|
Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary-
Homilies |
"Jesus
Christ: The Fulfillment of Our Humanity and the Source of Our
Joy"
Homily for the 3rd
Sunday of Advent
Fr. Jonathan L. Reardon
12 December 2010
Year A
The opening scene of the
hit Broadway musical, Oliver, is probably one of the most
familiar of the entire play. The main character, based on
Charles Dickens's classic novel, Oliver Twist, is an
orphan. The scene takes place in the orphanage – dark, crowded,
too cold in the winter, too hot in the summer; there's never
enough food, never clean clothes or soft beds; it is an
all-around miserable place to live. In the first scene of the
musical, the orphans are eating their daily allowance of gruel
under the threatening gaze of the supervisor. When Oliver
finishes his small helping, he is still hungry. So he brings his
empty bowl up to the supervisor and asks: “Please, sir, may I
have some more?” The supervisor goes ballistic. He is astonished
and infuriated by the request, and so, naturally, he launches
into a song in which he explains that no one ever asks for more
in the orphanage, that no one ever asks for anything - they
should be satisfied with the little they get.
Oliver demonstrates that in our lives, we were not made for
less. We were made for more. Our hearts desire more. And the
whole of our lives is a journey to complete fulfillment – to
becoming fully human. The passing pleasures and achievements of
this world don't fill us up. They cannot fully satisfy this
strong desire on our hearts for more than the world can offer.
We can look to the Church then, for hope in this area of our
lives. No other institution has survived over two thousand years
of history. No other institution has kept the same teachings,
traditions, and structure for two thousand years. Just think of
how unlikely is this amazing thread of continuity! Not only has
the continuity survived but also the Church has expanded and
grown over these past two millennia. The Church herself proves
that this is a divine institution grounded in the truth and love
of God Himself with its humble beginnings in that small, cold
cave in Bethlehem.
With the birth of our Savior, man’s desire for God is met in his
own reality. Thus, the preaching of St. John the Baptist had a
divine purpose. It was the Messiah for which the heart of the
Baptist longed – his whole life centered around Him, though not
knowing who He would be. Therefore, when he hears of the works
of the Christ, he asks: “Are you the one?” And how does Jesus
answer? By testifying to those works. If John was paying
attention to the response the disciples of Jesus bring to him,
he would have heard the voice of Isaiah speaking those beautiful
words found in our first reading: “Be strong, fear not! Here is
your God, he comes with vindication; with divine recompense he
comes to you. Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the
ears of the deaf be cleared; then will the lame leap like a
stag, then the tongue of the mute will sing.” John’s prayers are
answered, his work complete, his search for the Messiah
finished, and the deepest longing of his heart is fulfilled. In
Christ, John the Baptist finds his true joy.
We celebrate today the very same joy that John the Baptist found
in Jesus. This Third Sunday of Advent is known as Gaudete Sunday
– “gaudete” meaning “rejoice.” This joy is founded in the
nearness of our God – that the birth of our Savior is that much
closer to when we first began the Advent Season. In the birth of
Jesus we find the Church in its nascent stage. Nonetheless, as
mentioned before, it is here in the Church – amidst two thousand
years of history, persecution, turmoil, expansion, schism,
renewal, and grace – here we find Christ: the fulfillment of our
humanity and the source of our joy. At this mid-way point on the
road to Bethlehem, perhaps we could as ourselves – for what have
we been searching? With what have we filled up our lives? What
is the desire of our hearts? Why have we come here, to this
church, this day? It is truly my belief that we are here because
we do have a desire for God. That desire, however, must be first
in our lives and in our hearts. This desire gives us the hope
for eternal life. It must be what motivates our every thought,
word and deed – in the same way it motivated St. John the
Baptist.
As Pope Benedict XVI so beautifully commented in his Encyclical
Letter, Spe Salvi:
It becomes evident
that man has need of a hope that goes further. It becomes clear
that only something infinite will suffice for him, something
that will always be more than he can ever attain...
we need the greater and lesser hopes that keep us going day by
day. But these are not enough without the great hope, which must
surpass everything else. This great hope can only be God, who
encompasses the whole of reality and who can bestow upon us what
we, by ourselves, cannot attain (Spe Salvi, #30-31).
With hearts opened up to
the favor of God and touched by an experience of His grace found
in the sacraments, we will desire more – more of the joy and
grace that God gives to those who hearts are softened by His
love. God does not reject us when we ask for more; He rewards us
and fills us up with the only thing that can truly satisfy the
longing of our hearts: His very self. And where do we get it?
Here, in this place. The more time we spend with Him– even what
little time we have– sitting in His presence in the Blessed
Sacrament, the more He gives Himself to us.
As we come to receive Him in Holy Communion, let His grace fill
us this day and keep the desire for more of His love ever
present in our hearts, minds and souls and so lead us to true
joy and the fulfillment of our lives.
