Path To Sunday

Full Gospel Passage: John 1:6-8, 19-28

• That Elijah (who never died but was taken up into heaven in a chariot of fire – 2 Kings 2:11) would come back and prepare the way for the Messiah (Malakai 4:5): “See, I am sending you Elijah the prophet before the day of the Lord comes, that great day, greatly to be feared.”
• There will be a prophet like Moses who will explain and clarify the law (Deuteronomy 18:15-18): “A prophet like me will the LORD, your God, raise up for you from among your own kindred; that is the one to whom you shall listen… I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kindred, and will put my words into the mouth of the prophet; the prophet shall tell them all that I command.”

While John was not the messiah/Christ, Elijah, or the prophet, Jesus identified him as a figure like Elijah (Matt 11:14), preparing the way of the Lord.

Confession is a fruitful way to prepare for both Christmas and the Second Coming of the Lord. There is a necessary humility in confessing our sins in the sacrament, but a powerful grace comes in a good confession. It is the opportunity to make a fresh start and receive the Lord’s abundant forgiveness. There’s a scene in John Powers’ delightful novel about growing up Catholic in the 1950s Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect up? in which the author leaves church and returns home after going to confession. In his head, he hears these joyful words – Free from sin! Free from sin! Free from sin!

He tells us in today’s gospel: “You do not know when the time will come.” If Jesus did come, would we wish that we had more time to prepare? More time to volunteer, more time to help our neighbor, more time to pray, read the bible… anything to prepare for his coming? I doubt we would wish that we had watched more episodes of our favorite TV show or YouTube and TikTok videos. I bet we would wish that we had given Jesus more of our time. We can start by giving our time here at St. James.

One of the greatest theological minds of our time, Cardinal Francis George, gave a famous saying before he died. He said, “The only thing we take with us when we die is what we have given away. The only things that endure are our relationships with God and with each other.” As we conclude the liturgical year, let each of us reflect on how we are living our life remembering the words of Jesus, “Whatsoever you do to the least of my people, you do unto me.”

In the parable of the talents from Matthew chapter 25, we hear the familiar lesson from Jesus about the master who gives his talents (money) to three of his servants. He gave them responsibility over very large amounts of money. Two of the servants were good and prudent stewards who invested the money, but the third buried his treasure out of fear. We are all given treasures by God, who may be asking us through this parable to seriously consider what we are doing with that gift.

Time, talent, and treasure are abundant gifts from a generous God. What does our stewardship look like? Are we imitating God’s generosity in building up others and the Church?

I remember the shock: it was 1995 and I was in college. A classmate with whom I had many classes in high school died at the age of 20. When you are young, you think you are going to live forever; as you get older, you realize time goes quicker than you think. Jesus’ words are just as true today as they were back then: “Stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” When I come before the Lord at the end of my life – which could be any day – what will I tell him that I did with all the earthen treasures that he entrusted to my care?

After all, he created the world; everything ultimately belongs to him. Did I freely and gladly return to him what is already his? Did I give of my treasure to the poor and to the Church? It is one thing to bequeath my money after I die and it is no longer any good to me, it is another to lovingly give it away now. I hope to love Jesus intensely now by giving back my treasure so that I may ultimately have treasure in heaven.

We read today Christ rebuking the Pharisees and the practice of their priestly work for the gratification of themselves to be seen by others as being holy. They took the opportunity to show their piousness by expanding their phylacteries (small leather pouch or box that carried the law) and lengthening their tassels. They wore the façade of holiness yet were all too eager to accept places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation ‘Rabbi.’ They were not living their purpose to shepherd the people of Israel back to God but expand their influence and status, as well as their material comfort and benefit. As a result, there were factions within the Jewish community that purported to know the fullness of the law and that if the Jewish people wanted to be truly faithful they should follow them.

Christ shows us how we are to avoid those pitfalls and look to Him and His Church: Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called ‘Master’; you have but one master, the Christ. The greatest among you must be your servant. Following Christ and knowing Him personally is what we long for. He is the way the truth and the life and He’s given us a Church that provides us with Sacraments, moments to experience an outward sign of inward graces, to experience Him and His unending love for us. We are called to move towards Him, not to tie ourselves to worldly vices that detract from Him. To move as siblings in Christ building up His church and inviting souls outside the Christian family to join us. The parish today is the primary vehicle we can achieve that, and providing the parish with our talent, treasure, and time and seeing that those three “t’s” belong to God helps us move the mission of the Church forward, to make disciples of all nations.