Baptism of the Lord 12 January 2025 Sermon

Baptism of the Lord 12 January 2025 Sharing divine nature

It was necessary that Our Lord go into the water first – as one of us. He needed no improvement, but we do, and ever since He took on human nature, we have been capable of drawing from His sacred humanity.

[May] we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity. (Offertory prayer) That small bit of water is us, going into the ocean of God's goodness.

We share in the divinity of  Christ. We are not gods, but we share in what God has.

What would that be? We cannot share in all His attributes, such as power or authority or wisdom. 

What we can share in is His charity, an underrated quality of which we could use a lot more.

This is what God wants us to share in, most of all.

God is Love, is the best way of describing Him (1 Jn 4,16).  Of all the attributes of God that could be mentioned  – Love says the most.

Jesus wants us to learn  how to love as He does - which goes as far as being able to love those who do  not love us, one of the most striking features of God's approach to humanity. This love expresses itself in being merciful and sacrificial.

Jesus was willing to die for sinners. He loved us while we were still sinners (Rm 5,18), and was merciful to the end. Father, forgive them… (Lk 23,34).

We learn to be like that, and that is why we go into the chalice with that small bit of water.

We are immersed in the divine nature in all its infinity, absorbing as much as we can. A bit more each time, we hope.

We will become more like Our Lord, especially in charity, but with many other effects, such as wisdom, power, and faith.

Human nature is a mixed bag. It can often be called upon as an excuse for misbehaviour – I am only human, and therefore I am weak. 

Instead, it is a great privilege to possess human nature, now renewed in Christ. What He can do in His human nature opens the way for us to imitate.

We believe that we can be good; we can be better than we presently are, and to a degree that we might have thought impossible.

This is God's wish for us, and He gives us ways of achieving it – in Baptism and Eucharist, especially. 

When we reflect on a human life it is always the goodness of the person that we most value.

A person might have had many outstanding qualities – academic, athletic, good-looking, financial, cheerful… but what counts the most is simply how good he was. And how do we work that out? It is how much was he like Jesus Christ?

We stress ‘goodness’ in a person because it is the central part of our nature.

And what enables that goodness to come forth is being joined to the Heart of Christ.

His heart is large enough for the whole world. He knows the status of every single person. If we cooperate it will work much better, but the potential is there for everyone. Whenever they might turn to the Lord; whenever we call upon Him, we can bring His love to bear in whatever place we find ourselves.

And all this is forever. We live forever if we are united with the eternal God. His human nature is eternal; so is ours.

With renewed desire we make this prayer at each Mass: May we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled Himself to share in our humanity.

Epiphany 5 January 2025

Epiphany 5 January 2025  One God, one People

We are in what could be called the second phase of the Christmas story. First there was the birth of Jesus and all that led up to that.

Second, what are we going to do about it? It does require a response. We are not supposed just to look at the crib as though we were passing tourists. We are meant to make a response to such great love.

In the latter part of Christmas we have the Epiphany, a kind of sub-feast of Christmas.

Epiphany gives us a sense of the largeness of Christmas, that God has come for the whole world, not just Jews. 

There is only one God and one Saviour, and ideally one people, who all believe the same things and follow the same moral law.

Before Christ came, people thought it was natural that each race would have its own ‘god’ or ‘gods’, and those gods would guide the fortunes of their particular subjects. The Jews thought that their God hated Gentiles, the same as they did.

How can you love the other side? Well, this is what Christ is bringing among us. We love even our enemies, because God loves them.

Some would say that religions vary with races and places, and we should not try to ‘Christianise’ people, leaving them with whatever religion they have.

But this makes no sense if there is only one God - only one real God, meaning the others are all imaginary, or worse, some form of evil.

Epiphany means a revealing. God reveals Himself to the nations (symbolised by the wise men), and then helps the Church to continue the process.

We preach, teach, argue, explain, explore the word, and most important of all, we live it out.

We need the Lord’s help for this.

We ask Him to continue to make Himself known to us, and through us.

We do this not by cleverness or philosophy but by demonstrating the power of the Lord. (1 Co 2,1-5)

To respond to a heavenly mystery we must be constantly replenished with grace. We cannot be agents of Epiphany unless we have first taken nourishment from Christmas. 

As we contemplate the crib scene  we are seeking always a deeper faith and charity.

The wise men were at their wisest when they knelt before the Infant King. They were highest when lowest!

They had enough wisdom to bow before the King of the universe. 

Our place before God is down low, then to be exalted we hope. He may lift us up; we cannot do it ourselves.

To the world we simply say: Behold your God.

We are not judging others, or persecuting them, simply offering them the truth.

May the light of Christ continue to shine, and bring all nations to Him. 

Lift up your eyes round about and see; They all gather together, they come to you. Your sons will come from afar, And your daughters will be carried  (Is 60).

In the kings we see the necessary humility, and also the wealth and power of the nations brought to the real King’s disposal.

He is Lord of all, and it makes sense to acknowledge that.

Many grasp power and wealth for themselves, but it will never bring the desired happiness.

What are we going to do about it?

Bring all we have to the King, then fortified, go out again in His name.

Christmas Day 2024 Sermon

 Christmas Day 2024 Levels of  salvation

Jesus Christ is born among us. A Saviour has come. To rescue us from sin and death, to bring us from darkness to light. To make right all that was wrong, and to enrich further whatever  is right.

Jesus has come among us. He wants to console us with the knowledge of his coming and also to change us as people to be like Himself in His perfect humanity; to become better people than we were before. So we have much to celebrate at Christmas.

There are different levels to the feast. There is the feasting, the gathering of families and friends, the presents, the holiday element. We are for a short while free from our usual cares.

But the good news goes further than these things. This story we enact of the Bethlehem scene is not just make-believe. It is a true story; these things did happen.

It is not just a story from a long time ago or far away. It is happening around us and to us. 

Jesus is Saviour of the whole world and all time. He came to rescue everyone  not just the people of some places and some times. No one has to accept Him but everyone can - and should. 

People have always had an idea that their god would give them what they need. So they pray for their crops, their battles, to be free of natural disasters etc.

Our God (the only one who actually exists) grants us those things, especially if we ask for them in faith.

But He also brings us into unity with Himself and promises us eternal life. We might have started out just praying for rain and we get eternal life. That is God's way of showing us what He is like.

We pray for health in the body and He forgives our sins (health in the soul).

He not only forgives the guilt of the sin but gives us a new desire for what is right.

We pray for our nation and  He gives us the Kingdom of God, which goes beyond national borders and unites all who enter it.

We are conscious that many people are experiencing poverty at present. God wants us to give to the poor, and also to correct any injustices which make it difficult for people to receive sufficient income.

Christmas inspires us to see that everyone has enough of the things of this world. In giving we are receiving from Christ and building up a better world (Kingdom).

 We are conscious of the wars going on around the world, and pray that people will learn from the Saviour how to treat enemies (preferably turn them into friends).

There is always this double element. Physical material help is vital, but in Christ it always points to spiritual benefits.

If we ask for the spiritual gift that will always motivate us to material help. The generosity of God will awaken generosity in us.

The Christmas story always gives us a sense of peace, but it is more than a nice story. It really can change those who take it seriously.

Can a baby in an unknown town have that much influence on world history? He has influenced many but as we see He can be resisted. But He cannot be made to go away, and under another title (Good Shepherd or Sacred Heart) He will continue to search for lost sheep.

As to ourselves if we let Him enter our lives we will experience constant blessings and might even see a change in our surrounding society, the Kingdom of God coming among us.

4th Sunday of Advent 22 December 2024 Sermon

4th Sunday of Advent 22 December 2024 Salvation mediated

God could have come as an adult and saved Himself a lot of trouble. But He wanted to experience being human, not taking convenient short cuts. He shows his desire to enter our world and live our life, only in His case to do that in a perfect human nature.

He took a longer route (infancy, childhood) to teach us that we should participate in our own salvation. He could have just sent a message from Heaven, telling us we are all pardoned, all forgiven.

Sometimes people get a quick clearance – e.g. the Good Thief - but for most people the process of being saved has not been quick.

Participating in our own salvation means we are aware of what is happening and cooperating with whatever God asks of us. We learn on the job, we could say.

As the Church, and as individual disciples, we learn to recognise God's ways. If we cannot understand them fully, we can at least grasp the general idea and learn to recognize and accept God's holy will.

God wants to save us in such a way that we be people who live to the full potential of our human nature, now redeemed and sanctified in Christ.

Salvation is not just ‘going to Heaven’ as though we move from one place to another.

It is to be set free from sin -  the guilt of sin, the hold it has on us, and the damage it does.

At the same time, our relationship with God is restored and enriched.

When we realize what God is trying to do, we realize why He took the longer way to save us. He was preparing us and getting us to ‘prepare the way for Him.’ A lot of careful thought has to go into the process of salvation. It is not a simple matter; there are many things which need attention.

Those who lose patience with God are not going to see the subtle points. They want miracles and right now. They do not see their own disorder nor think they need any particular help. 

God is not a fast-food delivery service. He is more like a gardener, digging here and probing there, and giving all the right nutrients. He changes us within, pulling out all the bad bits and giving instead the fruits of the Holy Spirit (Ga 5,22-23).

Mary had this perfect understanding of what God was doing. She did not understand everything but was so attuned to His will that she cooperated fully.

We re-live the Annunciation as being closely connected with Christmas. Without Mary’s consent we would have no Saviour.

We re-live the Visitation whereby she foreshadows the evangelisation of the whole world, bearing the Saviour to us. Notice the mediating role. This is what God wants from us all, that we give and receive from each other the essential Gospel.

God works through anyone who will let Him. The more we love the more He entrusts to us, and then become able to give more still. Even in Heaven we can increase our love for God, as our capacity for love increases.

Most times it is not something great required, just getting the little things right.

Imitating Mary we are open to whatever God might ask, and we do it without complaint.

We give Him our best, the best lamb from the flock. 

And we encourage each other to go further, not stopping too soon, as many people do.

Come, O come Emmanuel, dwell in us in a way that requires and rewards our participation.

3rd Sunday of Advent 15 December 2024 Sermon

 3rd Sunday of Advent 15 December 2024  Recapturing joy

At times we  have some joyful experiences in life, such as wedding days, passing exams,  winning a grand final - and we wish those feelings of joy could stay always, but unfortunately the joy fades away.

Imagine you were present at Bethlehem at the first Christmas, or at the empty tomb the first Easter, and how good that must have felt. Yet even these joys faded somewhat with time, and the people involved had to deal with other problems – such as divisions in the Church.

Yesterday’s miracle can seem like old news if we let it. 

If the joy of something fades it does not necessarily mean the experience has disappeared; it may just have sunk down deeper;  still there, but not as easy to identify. It does not mean we have lost our faith, just that the emotional support is not always there.

God wants us to learn how to trust Him; to walk by faith not by sight  (2 Co 5,7).

The whole history of the Church is there for us to draw upon and find the strength we need now. Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again. We have the Bible,  creeds, councils, popes, saints - they all sustain us if we turn to them.  

We are glad these events happened, but how to connect with them so that they have their full effect? 

We do not let the passing of time dim our enthusiasm. The reason we gather on a Sunday is to recapture the Sunday that Jesus rose from the dead, and the Sunday that the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles.

The people were excited then; they can be excited now. Sometimes we will feel it; all the time we will believe it.

And the more we believe, the more we are going to see signs of victorious activity around us. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe (Jn 20,29).

Our repetition of prayers and sacraments should work to cement our faith more fully.

We believed it in the past, so we believe it now, and always.

The passing of time is one thing. What about when things happen which are decidedly non -joyful.  Rejoice always does not mean we are happy about bad things that happen. What we are glad about is that Christ is Risen, and all the connected themes that go with that.

If even one thing that we believe is true we have enough joy for the whole world and for all time. If one part of the chain is true, then so is the whole chain. 

There are many things going on but front and centre there is Jesus Christ, and I belong to Him; my life is based on Him, and He lives in me. This is what I am happy about. 

The sorrow is real, but we do not dwell in it, or on it, but reclaim the joy that never expires;  and sometimes at least the feelings will come along too; but with or without them we have the basic truth which sets us free (Jn 8,31-32).

Every day we can reaffirm who we are, what we are, where we have come from, where we are going. We check in with God to get all those things back in the right place and when balanced correctly we must be happy.

All praise to Jesus Christ, born, died, risen and coming again.  

2nd Sunday of Advent (C) 8 September 2024 Sermon

2nd Sunday of Advent (C)        8 December 2024 Salvation

Prepare ye the way of the lord… a levelling out of what is crooked can be taken in different ways.

There is what God does for us, and what we need to do in response to Him - which is to repent; and then keep that repentance in view as we purify our lives of all that is unworthy of disciples of Christ. We do not grasp for too much but travel light on our pilgrim way.

God rescues us by leading us to true sorrow for sin and a continuous learning of what He wants to reveal to us.

God wants to take us a long way, probably a lot further than we would have sought for ourselves.

Consider, you are on a raft at sea, in great danger. A boat comes by and rescues you. There is gratitude about being saved from such a predicament. This is ‘salvation’ to a point, but if I was a greedy grasping person while I was on the raft, I will still be greedy and grasping when I am safely on the boat. I still need more saving, to get my character right.

Salvation, divine style, is when we go that extra step and seek inner healing, the forgiveness and healing of all that is wrong in our thoughts and attitudes. This is what comes out of my mouth and what actions I do. It is from within (Mk 7,21-23) Our Lord says, that good or evil things come, not from external rituals.

If we get the interior right the external behaviour will match accordingly. Blessed are the peacemakers etc 

People generally stop too short of the kind of self-renewal that is needed. 

Some will say that we must take people as they are. Yes, but that does not rule out correcting faults. Self-acceptance means I am called to belong to Gods family; healing of faults will restore me to Gods family and give me a strong sense of belonging.

We participate in our own salvation. To be saved I have to face my own contribution to the problem. I cannot just put all the blame onto others, or the ‘system’.

It will take more than  education or discussion; I need to be right with God.

Some will declare victory too soon. ‘I have met the Lord; I am saved’ It is  a good start but there is a long way to go.

On the other hand, we can become cynical about life and people, doubting they can ever change for the better. But we have some strong anti-cynicism medicine in our prayer and sacraments!

The levelling of the countryside means the removal of obstacles. We can take a fresh approach to reaching God's kingdom.

He will clear away obstacles in our path, and we will do the same for Him.

He will enable us to see things in a new light and that will give us motivation to do things differently.

We will make it easier for him to save us if we do not resist. The one sheep could run away from the good shepherd. People generally resist God's efforts to save them. Unless they hit rock bottom like the prodigal son.

We will not get a completely straight run in this life, but we can make it easier than it has been so far.

Prepare the way of the Lord!

1st Sunday of Advent 1 December 2024 Sermon

1st Sunday of advent 1 December 2024 Stages of growth

The season of Advent tends to be somewhat swamped by Christmas, as most Christmas events are celebrated before Christmas Day arrives.

We still have the Advent liturgy, however, and that keeps us in our place as far as needing to prepare for Christmas, and not just stumble into it.

The Advent readings take us the full range of time, from distant future to distant past, as we contemplate the infinite power and goodness of God.

All time is in God’s hands, He is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last. We squeeze in there somewhere; small as we are we will not be overlooked.

The Advent season, coming over four weeks gives us a sense of progression from one stage to the next. Think of the Advent wreath as an accumulation of desire on our part, desiring the Lord more each week than the week before. And this of course can go all year, as we grow in our love of God from one time to the next.

As it has been observed, how can we be afraid to meet the Lord if we profess to love Him?

We do not usually fear those we love. So, it is put to us in today’s Gospel that we should go out to meet the Lord with our heads held high. To be able to do that we need to ask Him to draw us along, teaching us, forgiving us, generally maintaining us. He will be no stranger to us when we meet Him on the Last Day.

We are commanded to love God. That it needs to be a command is to help us get used to the idea. But when we love Him enough, we will not need to be told to love Him. The love will flow naturally. It will come with prayer and sacraments as we realize Gods progressive goodness to us.

God knows we cannot take in much at a time, so He reveals His plans gradually, stretching over thousands of years and many generations. 

So, are we progressing in the love of God? We love what is loveable; once we break through initial reserve we will see much more.

We must do some basic things to help this along, such as attend Mass. Get the little things right and the big ones will follow.

We will shed earthly attachments as we do this. Thus, we de-clutter the way; we live simple and good lives, with all the various virtues emerging as needed. Make straight the way of the Lord. 

Many see the Church and religion in general as a kind of drag. Not if we get into the right understanding. A lot of it may be unfamiliar but we get to like it. 

Ask a child who plays in the back yard. Ask him if he would like to be still doing that in ten years’ time. He would probably say yes, but ask him in ten years and he would not want to go back. 

And that in a nutshell is our situation. We don’t know the layout of where we are going, but we do know it is better than here; and we will be better people there than we are here.

The four weeks of Advent symbolise a continuous movement towards eternity. 

May we never stop loving God or seeking more.

In the meantime, let this be the best Advent and best Christmas ever!