And miles to go

Christmas Message

In the Last Supper context of St. John’s fourteenth chapter, St. Philip says to Jesus: “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” This was, at first glance, a rather reasonable request. As human beings, we often contend that “seeing is believing.” We want proof, concrete proof so as to verify the truth of the matter at hand.

Yet, Jesus’ response to Philip points to a knowledge, a verifiability if you will, on a completely different level: “Philip, after I have been with you all this time, you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father . . . Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?” (Jn 14:9-10)

With these words, Jesus challenges Philip to a life of faith. Faith is a way of seeing and of knowing what is based on the reality of a personal relationship - it is proven by the experience of knowing and loving someone so well that no further proof is required.

Ask children if their parents love them and they, in all likelihood, will say “yes.” But ask them to prove it and they might be perplexed: “Well, I just know that they do.”

How do we know that we really know God? We cannot envision him or touch him for God lies beyond our capacity to comprehend or even to imagine. But we can “see” God in Jesus and in his Body, the Church.

This reality constitutes that mystery which we call the Incarnation. Its essence is what we ponder as we approach and prepare for the great feast of Christmas. Unfortunately our society perceives the meaning of Christmas from a purely horizontal perspective: “Peace on earth and good will to mankind.” That’s not so bad, but it is woefully incomplete.

We have all but forgotten the vertical dimension of that same angelic message: “Today is born for you, a Savior, Christ the Lord.” Without this revelation, there is no capacity for peace or good will among men and women obsessed with their own self-interest and introspection.

But perhaps for us the most difficult aspect of the meaning of the Incarnation is that God has revealed that he works through human instruments. This is particularly so when it comes to an acceptance of hearing God’s voice through a parent or superior, in abstaining from sexual expression for a committed spiritual good, or in denying oneself material comfort or physical gratification from a purely religious motivation. The secular world does not understand why any of the above would make sense. And truth be told, many Catholics, even clerics, wonder why as well. They have lost their ascetical edge and given in to the desires of the world wherein “seeing is believing.” In such a state, faith is not required and conversion is no longer expected. The love of God wanes and prayer becomes tepid.

The medical remedy for this is, of course, the Sacrament of Penance or Reconciliation. This is not an easy sacrament to celebrate because it requires stripping away our false facades and admitting that our love of God has been lost by turning in upon ourselves. That is, after all, the original description of sin: to do one’s own thing rather than God’s, to put God on the sideline while we quarterback the ball.

The regular practice of General Absolution has only worsened this situation in our time by convincing us that we did not have to take personal ownership of our sins. It is so much easier to have, as some have said, the magic wand of absolution waved over us than to confront the Incarnational Jesus in a face to face encounter with the priest. But grace builds upon nature and conversion of heart requires a direct confrontation of the demons that lurk within. The ten steps of Alcoholics Anonymous are as good a spiritual roadmap as one can find. And the personal expression of the reality that “I am a sinner” spoken to one who has the power to forgive in Christ’s name has a liberating effect that is hard to match.

But to frequent the Sacrament of Penance/Reconciliation is not likely unless one has grasped the meaning of the Incarnation. For God-became-man to die for our sins, i.e. yours and mine. That’s the only reason for Christmas: death to sin in order to live for God.

Like Philip, we want to see God so that we can have tangible proof in what we believe. But Jesus calls us to faith in our relationship with him, assuring us that this is the only proof we really ever need. Can you accept this? If so, I suggest you give yourself a holiday present by going to Confession and really experiencing what Christmas is all about. You will be glad you did!

 God love you!

December 2004

Falta Mucho por Recorrer

En el contexto de la última cena, capitulo catorce de San Juan, San Felipe le dice a Jesús: "Señor, déjanos ver al Padre, y con eso nos basta." A primera vista, eso fue una petición algo razonable. Como seres humanos a menudo lideamos con "ver es creer." Queremos pruebas, pruebas concretas para verificar una situación.

Aun así, la respuesta de Jesús a Felipe señala un conocimiento, una comprabilidad, si así se prefiere de nivel completamente diverso: "Felipe, hace tanto tiempo que estoy con ustedes, ¿y todavía no me conoces? El que me ve a mí, ve al Padre...¿No crees que yo estoy en el Padre y el Padre está en mí?" (Juan 14:9-10).

Con estas palabras, Jesús desafía a Felipe a una vida de fe. La fe es una forma de ver y de saber qué esta basado en una relación personal - se ha comprobado por la experiencia de conocer y amar a alguien tan bien que no require otra prueba.               

Pregunten a los niños si aman a sus padres, ellos con toda seguridad dirán que "si." Pero si le preguntan, si podrían comprobarlo? ellos estarían confundidos: "Bien, yo se que si." 

¿Cómo sabemos que realmente conocemos a Dios? No podemos visualizarlo ni tocarlo ya que Dios se encuentra más alla de nuestra capacidad de comprender o imaginar. Pero si podemos "ver" a Dios en Jesús y en su Espíritu Santo, la Iglesia. 

Esta realidad constituye ese misterio que llamamos la Encarnación. Su esencia es lo que reflexionamos mientras nos acercamos y preparamos para la gran celebración de Navidad. Desafortunadamente nuestra sociedad percibe el significado de Navidad de una perspectiva puramente horizontal: "Paz en la tierra y buena voluntad para la humanidad." No esta mal, pero lamentablemente incompleto.   

 Todos nos hemos olvidado de la dimension vertical de ese mismo mensaje angelical: "Hoy ha nacido un Salvador, Cristo el Señor." Sin esta revelación, no hay capacidad de paz o buena voluntad entre hombres y mujeres obsesionados por su propio interés e introspección.

Para nosotros quizás el aspecto más dificil sobre el significado de la encarnación es que Dios ha revelado que él trabaja a través de instrumentos humanos. Este particularmente ya que cuando se trata de una aceptación de oir la voz de Dios a través de un padre de familia o de un superior de abstenerse a la expresión sexual por una causa de buen espíritu o el de negarse uno mismo a la conformidad material o de satisfacción física por una motivación puramente religiosa.  El mundo secular no entiende el porque ninguno de los puntos mencionados tendría sentido. Y que la verdad se diga, muchos católicos, hasta incluso clérigos, se preguntan el porque también. Ellos han perdido su lado ascético y han caido en los deseos del mundo "ver es creer." En dicho estado, la fe no es requerido y la conversion ya no se espera. El amor de Dios disminuye y la oración se convierte poco entusiasta.  

Como Felipe, nosotros queremos ver a Dios de modo que podamos tener prueba tangible en lo que creemos. Pero Jesús nos llama a la fe en nuestra relación con él, y nos asegura que esta es la única prueba que siempre necesitaremos.

¿Puedes aceptar esto? Si es así, sugiero que se de un regalo navideño a usted mismo yendo a confesión y experimentar lo que realmente es Navidad. ¡Usted estará contento de haberlo hecho!

¡Que Dios los bendiga! 

December 2004