Before I Forget...

      "The virgin shall be with child
      And give birth to a son,
      And they shall call him Emmanuel,
      A name which means 'God is with us'."
         Matthew 2:23

25 days until Christmas!  Instead of making the next 25 days busy, hectic, crazy, how can we enjoy these days with our families and friends in a sane and enjoyable way?  The Church calendar year begins today on the first Sunday of Advent.   The Advent season, lasting the four weeks before Christmas, is a great gift to the followers of Jesus.  From time to time, and every now and then, it's good to take a break from the usual, from our daily routines and schedules, and allow ourselves to be SURPRISED!  When was the last time you were really surprised by something different, by something new. Our God really is a God of Surprises!  Advent is  a time to renew ourselves,  to wake up, to be on the lookout for God.  In today's gospel, Jesus tells us to be watchful and alert.  These words are not just about being ready to meet God when we die, but about encountering God in our daily lives. Our God is Emmanuel--a name which means "God is with us."   
We desperately need to remember that the promise of God is always with us.  2002 A.D. has been a rough year for all of us, and rougher for some than the rest of us.  Where is God?  Is God ever going to show up?  Death steals a loved one from us.  There is talk of war.  We don't feel as safe as we did before 9-11.  There are continuing terrorist alerts.  All of this is taking a toll on us.  We see and hear about the greed of large public companies whose accounting practices are under government investigation.  Some CEO's receive sinful compensations while their companies lay off thousands, maybe your neighbor or child is without work because of corporate greed.  And our own Roman Catholic bishops have disgusted us with their lack of leadership in the face of the pedophilia scandal.  With their backs up against the wall, they finally had to do something.
We have to stop in the midst of all the insanity around us and remember what grounds us and sustains us...Who grounds us and sustains us.  As people of faith we are always waiting and watching for God, or at least some sign of God in our lives.  Maybe the secular culture tells us that we are fooling ourselves and just using our primitive imaginations to feel better...that there is no God ... that life is all about us.
But we are a People of Remembrance.  WE remember that God took flesh 200 years ago in Jesus.  And they named him, Emmanuel, a name which means that "God-is-with-us."  God is with us...now...in the present& right here in the craziness of life, in the messiness of our lives.
The church invites us to use this Advent season to slow down and remember.  But we can't because of all the gift buying, entertaining, decorating, cooking, and baking.  Are we afraid of God?  Do we  successfully crowd God out of our lives?  God is not only near us, but God is with us. 
Let these words of Alice Taylor in 'Praying Place'  be our Advent prayer:
     You are always there
     In a quiet room
     Waiting for me
     To come to you... 
     Lord, teach me
     To leave space
     In my mind
     So that you
     Can always be there.
Yes, God waits for us...

Fr. Bill