The decorations that graced our church since Christmas Eve are now gone; stored in the loft until next December but hopefully the message of Christmas is still fresh in our minds. I closed my homily on Christmas with a reflection entitled, The Work of Christmas written by Howard Thurman, an African American poet, who summarized our Christmas challenge well in this way:
“When the song of the angels is stilled,
when the star in the sky is gone,
when the kings and princes are home,
when the shepherds are back with their flocks,
the work of Christmas begins:
“to find the lost,
to heal the broken,
to feed the hungry,
to release the prisoner,
to rebuild nations,
to bring peace among brothers,
to make music with the heart.”
As I said then, Christmas is waiting to be born in you, in me, in all humanity but, first we have yet to fully understand the challenge of Christmas. If we did, every terrorist would be out of a job for as the angels proclaimed so long ago, there would be peace on earth on whom God’s favor rest.
Last Wednesday we witnessed an act of domestic terrorism that had never happened before. Angry Americans, reluctant to accept the verdict of the electorate that Joseph Biden had been elected president by a margin of more than 7 million votes over the sitting president, stormed through the halls of the Capitol in Washington, DC. How terrified members of Congress and others must have been during those tense moments. Mr. Thurman’s message, The Work of Christmas,must not be lost or dismissed or ignored. The challenge placed before the incoming administration, the new Congress, indeed every resident of this country is to rebuild our nation and a good starting point would be an epiphany.
An epiphany? Wasn’t that feast celebrated last Sunday? Yes, but that was actually the second of three epiphanies. The first occurred on Christmas when the eyes of the shepherds were opened to witness the majesty of their newborn Messiah. The second occurred when the eyes of the magi were opened to discover that God’s message of salvation was meant for all peoples, not just the Jews. At his baptism, Jesus has his own epiphany when he learns, “You are my beloved son; with you I am well pleased.” Today we celebrate that third epiphany.
We believe by virtue of our own baptism, that we are God’s children, called to follow Jesus’ example. When we stand before God at our judgment, will we hear those same words? “With you I am well pleased.” Are our eyes open to what God is asking of us as we venture into ordinary time?
The National Catholic Reporter in its latest editorial rightly observes that many are to blame for this unprecedented insurrection including “everyday Catholics—some 50% of them—who voted for Trump this year, after four years of incompetence, racist dog whistles, and assaults on democratic norms.
If our Church is to live up to the teachings of its founder, Jesus Christ, and be his witness to our culture, it cannot condone what happened last week at our nation’s Capitol. A pro-life movement that embraces white nationalism and is unwilling to say that black lives matter is not a true pro-life movement.
In less than two weeks, our nation’s second Catholic president, a decent man, will take over and begin the long and arduous process of rebuilding our democracy. Catholics need to get on board to help, not hinder, that process.
We can all begin by asking ourselves, “Whatever became of sin?” Unfortunately many people won’t admit to their personal sins but what is more troubling is that many also deny the reality of social sin, namely sins committed by society. Examples include disregard for the poor, systemic racism, and neglect for the environment. As individuals, we don’t see ourselves as being responsible for them yet we are when we vote for those who enact them into practice.
By choosing to be baptized, Jesus chose to become one of us for the sake of conversion, to draw us away from sin and closer to God. By his example, he challenges us to reject sin, a promise we made at our baptism, and safeguard the dignity of all human life from conception to natural death.
We must acknowledge that sinful situations and policies are real. We enable them when we resist efforts to confront them. Facing them is something we must do if we want to bring about peace and tranquility. We can speak out against social sins. It’s not only our right; it’s our duty, which is why I do so at the risk of annoying some of you.
We must pray to God for guidance in dealing with these situations that challenge the very core of our Catholic convictions. As members of Christ’s body, if we don’t do something to bring about the work of Christmas, who will? This is the call of today’s gospel, a call we must ponder prayerfully in this new year. To bring peace among brothers and sisters, we must respond with love in concrete ways.