God's Love Knows No Bounds

In the face of violence and terrorism, Lent reminds us that God loves everything and everyone He has created. In the face of hatred and prejudice, Lent reminds us that God is Love and because He cannot deny His own nature, He loves even those who do not love Him. In the face of a culture of death, Lent reminds us that God know that we are dust, but as creatures that He loves, we bear a treasure in earthen vessels. In the face of a society that is becoming more and more isolated, Lent reminds us that God made us to live in relationship with Him and with one another.

The prophet Isaiah reminds us that God speaks a word of comfort to the heart of each of His creatures. In that word is found a gracious offer of pardon and peace. Unlike His creatures, God is rich in mercy. No matter how mired we are in sin, God seeks us out and calls us to repent and return to His loving embrace. God so loved the world that He sent His only-begotten Son to save all who are willing to accept Him. Salvation is on God’s terms and not ours. For this reason, He has a claim on our obedience and allegiance.

The mercy of God is everlasting and His love is without measure and His Word is Truth. In love He speaks the truth to our hearts and He expects us to respond in truth. We can respond to the call of mercy because God has first sought us and the Holy Spirit is at work, ready to transform us, provided we allow Him. This transformation is total. It requires a change of mind and heart whereby we seek to conform ourselves to the mind and love of God. To repent is to return to the Lord from Whom we have wandered.

The word that proceeds for the mouth of God is living and life-giving. The letter to the Hebrews enlarges upon Isaiah’s theme: “Indeed, the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart” (Heb. 4:12). God’s Word produces a spiritual change in the mind of men, which neither rain nor snow can make on the earth. It shall not return to the Lord without producing important effects. Gospel grace can and will transform us and bring about newness of life in Christ. Provided we truly repent of our sins, we will be delivered from the wrath to come and come to live in peace with one another and with ourselves. Because we have come to know the mercy of God Who sought us while we were mired in sin and guilt, we can show compassion to others who are enslaved to sin.

God offers His People forgiveness and peace. Like those who have gone before us, we have to leave the land of our slavery. Freedom from guilt and shame comes when we choose to abandon the fleshpots of Egypt and journey towards the Land flowing with milk and honey. The Word of God can soften our sin-hardened hearts only if we are willing to immerse ourselves in it. The Word of God is effective and active only if we allow it to take root in our souls. During the forty days of Lent may the Lord make our hearts like His, firm and merciful, attentive and generous. Having pondered the word, may we be joyous heralds of mercy and hope.

Father Jerome Machar OSCO

The Meaning of Christmas

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.  

 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.  

 He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.  

 And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John testified to him and cried out, ‘This was he of whom I said, “He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.” ’) From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known. (John 1:1-18)

  

At Christmas we pray that the blessings of the Christ Child will be with all we meet. We gather to celebrate the birth of Christ our Savior. He is the Eternal Word Who entered into our world and took to Himself our humanity.  In the stillness of the night the shepherds heard the angels proclaim the birth of the Light of the World Who came into the world to free those who were in bondage and darkness. Christmas is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad because God has come to dwell among us. On Christmas we are invited to lay our burdens down at the foot of the manger and take into our arms the Lord Who came to us as a helpless infant so we could love Him. 

The Prologue to the Gospel of Saint John does not recount the birth scene in Bethlehem. Unlike the other Christmas Gospels, this passage seldom makes it into music. There is no mention of herald angels singing, no shepherds watching, no cattle lowing, no stars brightly shining, no little town of Bethlehem, no swaddling clothes, and no Mary and Joseph. Despite the lack of these customary details, the text tells us the reason for the season. On Christmas, we are celebrating the mystery of the Eternal Word becoming a wordless infant so that we might learn the language of love. No longer speaking through emissaries, God utters His ultimate word. The heavens have been thrown open and the Light of the Nations has manifested the salvation of our God. The innocence of the newborn Savior has touched the hearts of men and women throughout the world and shown them how to love. 

Even though many did not and do not accept Him, the light of Christ shines out as a beacon of hope for all who find themselves trapped in darkness and sin. On Christmas, the Lord whom heaven and earth cannot contain, came forth from Mary’s virginal womb. His birth was proclaimed by the angelic hosts and the stars of heaven. The announcement was too great to be contained or silenced. Christ is born to us and all creation declares the presence of the Word made Flesh in our midst. The birth of the Prince of Peace makes known to all people of good will the path to peace and reconciliation. God became man so that the children of Adam and Eve might be remade in the image of God. 

The people who lived in darkness have learned to walk in the Light. The Word that first called creation into existence today calls all of the children of Adam and Eve to newness of life. The birth of the Light of the World has scattered the darkness that shrouded the world and has given us reason to rejoice and be glad. Overcome by the joy of this day, our whole being becomes a proclamation of the Good News. One who rejoices cannot contain the gladness he encounters. Rejoicing gives evidence of our integral relationships with God and all the members of the human race. 

We have reason to rejoice because Christ has brought the light of glory into our world. The Light of Christ shines upon us and enables us to overcome our own darkness. The Light of Christ floods the darkness of our lives; it shines on the margins and places that seem totally devoid of joy and happiness. The birth of Christ has broken down all barriers that separate the human race from God. In times past, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets. In our time, the Word He spoke took flesh and was incarnate by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit. Let us raise our voices and sing the hymn of the new creation. We sing this hymn so that the world may believe in Christ and lay claim to their birthright as heirs of the Kingdom. God loves us so much that He chose to become one of us and by so doing made possible our eternal happiness. Let us dance and sing and announce the birth of Our King. 

My brothers and sisters, the Son of God has been given to us. Let the holy infant capture your heart. Allow Him to draw you nearer to the Father's heart. Today we rejoice for the One who is among us now, enabling us to live his life of compassion and kindness towards the least. He has commanded us to love one another, has made it possible for us because, “From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace….” Let us live the newness of life He has brought us and not only sing the Good News that has appeared for us but become living gospels for all we meet.  

Father Jerome Machar, OSCO

The Meaning of the Little Scroll in the Book of Revelations

So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll; and he said to me, ‘Take it, and eat; it will be bitter to your stomach, but sweet as honey in your mouth.’ So I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it; it was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter. 

 Then they said to me, ‘You must prophesy again about many peoples and nations and languages and kings.’ (Revelations 10: 9-11)

What is this little scroll? It is God’s word. The eating of the scroll says to us that we must take God’s word and make it our own. We must chew on it, embrace it, and then proclaim it to the people. When we begin to follow God we often experience sweetness, but then as we proceed in the spiritual life, things grow more difficult. It is the same when we preach the word of God. The initial preaching is exciting, but when we call for repentance and conversion and speak about God’s justice and judgment, the message becomes hard to hear, hard to speak, hard to stomach. Instead of focusing on the difficulty of the message, we should be amazed that God speaks to us at all and that we weak human beings are capable of receiving such wisdom and grace as it comes from God. It is amazing, really. God loves us so much that he cannot help reaching out to us, loving us, showing his wisdom to us. He uses many ways to reach our hearts. This can be through the homily and prayers at Mass, through the work that we do, in people who speak to us, in quiet times and in the midst of great tribulation. We need to develop a listening ear and an open heart as God invites us to trust him and to listen to him and for him. God is reaching out to us. Take time to let this truth sink in. Chew on this message for a while, turn it over in your mind. Put God’s word into practice. Stop and listen throughout the day to the word of God speaking to you. Put God’s word into your own words, apply it to the situation. Let God’s word work in the world you know and believe that he is speaking to you. He cannot help but do so.

--Father James Kumbakkeel, O.S.B