quotes on: Christmas
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Christmas
16 Amazingly Terrible Christmas Cards
A Christmas Message From Fr. Ray
Christmas 2010
“Come, then, let us observe the Feast”: the first known Christmas sermon
“Do not be afraid”: a Christmas homily
Screwtape and Christmas
Seasons greetings
The best advice I ever got about serving Mass at Christmas
the digital story of the Nativity
The work of Christmas begins link . link&background
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A Christmas Message From Fr. Ray
Christmas 2010
“Come, then, let us observe the Feast”: the first known Christmas sermon
“Do not be afraid”: a Christmas homily
Screwtape and Christmas
Seasons greetings
The best advice I ever got about serving Mass at Christmas
the digital story of the Nativity
The work of Christmas begins link . link&background
back to index C
Christmas quotes
Christmas is not as much about opening our presents as opening our hearts. - Janice Maeditere
Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. - Norman Vincent Peale
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Cycle A: Second Sunday in Advent
Homily for December 5, 2010: 2nd Sunday of Advent/Rite of Welcome
back to Cycle A
Homily for December 5, 2010: 2nd Sunday of Advent/Rite of Welcome
back to Cycle A
aa3
Cycle A: Third Sunday in Advent
Homily for December 12, 2010: 3rd Sunday of Advent recovered
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Homily for December 12, 2010: 3rd Sunday of Advent recovered
back to Cycle A
Doubting Thomas
For over a decade, I belonged to St Thomas the Apostle parish in Smyrna GA. The parish during that time was staffed by Missionaries of laSalette. For 5 years, one of the priests was a citizen of India, know as Fr Joy.
While at the church, Fr Joy arranged a donation of a larger than life portrait of the Saint from his home country, where St Thomas was said to have evangelized.
The painting is remarkable in a way that led me to the insight I am about to relate.
The saint is shown facing forward, with one hand raised. Several of the fingers are up and several are folded down. The upraised fingers are shown red, as if he had just removed them from Jesus' wounded hand.
One commentator, who I deeply admire and respect, at the link describes Jesus as scarred. But if Jesus presented himself to Thomas as scarred, there would have been no blood. I think a better word is wounded. Wounds ooze blood. Once healed, they do not.
When I first meditated on this, it came to me that presents an opportunity to think about healing.
I think most people like to think of healing as restoration to a prior condition. That seems to be the goal of medicine today. Scars are viewed as undesireable. The commentator linked to above held in his parable that scars can be a badge of honor.
Wounds, on the other hand, seem to be thought of as unhealed. Which made the painting of Thomas so remarkable. At the time of the encounter of Jesus with Thomas, he was resurrected. I think most Christians would hold that resurrection is a kind or class of healing.
Was the artist rejecting that notion?
I think not. I think that rather the artist was presenting a deep insight into what might be healing.
We use the term "breaking open the word" to describe exegesis of the scriptures. The scriptures speak of "breaking open hearts", esecially those that might have hardened.
I have experienced the brokenness of divorce and of involuntary unemployment -- the latter four times. I find that having been wounded injured by these events, I was also in some sense broken open. I can empathize more and better now. I can accept the metaphor of scarred, but find wounded better because the brokenness has not gone away.
Nor is it unwelcome.
Let us pray for all who have experienced brokenness or are going through it at this moment, that they will experience like Thomas the Lord, in, b and through whose wounds we are saved.
While at the church, Fr Joy arranged a donation of a larger than life portrait of the Saint from his home country, where St Thomas was said to have evangelized.
The painting is remarkable in a way that led me to the insight I am about to relate.
The saint is shown facing forward, with one hand raised. Several of the fingers are up and several are folded down. The upraised fingers are shown red, as if he had just removed them from Jesus' wounded hand.
One commentator, who I deeply admire and respect, at the link describes Jesus as scarred. But if Jesus presented himself to Thomas as scarred, there would have been no blood. I think a better word is wounded. Wounds ooze blood. Once healed, they do not.
When I first meditated on this, it came to me that presents an opportunity to think about healing.
I think most people like to think of healing as restoration to a prior condition. That seems to be the goal of medicine today. Scars are viewed as undesireable. The commentator linked to above held in his parable that scars can be a badge of honor.
Wounds, on the other hand, seem to be thought of as unhealed. Which made the painting of Thomas so remarkable. At the time of the encounter of Jesus with Thomas, he was resurrected. I think most Christians would hold that resurrection is a kind or class of healing.
Was the artist rejecting that notion?
I think not. I think that rather the artist was presenting a deep insight into what might be healing.
We use the term "breaking open the word" to describe exegesis of the scriptures. The scriptures speak of "breaking open hearts", esecially those that might have hardened.
I have experienced the brokenness of divorce and of involuntary unemployment -- the latter four times. I find that having been wounded injured by these events, I was also in some sense broken open. I can empathize more and better now. I can accept the metaphor of scarred, but find wounded better because the brokenness has not gone away.
Nor is it unwelcome.
Let us pray for all who have experienced brokenness or are going through it at this moment, that they will experience like Thomas the Lord, in, b and through whose wounds we are saved.
parable: Keep your fork
I first used the following story (author unknown) in a Thought For The Day message several years ago, and have since used it in a funeral service. It remains one of my readers' all-time favorites. I hope you enjoy seeing it again.
The sound of Martha's voice on the other end of the telephone always brought a smile to Brother Jim's face. She was not only one of the oldest members of the congregation, but one of the most faithful.
Aunt Martie, as all of the children called her, just seemed to ooze faith, hope, and love wherever she went. This time, however, there seemed to be an unusual tone to her words. "Preacher, could you stop by this afternoon? I need to talk with you." "Of course, I'll be there around three. Is that ok?"
It didn't take long for Jim to discover the reason for what he had only sensed in her voice before. As they sat facing each other in the quiet of her small living room. Martha shared the news that her doctor had just discovered a previously undetected tumor. "He says I probably have six months to live". Martha's words were naturally serious, yet there was a definite calm about her. "I'm so sorry to...." but before Jim could finish, Martha interrupted. "Don't be. The Lord has been good. I have lived a long life. I'm ready to go. You know that." "I know," Jim whispered with a reassuring nod.
"But I do want to talk with you about my funeral. I have been thinking about it, and there are things that I know I want." The two talked quietly for a long time. They talked about Martha's favorite hymns, the passages of Scripture that had meant so much to her through the years, and the many memories they shared from the five years Jim had been with Central Church.
When it seemed that they had covered just about everything, Aunt Martie paused, looked up at Jim with a twinkle in her eye, and then added, "One more thing, preacher. When they bury me, I want my old Bible in one hand and a fork in the other". "A fork?" Jim was sure he had heard everything, but this caught him by surprise. "Why do you want to be buried with a fork?"
"I have been thinking about all of the church dinners and banquets that I attended through the years," she explained, "I couldn't begin to count them all. But one thing sticks in my mind -- At those really nice get-togethers, when the meal was almost finished, a server or maybe the hostess would come by to collect the dirty dishes. I can hear the words now. Sometimes, at the best ones, somebody would lean over my shoulder and whisper, 'You can keep your fork.' And do you know what that meant? Dessert was coming! "It didn't mean a cup of Jell-O or pudding or even a dish of ice cream. You don't need a fork for that. It meant the good stuff, like chocolate cake or cherry pie! When they told me I could keep my fork, I knew the best was yet to come!
"That's exactly what I want people to talk about at my funeral. Oh, they can talk about all the good times we had together. That would be nice. But when they walk by my casket and look at my pretty blue dress, I want them to turn to one another and say, 'Why the fork'? That's what I want you to say, I want you to tell them, that I kept my fork because the best is yet to come!"
Truly, for a child of God, the best is yet to come.
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you." (1Pt 1:3-4)
- TFTD
The sound of Martha's voice on the other end of the telephone always brought a smile to Brother Jim's face. She was not only one of the oldest members of the congregation, but one of the most faithful.
Aunt Martie, as all of the children called her, just seemed to ooze faith, hope, and love wherever she went. This time, however, there seemed to be an unusual tone to her words. "Preacher, could you stop by this afternoon? I need to talk with you." "Of course, I'll be there around three. Is that ok?"
It didn't take long for Jim to discover the reason for what he had only sensed in her voice before. As they sat facing each other in the quiet of her small living room. Martha shared the news that her doctor had just discovered a previously undetected tumor. "He says I probably have six months to live". Martha's words were naturally serious, yet there was a definite calm about her. "I'm so sorry to...." but before Jim could finish, Martha interrupted. "Don't be. The Lord has been good. I have lived a long life. I'm ready to go. You know that." "I know," Jim whispered with a reassuring nod.
"But I do want to talk with you about my funeral. I have been thinking about it, and there are things that I know I want." The two talked quietly for a long time. They talked about Martha's favorite hymns, the passages of Scripture that had meant so much to her through the years, and the many memories they shared from the five years Jim had been with Central Church.
When it seemed that they had covered just about everything, Aunt Martie paused, looked up at Jim with a twinkle in her eye, and then added, "One more thing, preacher. When they bury me, I want my old Bible in one hand and a fork in the other". "A fork?" Jim was sure he had heard everything, but this caught him by surprise. "Why do you want to be buried with a fork?"
"I have been thinking about all of the church dinners and banquets that I attended through the years," she explained, "I couldn't begin to count them all. But one thing sticks in my mind -- At those really nice get-togethers, when the meal was almost finished, a server or maybe the hostess would come by to collect the dirty dishes. I can hear the words now. Sometimes, at the best ones, somebody would lean over my shoulder and whisper, 'You can keep your fork.' And do you know what that meant? Dessert was coming! "It didn't mean a cup of Jell-O or pudding or even a dish of ice cream. You don't need a fork for that. It meant the good stuff, like chocolate cake or cherry pie! When they told me I could keep my fork, I knew the best was yet to come!
"That's exactly what I want people to talk about at my funeral. Oh, they can talk about all the good times we had together. That would be nice. But when they walk by my casket and look at my pretty blue dress, I want them to turn to one another and say, 'Why the fork'? That's what I want you to say, I want you to tell them, that I kept my fork because the best is yet to come!"
Truly, for a child of God, the best is yet to come.
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you." (1Pt 1:3-4)
- TFTD
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