Dec. 2, 2012: 1st Sunday of Advent, Year C
A few days ago while I was driving down the interstate, I passed Tanger Outlet Mall and noticed that the parking lot was quite full with cars and shoppers. I, too, was swept up in this frantic holiday pace on Black Friday. Even though our office was closed, I decided to go there to work on the Sunday homily. While typing away, the office doorbell rang and at the door was a man who wanted assistance with his light bill. There he stood, dressed for the chilly weather and near by was his mode of transportation -- his bike. I said to him, “We are closed for the holidays; can you come back on Monday?” But he was persistent; he said he tried the past two weeks, but for one reason or another he couldn’t reach the office. I asked, “How much can you pay on your bill?” He replied, “Father, I make $20 a day crushing cans. Everything I make goes into paying food and other things.” ‘20 dollars a day...’ I thought to myself. ‘I just bought on Amazon something for $20 with a simple click of a button without even giving a thought, and this man had to work the whole day for that $20.’
Mother Teresa’s words come to mind, “We look and don’t see the poor...When a poor person dies of hunger, it has not happened because God did not take care of him or her. It has happened because neither you nor I wanted to give that person what he or she needed.” Her words echo what Jesus first said, “Feed my sheep...Feed my lamb...Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” The gospels remind us that Jesus, before He was teaching people, felt compassion for the multitudes that followed after Him. Sometimes He felt it even to the point of forgetting to eat. How did He put His compassion into practice? He multiplied the loaves of bread and the fish to satisfy their hunger. He gave them food to eat until they couldn't eat any more, and twelve basketfuls were left over. Then He taught them. Only then did He tell them the Good News. This is what we must often do in our work: We must first satisfy the needs of the body, so that we can then bring Christ to the poor. If a person is anxious, hungry or homeless, he cannot hear the message of the gospel until those needs are met.
What can keep us from recognizing the signs of the Lord's presence and action today? Indifference and the temptation to slacken off – to become passive and lethargic or to fall asleep spiritually. It is very easy to get caught up in the things of the present moment or to be weighed down with troubles. So Jesus says in our gospel today, "Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap." The Lord knows our shortcomings and struggles and he gives us the strength to bear our burdens and to walk in his way of holiness. So St. Paul encouages us today in the a Second Reading, "Brothers and sisters, may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we have for you, so as to strengthen your hearts, to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones."
Did you see that story this week of a New York City policeman who purchased socks and boots for a homeless and barefoot man sitting out in the cold? A tourist from Arizona took the picture of the policeman kneeling by the homeless man trying to ease his suffering. That picture was posted on NYPD Facebook page and spread around the world via Internet in a matter of days. Why did that photo affect us? That photo reminded us of Jesus' call for each of us to be compassionate to one another just as Jesus was compassionate to us, " You clothed me when I was naked..." Somehow something was stirred up in us and prompted us to say, 'I don't want to be just a tourist in this life, I want to love the way that policeman loved that man.' We must remember that It's not how much we give, but how much love we put in giving.
As we begin this holy season of Advent, let us be vigilant in taking time to pray. May we each spend some time examining our hearts and minds to identify and change those habits or attributes that keep us from being more like Christ.
