Thoughts on Advent

Reflection for First Sunday of Advent



Each Advent, as we look forward to celebrating the coming of Jesus, our savior and shepherd, we begin to prepare—amidst the usual reminders of tasks and projects that always seem to ramp up at this time of year.

This First Sunday of Advent, with its scripture readings and prayers, offers us the opportunity to ponder the promises that God has made to us and all of creation: to raise up for us a redeemer who comes as an infant but brings the fulness of the power of love.

Our Gospel passage with its description of the final events is not meant to frighten us, but to encourage and strengthen us. Amid whatever turmoil there might be, Jesus says “Stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption (release) is at hand—the promise of a release from being absorbed with the difficulties, suffering, and defeat that seem to plague this human world of ours.

Advent can revive for us a promise—a covenant: God in the coming of Jesus says to us: “I will never let go of you!”

 So, as St. Paul proclaims, “May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all” Our Advent time can be a time when our loving God shows us the way and guides us to humbly give thanks for God’s gifts of deep love and promise.

Len Kraus, S.J.

Thoughts on Thanksgiving

 

The History and Religious Theme of Thanksgiving

                        By Microsoft CoPilot

 

Thanksgiving, a cherished American holiday, traces its origins to the early 17th century when English Pilgrims and Native Americans came together to celebrate a successful harvest. This historical event, often referred to as the "First Thanksgiving," took place in 1621 at Plymouth Colony (in what is now Massachusetts). The Pilgrims, having endured a harsh first winter in the New World, were grateful for the assistance of the Wampanoag people, who taught them vital agricultural techniques. Together, they held a three-day feast to give thanks for the bountiful harvest and their newfound friendship.

While the First Thanksgiving is a cornerstone of American folklore, the establishment of Thanksgiving as a national holiday evolved over centuries. Various colonies and states celebrated their own days of thanks. It wasn't until 1863 that President Abraham Lincoln, amidst the turmoil of the Civil War, proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November. This proclamation sought to unify the nation and encourage gratitude and reflection.

The religious theme of Thanksgiving is rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition of giving thanks to God for blessings received. This theme is reflected in the holiday's emphasis on gratitude, communal gatherings, and prayer. Many families observe Thanksgiving by attending religious services or offering prayers of thanks during their meals. The holiday serves as a reminder to recognize and appreciate the abundance in one's life, fostering a spirit of humility and gratitude.

In contemporary society, Thanksgiving transcends its religious origins, becoming a secular celebration embraced by people of diverse faiths and backgrounds. The essence of the holiday remains centered on giving thanks and celebrating the blessings of family, friends, and the harvest. It encourages a sense of community and unity, inviting individuals to reflect on their blessings and extend generosity to those in need.

Thanksgiving's rich history and religious themes continue to resonate, making it a beloved holiday that brings people together in a spirit of gratitude and fellowship.

What are you thankful for this year?

Thoughts on community

 

Waiting in Community

Christian community is the place where we keep the flame of hope alive among us and take it seriously so that it can grow and become stronger in us. In this way we can live with courage, trusting that there is a spiritual power in us when we are together that allows us to live in this world without surrendering to the powerful forces constantly seducing us toward despair. That is how we dare to say that God is a God of love even when we see hatred all around us. That is why we can claim that God is a God of life even when we see death and destruction and agony all around us. We say it together. We affirm it in each other. Waiting together, nurturing what has already begun, expecting its fulfillment—that is the meaning of marriage, friendship, community, and the Christian life. Henri Nouwen

Thoughts on possessions

 

Luke 21: 1-4

Friends, today’s Gospel tells of the poor widow who gave her last penny to the temple treasury. Her behavior makes us consider our possessiveness. What do we tell ourselves all the time? That we’re not happy because we don’t have all the things that we should have or that we want to have. What follows from this is that life becomes a constant quest to get, to acquire, to attain possessions. Do you remember the parable about the foolish rich man? When his barns were filled with all his possessions, he decided to tear them down and build bigger ones. Why is he a fool? Because (and I want you to repeat this to yourself as I say it) you have everything you need right now to be happy.  What makes you happy is always right in front of you because what makes you happy is love. Love is willing the good of the other, opening yourself to the world around you. Love is not a feeling. It’s an act of the will. It is the great act of dispossession. Bishop Robert Barron

Thoughts on life after death

 

Luke 20: 27-40

Friends, today’s Gospel reports a conversation Jesus had with some of the Sadducees, who held that there is no life after death. We could practically hear their speech on the lips of secularists today. But Jesus is having none of it. The dead shall indeed rise, he says. Otherwise, how could Moses have spoken of God as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, all of whom were long dead by Moses’ time? But their risen existence, though in continuity, even bodily continuity, with what has gone before, will be transformed, transfigured, raised up.  Those who hold to the resurrection of the body are those who are most effective at working for justice and peace in this world. If you are a complete materialist and secularist, you hold that everything and everybody, in the end, just fades away. But if you believe in the resurrection of the body, then everything in this world is destined for redemption. Everything matters. Bishop Robert Barron

Thoughts on Christ the King

Christ the King

Sunday, November 24th, is the feast day entitled Christ the King. In all of  the gospels Christ refers to himself as a king only once.  And this is in the gospel passage we have for this Sunday (John 18 33-37). Pilate, very disturbed by the his enemies false claim that Jesus has referred to himself as a king, asks Jesus if he is the king of the Jews. In a way Jesus says yes and no: He is a king but his Kingdom is not of this world.

On other occasions his followers are so enthused about him that they begin to crowd upon him in order to make him their king. But Jesus somehow disappears and prevents this from happening.

As we reflect on the whole of Jesus life we realized that there was very little that one might consider as kingly or regally. The designation for himself that Jesus seemed to prefer was son of man. Moreover, he forewarned his companions that his role in life, his call, was to serve, not to be served. He also admonished his disciples, when they were worried about prestige and power, that the foremost among them would be the one who serves the others.

Just as Jesus disciples and followers very much needed to hear him say this, so down through the ages his subsequent followers and disciples have needed to hear this and take it to heart.

As I have grappled somewhat with the designation of Jesus as Christ the King, I have come across another title that is for me is perhaps more apropos, It is simply: Christ the Servant King.

A blessed Thanksgiving to you all.



 Jim Blumeyer, S.J.

Thoughts on worldly attachments

 

Luke 19: 41-44

Friends, in today’s Gospel passage, Jesus laments over Jerusalem because it failed to acknowledge him. He says, “They will smash you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another within you because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.” This is a thunderclap, a shock, a highly subversive thing to say. It would be something like a president-elect coming upon the White House in the midst of a crowd of his supporters and saying, “All of this will be destroyed.” But this is precisely what Jesus does here. I know I’ve said it to you before, but I will say it again, because it belongs to the heart of the Gospel and it is repeated by Jesus over and over again: nothing in this world lasts. Nothing in this world should, therefore, be the object of our deepest longings or of our most powerful commitments. The temple represented all of the glitter and glamor of this world, the best it can offer; and the people standing there, entranced by it, stand for all of us down through the ages who stand staring up at the goods of this world. So we must free ourselves from worldly attachments and live for God alone. Bishop Robert Barron