| Homily, Third Sunday of Advent |
December 16, 2007
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As we prepare for the Christmas season I hope you can steal some moments away from your busyness and tend to your spirit. It is hard, I know, but I hope you can spend some extra time with the Lord and this homily helps in that endeavor.
God Bless
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| Homily |
Question of
the Week |
December 16, 2007
What signs of God's Mercy have I experienced?
In light of my experiences, how do I try to be like Jesus to others?
_____________________
December 23, 2007
The faith of Mary and Joseph allowed them to say "yes" to God.
How does my faith shape my response to difficult situations in life? |
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Work And Wait Like a Farmer
Anyone that knows anything about farming, knows that farmers work very hard indeed. And while they do their work, they implicitly have great faith and hope in creation and in God's work. Not only do they have great hope, they also have great expectation as well; they hope and expect that the earth will produce the fruit of their labors and that the Lord will bless them with great fruit.
It is this sense of hope and expectation that we hear in the letter of James today. We hear about how we are called to be like farmers. So let's take a closer look at what the farmer does. The farmer does not sit back and wait aimlessly. The farmer goes out and buys the seed. Then he goes and he tills the land. Then he plants the seed. Then he irrigates the land and weeds the land. After all that is done, he waits and expects the fruit. He does his work and waits patiently for the land to produce through the grace of God. We'll never see a farmer getting a sack of seeds, throwing them into the barn, then sitting back and waiting for it to grow. That would be absurd.
In other words, the farmer does his share of the work, and then he patiently waits for this fruit, this precious yield of the soil. In other words, while he believes and waits for God's presence, the farmer also does his share of the work. Well, that is what we are called to do as disciples. We are called to do our share of the work. To work in the field, and to do what we are called to do. And then wait with great expectation for the Lord's presence in our life. Namely, it is in our own hearts that we plant the seed: then we must be willing to till the soil a little too; to irrigate it with-if you would-works of kindness and works of charity; to pull out the weeds of unforgiveness, resentment and hatred. We are called to tend to this seed - this word of God. And then we can sit and wait for it to blossom forth in our own life as the Prophet Isaiah speaks of today.
But we also understand that waiting is not always easy. Being patient is not always so easy at all. For example, for those of us who have grown children, you have planted that seed in their heart and you wonder - will it ever blossom forth; will they ever return to church; will they ever believe in God ever again; will they ever be active in faith -something you have held dearly, and helped them to understand.
Well, the best way to wait and tend the word of God, is for us to continue to plant the seed in our own heart, to continue to till the soil of our own lives, to continue to pluck out those weeds of resentment, unforgiveness and hatred from our own hearts and to irrigate our heart with acts of justice and charity for others. We are called to live out, in word and deed, the word of God we hear.
So, as we leave here today, we are called to be like your farmer and to wait with patience, but also to work like the farmer to irrigate our hearts with acts of justice, acts of charity and kindness; to pluck out the weeds of unforgiveness, hatred and resentment. Today, our work is the work of a farmer to both work and wait patiently for God, our Immanuel. |
| Footnotes |
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| Scripture Readings |
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Third Sunday of Advent
Psalm: Sunday 43
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.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 146:6- 7, 8-9, 9-10
R. (cf. Is 35:4) Lord, come and save us.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Reading II
Jas 5:7- 10
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.
Gospel
Mt 11:2- 11
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." |
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Holy Spirit Parish
1200 Redmond Avenue
San Jose, California 95120
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