Catholic Community of Jeffersonville St. Augustine
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Catholic Community of Jeffersonville St. Augustine & Sacred Heart

Homily
by
Father Thomas E. Clegg

4 Sunday Advent C       St. Augustine Sacred Heart     2009

Luke 1:39-45

It’s almost Christmas…houses are decorated…trees are up….

  and nativity scenes are everywhere.

     But have you ever noticed how peaceful everyone seems to be

          in a nativity set.

 Mary holds the infant as naturally as any experienced mother.

     Joseph looks on calmly. 

        The shepherds all look piously at the newborn.

I can’t help but think the real thing was anything but calm…

I’m sure Mary holding the baby Jesus was like…Joseph, is this right?

   Joseph thinking…”Nope, he doesn’t look at all like me.”

      Shepherds and angels wondering if they were in the right place,

         after all this child looks so normal.

Because we know the story,

    it is easy for us to forget exactly what had just happened.

A fifteen year old girl had just had an unplanned baby.

   I imagine she was very much afraid again.

     A husband staying with her….

       But I imagine he still wondered if he was crazy for doing it.

         Shepherds followed a star I’m sure hoping to find something

             more magical and spectacular than what they stumbled upon

It is tempting for those of us who know the story

  To forget the fears and faith that it provoked

     and demanded from each of the people in it. 

Yes, it was a time of wonder and joy.

   But it was also a time of anxiety and fear.

And therein lies some lessons for us.

   And the first lesson is this:

To follow God’s will for your life may very well lead you

    down unfamiliar paths,

        paths requiring both discernment and faith,

          and perhaps even radical obedience. 

Certainly both Elizabeth and Mary had hoped to bear children one day.

    Most Jewish women and girls did.

But neither planned it the way it happened. 

For Elizabeth the long-awaited child came much later than she had planned,

   and for Mary much sooner.

But both were asked to believe that God had answered their prayers.

  It was as if God said to them, plan what you want,

      but be open to my will in all that you do.

And God asks that of us as well….

 Times when things don’t go as we plan.

   The loss of a job….the death of a loved one…a friend moving out of town.

For Mary, Elizabeth, Joseph, the shepherds, and the angels….

  their plans would change when they opened themselves to the will of God,

       and often, so do ours.

A second lesson is this…

   following God’s will

       almost always leads you into relationship with others.

 Faith leads to community;

     Following God’s will is rarely just a private and personal decision.

Mary and Joseph said yes and then they were surrounded…

   By shepherds and angels, animals and kings.

Following God’s will put them into direct contact with others.

And it is true for us as well.

   We say yes to God and suddenly we are serving on a committee…

      We say yes to God and suddenly we are part

         of a Bible Study or a prayer group,

We say yes to God and the next thing we know

   we are working at a soup kitchen or a health clinic or going to Haiti.

Answering God’s call leads us deeper into community.

    Faith is not only a personal and private matter. 

       Faith is a community-building experience. 

We believe and we obey together.

   We worship and we wait together. 

      We encourage each other and we share our stories.

And together, we follow a God who just as he did 2000 years ago,

     continues to work miracles in the lives of faithful people.

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Catholic Community of Sacred Heart | 1840 East Eighth Street, Jeffersonville, Indiana | 47130
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