Reading 1
Is 35:1-6a, 10 The desert and the parched land will exult;
the steppe will rejoice and bloom.
They will bloom with abundant flowers,
and rejoice with joyful song.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to them,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the LORD,
the splendor of our God.
Strengthen the hands that are feeble,
make firm the knees that are weak,
say to those whose hearts are frightened:
Be strong, fear not!
Here is your God,
he comes with vindication;
with divine recompense
he comes to save 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.
Those whom the LORD has ransomed will return
and enter Zion singing,
crowned with everlasting joy;
they will meet with joy and gladness,
sorrow and mourning will flee.
R. (cf. Is 35:4) Lord, come and save us. The LORD God keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free. R. Lord, come and save us.
The LORD gives sight to the blind;
the LORD raises up those who were bowed down.
The LORD loves the just;
the LORD protects strangers. R. Lord, come and save us. The fatherless and the widow he sustains,
but the way of the wicked he thwarts.
The LORD shall reign forever;
your God, O Zion, through all generations. R. Lord, come and save us.
Be patient,
brothers and sisters,
until the coming of the Lord.
See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the
earth,
being patient with it
until it receives the early and the late rains.
You too must be patient.
Make your hearts firm,
because the coming of the Lord is at hand.
Do not complain, brothers and sisters, about one another,
that you may not be judged.
Behold, the Judge is standing before the gates.
Take as an example of hardship and patience, brothers and
sisters,
the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
When John the Baptist heard in prison of the works of the
Christ,
he sent his disciples to Jesus with this question,
“Are you the one who is to come,
or should we look for another?”
Jesus said to them in reply,
“Go and tell John what you hear and see:
the blind regain their sight,
the lame walk,
lepers are cleansed,
the deaf hear,
the dead are raised,
and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.
And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.”
As they were going off,
Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John,
“What did you go out to the desert to see?
A reed swayed by the wind?
Then what did you go out to see?
Someone dressed in fine clothing?
Those who wear fine clothing are in royal palaces.
Then why did you go out? To see a prophet?
Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
This is the one about whom it is written: Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way before you.
Amen, I say to you,
among those born of women
there has been none greater than John the Baptist;
yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”
His task
was only to prepare and announce. His mission was very
external. He could not reach the cause. He couldn’t really
touch sin, the poisoning, and the human disorientation
itself. He could amend, patch up, and repair. He could
warn, advise, recommend, and urge, but it was like pouring
oil and spices over rotten food. He was not the Christ. He
could not change humanity. He could only baptize with
water. That is why he started to insist: “Don’t think that
it is me. Don’t think that I will be able to change you. I
baptize only with water. Someone else is going to come
after me. He really will change your mind, your heart, your
soul, and your body.” He insisted: “Please forget about
me. Let me get smaller and smaller. Let me be forgotten.
It is HE who is going to change you.” This is what he said
when he first emerged on the scene in scriptures.
But in this
reading, John is in prison and sends messengers to Jesus to
ask "if he is the one who is to come or have we got to wait
for someone else?" That is what prison had done to his
mental state, diminished it to the point that he had
forgotten who Jesus was. But John knew that he wasn't
the one who was going to change the world, but instead Jesus
was, even in his dark prison cell. I wonder how many
of us are hemmed in some kind of a prison, notwithstanding
the obvious economic prison that our country is now in,
while we wonder if that is ever going to change.
This world can change only if people
change their attitudes, their minds, and their ways. I am
no less one of those people. Each day it is a struggle for
me to make that decision to change, to reform to the
teachings of that man to come, Jesus. And it
is only fire and Spirit that are going to do it. If we ever
needed some fire and Spirit, these days are certainly the
right time. This world, and especially this country, is in
more than just a recession in material ways, but most
certainly in a moral recession as well. And the only way to
remedy this course is through Jesus, our Lord and Savior.
Ultimately, we each decide what Christmas will mean for us.
We must decide how much we will allow ourselves to be
influenced by those who see Christmas as simply the biggest
merchandising season of the year. We have to choose what
Spirit we will follow during this Advent. Will we see Advent as
a season of preparation for a deeper and wider love for
others? Will we surround ourselves with symbols of Advent
and take time for reconciliation, for reading the scriptures
and prayer to prepare our hearts for Christ the infant
child? Or will we allow ourselves to be overwhelmed with
the shopping mall music and the pre-Christmas sales and the
Christmas parties that end before Christmas even arrives and
all the frantic efforts to buy and wrap and bake and
decorate?
The
alternative is well presented in a Christmas song called,
“What Will You Put Under Your Christmas Tree?” So what will
you put under your Christmas tree? Will it be gifts for the
poor, love for the elderly, care for the weak, the sick and
suffering? What will you put under your Christmas tree?
Will it be packages neat, candy to eat, trinkets of gold?
What will you put under your Christmas tree? How about
Fire and Spirit. Let us be willing to receive them.
We will have to release
ourselves from the prison that we are in. We can't do
too much about the economic prison that our government has
leashed upon us, both Republican and Democrat, but we can do
something about the little prison we are in, that keep us
from reaching out to one another in love to share that much
needed Fire and Spirit. Every day I get emails from folks
who are trying to do just that, and it is so very hard.
The prisons are many and often times different for each
person; the prison of loneliness, because of the
recent loss of a loved one; the prison of uncertainty, not
knowing if there is going to be income to make that next
house payment or any bills; the prison of doubt,
searching for something, for someone to believe in that will
free one from the darkness of sin, not knowing that Jesus is
the only one who can do that, not knowing who he even is;
the prison of frustration and desire to just give up, after
searching for employment and coming up short each time, time
after time after time. No way to support oneself and
family. These are only a few of the many that face us
each day my friends, as many of you know so well.
The changes that we look
for, those that really make a difference can only come from
Jesus, that little infant baby boy, soon to be born unto us.
It is only in Him that there is going to be change, only in
him that there is going to be hope. We must merge our
wills to that of his, by letting a
feeling of expectancy and anticipation grow among us during
these final days of the coming of the Lord, knowing that he
will come again in His glory to take us who have been
faithful to His word, back to Paradise.
May God
bless you all this coming week and grace you with good
health in mind, body, and spirit. Continue to put God first
in your life, and then others.
It’s wonderful to ponder the Christmas season –
Perhaps to reflect on what it might bring?
Is it really so much about the person –
or in our lives, what He actually means?
The spirit and joy and awe of this time –
is echoed throughout nations aplenty,
and celebrated with much anticipation -
this event that has changed the lives of many.
Hearts seem to be touched as never before –
as we ponder the infants’ mission to come.
That’s when we begin to realize so clearly -
what happened when His childhood was done?
And the mission He came to accomplish –
which, at this time, we don’t surmise,
because it’s overshadowed by His birth –
and not about the cross, on which He had died.
Inclined to journey to a place in time –
led by the Spirit to a dessert land.
It seems to be the place to go –
as the infant grew, from childhood into man.
May we already be graced to know –
that this season of Christmas is just the beginning,
only to be drawn to a place called Calvary –
for that’s where this infant would find His ending.
He lived a life of unconditional love –
the message given on the roads He did trod,
inviting all who would listen, to follow Him -
for our salvation, in the end, He would nod.
And so, as we take a preview of what was to be –
this Christmas Easter began in the crib where He laid,
with Sheppard’s in the field, on that first Christmas eve -
‘for our eternal life’, the price our Infant Savior paid!
@Steve A. Politte
12/23/2005
“O Holy
Night” by Billy Gilman
A Letter
To Michael
People give in so many ways that we aren’t even aware of: to
the homeless and underprivileged, the sick and shut–ins, the
poor and needy, the elderly and those in nursing homes. What
amazes me the most is that their giving is from the heart,
and is often a gift of time, talent, and treasure. I do
believe that there is a sector of people who are left out,
not intentionally, but rather inadvertently, unknowingly,
and because they are misunderstood and labeled as a “no
touch zone.” I hope that is an unfair judgment on my part. I
am not talking about hardened criminals. I’m talking about
those inmates (male & female) who have committed just one
small felon.
How I came to know Michael was definitely the work of the
Holy Spirit, some three years ago. Instead of going into
detail about how that all came about, I think you will
better understand what I am talking about as you read on.
Normally, I would never share what I am about to share with
you. It is only with Michael’s permission that I am going to
share a letter I wrote him about a year ago, a response to a
phone call made to me by him. I was the only person that
Michael could call, as his family all lived on welfare and
could not afford to accept the long distance charges. I hope
this will make us more aware of how fortunate we are to have
present to us our families and each other, most especially
those of you who come to visit this website, Open My Eyes
Lord.
“Dear Michael:
I hope I didn’t give you a jolt when I told you yesterday
that I loved you like a son. It just came out. But I mean
every word I said from the bottom of my heart. You are a
very special person. I know our relationship started out as
me being your Spiritual Director and then escalated into a
friendship, but God has a way of leading relationships even
farther than that. Maybe because right now in your life, you
need a father, someone you never had. And perhaps it may be
difficult for you to comprehend what I said, being told that
you are loved by me. I didn’t say that to put any pressure
on you to respond to me in any particular way. My love for
you, as it is for my birth son, is just as real and as
unconditional. I have no expectations of you to be any one
other than who you already are, a sinful repentant, loving,
and caring child of God, just as I am.
If I had been your birth father, maybe your life would have
turned out different. Maybe not. But that is beside the
point. It was never meant to be that way. However, at this
time in both our lives, perhaps the relationship was bound
to grow into something more meaningful. At least it has for
me.
Had you been my birth son, when you were five years old – on
an early summer Saturday morning, I would have taken you
with me to the Tiff (Tiff is slang for barite) cuts to pick
berries, knowing that you would probably have eaten more
than you would put into your bucket. I would have taught you
how to play baseball and football and we would have watched
the games together on television on a Sunday afternoon. I
would have taken you fishing with me to the lake and laughed
when you caught a small minnow, but would have been just as
proud of you as I am of you today, and we would have stayed
until the sun went down, grateful to God for another
beautiful day.
We would have went sleighing in the snow when it was too
deep for me to go to work or for you to go to school. When
you would have scraped your knee, I would have kissed it and
told you how much I loved you. I would have taught you how
to drive a stick shift before buying you a used automatic
car. I would have taught you how to spit wood for our wood
stove and had you shovel the snow off the sidewalk. I would
have ran with you across the field while teaching you how to
fly a kite. I would have made sure that you went to High
School and perhaps even college if that is what you would
have wanted to do. I would have forgiven you for any mistake
you made and praised you often for the good things you had
done, regardless of how small they were. I would have always
been there for you as you grew older and wanted to know
things. I would have listened to your ideals and shared your
dreams of the future. And Michael, you still do have a very
promising future.
And all through this growing up, I would have shared God
with you, telling you over and over again to always put God
first in your life, and though there would be times of
disappointment and suffering, there would be more joy and
happiness in your life. I would have shared with you all my
weaknesses and failings so that you would know that I too
was not perfect, and believe me, I’m not. Please don’t ever
put me on a pedestal. I’m as human as anyone else. That’s
how I would have shown my love for you and that’s how I want
you to understand my love for you now.
Michael, I know that being in prison has been difficult for
you. You have taken responsibility for the consequence of
the crime you have committed, though I believe you are
paying tenfold for the mistake you made. And with your
health situation I can’t understand why the prison officials
don’t just let you come home. I know it will be another
Christmas away from home, away from your son whom you love
so much, and your mom and the rest of your family. And I’m
sorry that this year you won’t be able to buy presents for
your son because the finances just
aren’t there. But your love for him is the greatest gift you
can give to him for Christmas, or at any time. Being in
prison has allowed you to come to that awareness, something
that many people outside those prison walls don’t have.
I thank God everyday for the growth that you have made:
getting baptized, going to church each weekend, knowing that
you are going for the both of us; for getting your GED and
tutoring fellow inmates so that they can accomplish the same
goal; for the prayer group you started each week. I recall
the loneliness I once felt so many years ago, especially
when I was in Vietnam for Christmas in 1969.
Michael, I share your pain and hurt as I hear of the
injustices imposed on you and other prison inmates who have
committed such small offenses. And I know that those outside
those prison walls, society as a whole, don’t know of the
injustices that you incur so often. But through it all you
have emerged a better person. You are more prepared and have
a greater understanding of what Christmas is all about than
more than many people who live freely in this country of
ours.
Continue to grow in God’s love and wonderful things will
happen for you, though you may not see that now. The tunnel
is narrow at one end, but it opens up to a wonderful
experience of light and love and peace at the other end,
always in the presence of God. My prayers are always with
you. As best you can, have a very Merry Christmas!
