What if our relationship with God is as simple but as joyful and sweet as spending the day playing with our grandchildren? We are delighted with their every tentative move, questioning eyes, captivating smiles, out-of-left-field antics, half-blurted syllables. Before someone hauls me before the Inquisition for heretical ideas, may I offer the scenario of the third joyful mystery, the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ? The three Wise Men traveled from afar, guided by the bright star, anticipating the once-in-a-lifetime meeting with the promised Messiah.
At the end of their long and harrowing journey, there was Jesus, asleep in the manger—a beautiful, gentle, innocent baby.
Our loving God will do anything to gladden our hearts. Anything to make our day. Surely, God will happily play with us, as Christ did with his earthly parents, Mary and Joseph. Can we open our hearts, “become like children” (Mt 18:3), and allow God to play with us?
—from the blog “At Play in the Fields of the Lord“ by Ed Gamboa, MD
Next week the Christmas season ends. At some point in the near future, the nativity will disappear. I do not have an exact date yet. That is echelons above my pay grade. But as you heard in the Gospel, the nativity scene is not quite accurate because the Magi (Wise Men from the East) came to the “house” to see Jesus. The stable is not a house. So, when Saint Francis created the idea of a nativity, he compressed the house into a stable. In the nativity you see Scripture. You see the promises God made to His people and fulfilled (Genesis). He sent us a Savior.
The crèche is a marvelous lesson on Theology. We have all these “ologies.” There is Soteriology which is the study of redemption. Jesus came as the Redeemer. There is also Christology which is the study of who Christ is. True God and true Man. He is the Son of God and the Son of Man. The Wise Men brought Him frankincense because that was a gift given only to God. They brought gold because He is a king. Lastly, they brought myrrh because of the reason He came. He came to die. How many of you ladies who have had a baby shower received embalming fluid as a gift? Thanks a lot! You want your children to live, but He came to die. The manger He was laid in became the wood of the Cross 33 years later. Our good Lord was laid upon straw in the manger which was food for the oxen. Our Lord became our bread for life. Without that bread of life, we would have no life within us. He came to die for us and to open the gates of Heaven so that we could live with Him forever.
Another “ology” is Ecclesiology which is the study of the Church. The nativity is a picture of the Church. What is a common characteristic of everyone in the nativity? They were humble. The Wise Men knew that they didn’t know everything, and the shepherds knew they knew nothing. Mary and Joseph were holy, and they always said “yes” to Jesus. With all these people gathered around Jesus, you have a picture of the Church. That is who you still find in the Church. Regardless of their degrees, titles, and letters after their names, if they are truly educated, they are here. Like the shepherds, some people have been educated by the School of Hard Knocks. The Church is Christ’s body. Remember what Christ said to Paul in Acts, “Paul why are you persecuting Me?” (Acts 9:4). He didn’t say “organization.” He said “Me.” We are His body and have been throughout time. You always see Mary, Joseph, the Wise Men, and the shepherds gathered around Jesus. They represent not just the Jews but all people throughout time. The nativity represents a whole course on Theology. It is not something that we trot out once a year for a few weeks and then put back in the closet. The nativity is a wondrous thing on which to meditate.
The diocese is very diverse. We have hyphenated Catholics, and there are many offices for them. That is theologically foreign and absolutely blasphemous. “Father, are you Irish-Catholic?” No, I’m Catholic. We do not have a different Savior. There is one Savior for everyone. If you took a mirror and looked out at the congregation, you would see what I see. We are all one in Christ. Paul said, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). We are all one in Christ. We each have different jobs in the Body of Christ that’s for sure. But there are no hyphenated Catholics.
Hagiography is the study of saints. Which saint was the first to hold God incarnate? Think back on your labor and delivery classes. It was Saint Joseph. My question is why we aren’t having venerations for the first human being who held God in his hands and who was the first to look down at God instead of up. I hope you will meditate on that tonight.
Father’s Reflections: A couple of months ago, I had to get the flu vaccine. I’m not a big believer in vaccines, but I’m living proof that vaccines work. When I was in the Army at Fort Bragg, I was forced to get a series of shots because I was deployable. One of those shots was for Typhoid. It definitely worked because that night I was in the hospital with Typhoid. Perfect! I went to the doctor, and he said, “You’re sick.” No kidding! I bet you went to medical school.
How will you apply this message to your life?_________________________________________
You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to AnnunciationCatholicAlbemarle.com and clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” then “Sermon Notes.” On a cell phone: click on “Blog” and then “Menu.” Scroll to the bottom and click on “Categories.” Sermon Notes are also available on the Church’s Facebook page at ola.Catholic.Church. Click on “Groups” and then “Sermon Notes.”
As you may already know, the word “epiphany” means a manifestation or revelation. There have been other epiphanies which are a revelation of who God is. By our own reason, we can come to the knowledge of God through natural law and reason, but that only gets us so far. God has to reveal Himself as He did in Genesis so that we can come to love Him. We cannot gain knowledge of Him without His help. He made prudent use of the Wise Men to reveal Who His son was.
Remember who Jesus is…the second person in the Blessed Trinity. He was one “Who” but He was also two “What’s.” He was one person which is the “Who,” and two “What’s” which are His two natures, human and divine. We only have a human nature. That’s all we have; it doesn’t get any better than that. Jesus had both a human and divine nature. His human nature He took from the Blessed Mother and is the one He suffered with and that was assumed and lost in His divine nature. This is shown in the Mass. I put one drop of water in the chalice of wine, not more and not less. If I don’t put just one drop of water into the chalice, the Mass is invalid because that is a symbol of Christ’s humanity being assumed and lost in His divinity. Our eventual goal is to know who He is…King of the Universe. The Jews worshiped God and offered incense in the Temple. We use frankincense which symbolizes God. Read the Old Testament. Read Revelation in the New Testament. Incense is the prayers of God’s holy people. That’s why we use it in church. It is scriptural prayer. He was presented with myrrh because He was God. Myrrh was used in burials and represented His coming into the world to die so that we may have an opportunity to get to Heaven. So, this is a Christological feast.
Our good Lord reveals Himself so that you can know His Son. The Wise Men revealed our response to His great love. They came from a far distance. We don’t know how far they came or from where. It could have been from Aquadale, but it was a long distance. Travel back then was very dangerous. When the Wise Men came, they left everything to find Jesus. They risked everything to find Him. They came to worship and knelt in His presence. The Wise Men were in the presence of the King, and they knelt in a posture of prayer. This is our response, whether convenient or inconvenient, to come see God’s great presence. The Wise Men were no more blessed than we are. We have God made present. Yes, the Wise Men saw God in the guise of a child. We see God in the Blessed Sacrament in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. But we see the same God. How do I love Thee, God?
Father’s Afterthoughts: I am still very, very tired, and the nurses tell me this could last for a while. One of the symptoms of my illness has been insomnia. I have been blessed to have so many wonderful people in my parish and also family and friends. They have all been concerned and called to ask how I’m doing. And I may not have handled that very well. I had a beautiful chance for long-suffering patience, and I think I blew it most of the time. Well, think about it. A couple of people would call and ask how I’m doing and then want to chat. Shut up! My cousin called and asked, “How are you doing?” I told her I was resting at which point she wanted to chat. Shut-up! I’m sick! I do this for a living, trust me. You don’t stay long; it’s not a discussion. Eventually, one of my cousins by-passed me and asked Lori how I was doing. One of my chaplain friends at the hospital who I’ve known for 33 years and served with overseas was asked by the nurses if he had called me. He told them he texted me every few days. He’s sick. He’s a soldier – just leave him alone. They occasionally walk by the house and if there’s no smell, they know he’s okay. So, if I have been short with anyone and been in anything but perfect character, I do apologize and ask for your forgiveness. Illness is not an excuse, nor does it develop character. It reveals it. So, please forgive me.
How will you apply this message to your life?
You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to https://annunciationcatholicalbemarle.com/ and clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” and then “Sermon Notes.” Sermon notes can also be found on the church Facebook page by searching for “Facebook Our Lady of the Annunciation Albemarle”
1) After Jesus had been born at Bethlehem in Judaea during the reign of King Herod, suddenly some wise men came to Jerusalem from the east 2) asking, ‘Where is the infant king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose and have come to do him homage.’ 3) When King Herod heard this he was perturbed, and so was the whole of Jerusalem. 4) He called together all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, and enquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5) They told him, ‘At Bethlehem in Judaea, for this is what the prophet wrote: 6) And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, you are by no means the least among the leaders of Judah, for from you will come a leader who will shepherd my people Israel.’ 7) Then Herod summoned the wise men to see him privately. He asked them the exact date on which the star had appeared 8) and sent them on to Bethlehem with the words, ‘Go and find out all about the child, and when you have found him, let me know, so that I too may go and do him homage.’ 9) Having listened to what the king had to say, they set out. And suddenly the star they had seen rising went forward and halted over the place where the child was. 10) The sight of the star filled them with delight, 11) and going into the house they saw the child with his mother Mary, and falling to their knees they did him homage. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12) But they were given a warning in a dream not to go back to Herod, and returned to their own country by a different way.
Today is the Epiphany of the Lord. The definition of epiphany is a sudden understanding about the nature or meaning of something. The Epiphany of the Lord is a manifestation of God becoming visible to the world. For the first time, man encountered God face-to-face.
I like to drive around town to look at Christmas lights. Sometimes, people will have a nativity scene and a cross as part of their display. But, this is redundant. Christ was born in a wooden manger and died on a wooden cross. The manger and cross are both revelations of His love. He was born as man so that He could die for our salvation.
The wise men came from the East. They had great faith, but no bibles. Very few people could read which is why the Church used visual scripture in the form of statues and stained glass windows to tell the bible story. The wise men brought the baby Jesus gifts of:
Gold – for His divine kingship
Frankincense – for His divine nature
Myrrh – for His human nature and death
The nativity scene represents the three types of people found in the Church:
1. Wisemen – They achieved the goal of their education; they learned that they didn’t know everything. However, they were willing to learn.
2. Shepherds – They knew how ignorant they were. They were humble and found the truth in Christ.
3. Pure – Mary and Joseph
Just as the wise men and shepherds came together for the birth of the Lord, we come together to worship that same Lord when we celebrate the Mass. Bishop Sheen said we do not need to look up to heaven to see Him; instead we can look down. We can see Him at Church in the tabernacle. Everybody will see God at their death….some for just a few minutes before being turned away; but those who love and follow Him will stay with Him for eternity.
Some people memorize scripture; but do they understand what it means? If not, they are learning words and little else. Catalog of Theology:
Christology – the study of who Christ is…the true God and true man.
Sacramentology – the study of biblical sacraments, particularly Holy Communion during which He becomes the body and blood.
Eclesiology – a study of What and Who the Church is…we become a member of the Church through faith. This gift is for the whole world, and we are called to share it with others.
Mariology – the study of Mary, mother of Jesus, and her role in the salvation of souls
How will you apply this message to your life? Will you seek Him with the faith of the wise men? Will you share your faith with others as we have been called to do?
Fr. Mike expands on the passage we read in Proverbs, and emphasizes how important it is to surround ourselves with people who are striving towards holiness. He also reflects on the book of Isaiah, and how through these last couple of stories show that God’s justice is always aligned with his infinite mercy. Today’s readings are Isaiah 63-64, Ezekiel 21-22, and Proverbs 13:17-20.
