would have to say that Christ continues to wait for us, for his Church to become the Church which he hoped and planned it should become.
The Church, of course, is us. The Church only becomes what we make it become. So, Christ waits.

All these thoughts come to mind as I reflected on the scriptures for the Third Sunday of Advent. As Christians, we celebrate one season in the liturgical year which anticipates not Jesus' birth, because that has already happened long ago, but rather Christ's birth, the birth of the risen, resurrected Christ in the world every day. The word Advent itself means "a coming" or "a waiting for a coming."

So, what news do those two readings, one from Isaiah the prophet and the other from John the Baptist have for us in Advent? The message I read there is that time is short, time is always short and that life in this world is not a matter of simply waiting around for God to do things for us. Both Isaiah and John the Baptist tell us that while time is passing, while we are waiting, there are things to do. The world is waiting for us to "get our act together" and make God's kingdom come here and now. Isaiah said that the task for his time and for all time was to care for the poor, to heal the brokenhearted to give hope to prisoners and captives. In other words to proclaim that there is hope in this world if we can find it in ourselves to care for those who are unable to care for themselves.

John the Baptist says basically the same thing, in fact, he actually quotes lsaiah:"I am a voice crying out in the desert. Straighten out the Lord's highway. In other words, John the Baptist is telling us that our task in this world, while we are waiting, is to discern God's will, not simply in our own regard, but how we fit into the lives others, how we try to bring about peace and justice, compassion and care for people who depend on us for those virtues.

The point of all these words from Isaiah and John the Baptist is that the world we live in is still incomplete, it is always incomplete, always waiting for someone to make life more bearable, more just, more peaceful, more human.

All this does not simply happen in Advent season of course. Advent season is simply a short period in the liturgical year when we are reminded that time is always short and there is still lots to do to make the world a place where everyone is respected and treasured.

Finally, waiting may seem like a big fat boring time for many of us, something we can't do much about. But I always think of waiting like a room in a house that is completely empty, ready for us to fill it with furniture for life. So, the question comes to this: What are we doing while waiting, how are we filling up the spaces of our day with good works? If we can say that we have an answer to that, then there will never be another boring day. Every day we will be able to get up and say: "Well, Lord, what do you have in mind for me today?" And if we are willing to shut up and be quiet for a couple minutes God will have an answer. I'd be willing to bet on it.

The scriptures Isaiah 6: 1-2a, 10-11, 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-24, John 1 : 6-8, 19-28

Posted by Julie Galligan at 03:39 PM.

November 28, 2005

Second Sunday of Advent - Signs Of the Times

These past weeks have surely been a harrowing time for our tender planet earth. It seemed almost as though nature was ganging up on it's own world. First the hurricanes Katrina and Rita, then more recently the giant earthquake in India and Pakistan, then the rains and mud slides in Guatemala and finally more rain in the upper North East part of our own country. Thousands dead, many more injured, millions of dollars lost in destruction of homes and businesses. What more could happen? Many will obviously say, "it's all happened before. We will survive this one as we always have."

Of course, you also have the doom-sayers, preachers and radio commentators, the talking heads, who claim that we are now living in the end times.

Here is one example: State Senator Hank Erwin of Alabama claimed on his radio program that "New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast have always been known for gambling, sin and wickedness. It is this sort of behavior that ultimately brings the judgment of God." A Methodist minister in his area responded by saying: "I don't know what sort of senator or politician Mr.Erwin is, but 1 can tell you one thing: He is surely no theologian!

What he means is this: Any theologian with any sense would not claim that God punishes the world and its people indiscriminately by using earthquakes or hurricanes. Gambling may not be the highest calling in the world, but it surely does not invite the wrath of God. I'm sure that the good, God-fearing mother and father in India whose home has been destroyed by the earthquake would find it hard to understand why God was personally punishing them. They are not gamblers, nor are they aware of any serious sin. We know that these sorts of predictions always happen, of course. Whenever there is some sort of natural catastrophe you will find someone who can find a religious reason for it. Beware of doom-sayers who can find God's hand in every tragedy. I'm grateful that we do not have many Catholic preachers, theologians or Catholics generally who believe in that kind of God.

The fact is that we have no idea, never have, never will have any idea about God's plan for this world, particularly it's ending if there is even to be an ending.

We do know one thing, of course, and that is that Jesus said that he would come again, but whether that will coincide with the end of the world, we do not know.

We also know that Jesus said that "the kingdom of God is already among you." All of which means that God is working and has already been working in this world in God's own mysterious way. The author of the psalms put it this way: "The heavens declare the glory of God and the sky proclaims its builder's craft." All this tells me that we can find God, if we want to make the effort, not in the destruction of life on the planet, but in its natural beauty.

So, here we are moving into the middle of Advent season which does, in fact speak about endings and beginnings, not the end of the world, but of the many natural endings and beginnings that we see going on around us all the time. The point that Advent recalls for us is that God is in the middle of things, not in the end. So, it is in those events that we have a "theophany", a hint of Godness.

Time itself is constantly beginning and ending. We have calendars and clocks that try to help us keep track of time. An author I read some time ago put it this way: "Free us from being clock watchers, make us time lovers." What this means, I think, is that God is even to be found in that mysterious experience we call time, the space between events in our life.

How then does time begin and end? People who work with budgets can tell you. They know when the fiscal year begins and ends. (God in the numbers!)

Students know when the mid-semester and semester begins and ends and when term papers are due. (God in the grades!)

Politicians know when to start thinking about the next election (sometimes a year ahead of time, unfortunately for us.).

Farmers watch the skies and know when to begin planting and when begin harvesting.

Elderly folks know instinctively that their days are "numbered." If they are people of faith, of course, this is not a threat but a grace. All our days are "numbered."

For those of us who are Christian, of course, we know that our church year has natural beginnings and endings. It is good for us to know that life is not just "one doggone thing after another." When one season ends, we know that another will follow. In other words, there is a sense of hope in the Christian calendar because it is circular. It goes around and around. If we have missed opportunities for Christian living in the past, there will be more opportunities in the future. It's called the virtue of hope. God time is never ending time.

The question then comes to this: Not when will time end, but what are we doing in the midst of it to "redeem time", that is, how do we use it well so that it does not go to waste?

The Jesus of Matthew's Gospel in the Twenty Fifth chapter gives us a pretty clear picture: We know that the kingdom of God is getting close when we use at least some of our time to provide food for the hungry, drink for the thirsty, when we welcome the stranger, cover the naked and the homeless, visit those in prison. All those opportunities are happening right now in time, in our time, if we choose to make use of them.

So, I am not particularly concerned about the end of the world, even though there might be an earthquake of a hurricane somewhere in the world today or tomorrow. Those events tell me nothing. I do know this, however: There is still lots to do in the world that I haven't gotten around to. I'm always behind time, as most of us are. So, let's stop worrying about end times and start thinking about what today's and tomorrow's opportunities will bring. Some exciting challenge may be just around the corner. Don't miss it.

The scriptures: Isaiah 40: 1-5, 9-11, 2 Peter 3: 8-14, Mark 1: 1-8

Posted by Julie Galligan at 12:03 PM.

November 22, 2005

First Sunday of Advent - What Time Is It?

Like most folks, I am not particularly worried or concerned about time. "There will always be time," I say. Perhaps I should be concerned, of course, because I'm always behind, behind time that is. But twice each year I do get a little concerned about time: Because I am a Catholic and I follow the liturgical calendar, I pay special attention to the First Sunday of Advent, the beginning of a new liturgical year, the year of grace. The second date or event I get concerned about is January 1, the beginning of the secular year. Both of these dates obviously have something to do with what we call time. Oddly enough, time does not exist as a distinct entity like, say, this computer I am presently pounding away at. I took the occasion, therefore, to look up the word time in Websters International Dictionary and, surprisingly, I found one entire column dedicated to time. That tells me that it (time) whether it exists or not, must play some part in our daily life.

Webster simply defines it as "an interval between two events." Perhaps we should say that we all think we know what time is because we experience it in various ways in our daily life whether we can define it or not.

Think of the words or phrases we ordinarily use to talk about it. Frequently during the day we ask "hey, what time is it?" The prison system talks about "doing time" or "serving time." We say "we are either ahead of time or behind time." We keep time or we lose time. We save time or we waste time. We invest time and we manage time. Unfortunately, we also kill time! We say, "time is money." A long time ago there used to be a radio program called "Time Marches On." We make time and save time. Many of us look for the "opportune time" to do something. Kindergarten teachers tell their students that they may go to the bathroom "one at a time." We speak of "having the time of our lives." The scriptures speak of "a time to live and a time to die." All of us appreciate quality time with another person rather than simply putting in time. Kids talk about "having a good time." During work time we are on the job; on weekends we look forward to leisure time. Musicians always talk about "keeping time" with their foot! Anyone who has ever taken a timed exam knows what it means when the proctor says: "Time's up." We worry about running against time. All of us (particularly newspaper people) dread time lines and deadlines. We don't like to be labeled being behind the times or out of date. For working people (and we are all working people) there is always concern about the time card or the time clock. Young lovers say that, "time stands still when they are together." Sadly, for many people who are elderly, we say "time is getting short." When the thirty first day of December or the Thirty Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time rolls around we know we've run out of time, at least for this year.

All of these references to time have at least one thing in common: They all are measured by a clock or a calendar: 24/7/365 as the phrase is used by many today. So, we say these have to do with chronological time. It's a Greek word which means that we try to arrange events in an orderly fashion It's simply a way for us to keep from getting lost in the universe!

But the ancient Greeks who always were looking for the meaning in things also have another word for time which we Christians have adopted. It's simply called Kairos. It's not a word that is ordinarily used by many except liturgists and theologians. Actually, I could not even find it in Websters International Dictionary!

The difference between chronos and kairos is that chronological time is linear, that is, it begins at a certain point and ends at another point. Chronos time says: "When something is over it is over. Period! When you are out of time, you are out of time. Chronological time is always predictable. We keep time accurately. But chronological time actually has no meaning of itself. Every minute, every second is exactly like the minute or second that preceded it or which will follow it. It just keeps on ticking whether we think we can do something about it or not.

But kairos time is thought of as circular, going around and around. Kairos time is repeatable, even reversible. In other words, if you are using kairos time (as every Christian should) you can start over; for the Christian, it's never too late. We are never purely out of time, period! That is why kairos is called God-time or sacred time, time filled with mystery and with meaning.

That is also why, for instance, even though we Christians follow a chronological calendar, we also talk about a calendar or a year of grace, a year filled with God's grace, God's gifts. Did you ever notice how often our Sunday gospels begin with the words: "At that time Jesus..." That doesn't refer to a certain time of the week. It refers to eternal time, a sacred moment, a time when God began to do something special, something to take notice of, something filled with meaning and purpose.

Now, what makes kairos or sacred time so special for Christians? What makes
it special is the fact that it is not simply "one doggone thing after another." God-time, kairos time is filled with opportunities for salvation. It's a reservoir of grace. I guess we could say that chronological time or clock time is infused with kairos, with God-time, sacred opportunities. In other words, for some people, time just keeps going around, drearily from one moment to the next. They watch the clock so that they can go on to something more interesting. For the Christian, however, every moment of the day is pregnant with meaning, that is, if we are willing to look for that meaning and "capture the moment", as the ancient Romans used to say.

All this is summed up in Jesus words in Mark's gospel for today: "Be constantly on watch, stay awake. You do not know when the appointed time will come." So, what is that "appointed time?" My sense is that the "appointed time" is not simply Sunday morning when we are celebrating the liturgy. The "appointed time is at 7:00 a.m. when we get out of bed and thank God for another day. The "appointed time" is when we get to work or school and dedicate these hours ahead of us to God. The "appointed time" is the time during the day when someone unexpectedly asks us for help and we take the time to give it. The "appointed time" happens in the evening of the day when we are tired, but not so tired that we forget to tell God thanks for these eight hours of grace that have come flooding into our lives, drenching us with sacred experiences. All that is what kairos means, God in the day time, God in the night time, God in every tick of the clock, every moment of the day. But, of course, as Jesus points out: It just doesn't happen automatically. We have to stay awake, and if we are awake and alert to the sound of God stirring in our life, there will surely be some wonderful surprises. A new year is upon us, my friends. Let us not miss out on what God may be planning for us. If nothing else, watch the clock, time is ticking away.

The scriptures: Isaiah 63: 16-17, 19: 64: 2-7, 1 Corinthians 1: 3-9, Mark 13: 33-37

Posted by Julie Galligan at 11:58 AM.