{"id":450,"date":"2013-12-04T07:22:58","date_gmt":"2013-12-04T12:22:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/?p=450"},"modified":"2013-12-05T07:26:05","modified_gmt":"2013-12-05T12:26:05","slug":"the-greatest-gift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/?p=450","title":{"rendered":"The Greatest Gift"},"content":{"rendered":"

Advent Reflection Service<\/span><\/h2>\n
Dc. Larry Brockman<\/span><\/h5>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There once was a little boy who lost his mother about this time of year, right before Christmas.\u00a0 The father was very poor, and was distraught over the loss of his wife.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t know how he was going to care for his son and work to support the two of them as well.\u00a0 A wealthy couple came to the father and offered to take the boy for him.\u00a0 They promised to give the boy everything he wanted or needed.\u00a0 The father went to his son, and said.\u00a0 Son, these good people want you to go live with them.\u00a0 They will give you everything you need.\u00a0 There will be lots of gifts on Christmas, and you will never have to worry again about your well-being in this world.\u00a0 But the little boy looked up at his father and said.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t want to go\u201d.\u00a0 The father asked why, and the boy responded:\u00a0 \u201cBecause they can\u2019t give me you\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

We have just heard the story of the Incarnation in the readings.\u00a0 God\u2019s greatest gift to mankind is wrapped up in the Incarnation.\u00a0 The Incarnation is how God sent His only Son, Jesus, into the world to live as one of us- God, become man, and as the Church teaches, that means Jesus is fully human and fully divine.\u00a0 Jesus became the bridge between God and man.\u00a0 He showed us the way as the Gospels describe.\u00a0 He showed us how we could be human, and still pleasing to God.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

For Jesus, that meant seeking and finding God\u2019s will for him.\u00a0 And so, he suffered and died for us, because he talked about God in a different way.\u00a0 He talked about God\u2019s laws being written into our hearts, and He acted as he preached. \u00a0That was God\u2019s will for him, to spread the good news of how God\u2019s law could be written into our hearts and live that way.\u00a0 People hated him for that- for not living in the ways of the world and the establishment; but rather, living according to the dictates of his conscience; according to the promptings of God\u2019s spirit dwelling within him.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

And the establishment thought they had gotten rid of Jesus when they crucified him.\u00a0 But they were wrong- because God raised Jesus from the dead, showing us the path to everlasting life.\u00a0 And so, He became our bridge between time and eternity as well.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, Jesus is God\u2019s greatest gift to man, and so, we celebrate His coming amongst us each Christmas by exchanging gifts, a symbol of the gift that we all received from God on that first Christmas.\u00a0 God the Father gave us a gift from His heart, the gift of himself.\u00a0 It was the kind of gift that the son in our story sought.\u00a0 Because things, wealth, power, and comfort, as much of a blessing as these things can seem for us, they are not what give us lasting joy.\u00a0 Happiness from these things is temporary, and it is an external happiness, not an internal one.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

At this time of year, when we gear up to get each other gifts \u00a0\u00a0We need to consider the real meaning of Gifts and giving at Christmas.\u00a0 There is much to be learned from our readings today about gifts.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In our first reading, Bible scholars tell us that\u00a0 Ahaz was quite content with his own situation at the time even though his people were complacent and gthey were thresatened by an invasion..\u00a0 People were well off; and so, the Israeli Kingdom and it\u2019s people were content with the world \u00a0\u00a0And so, Ahaz is not asking for a gift, or a sign.\u00a0 He is on a spiritual plateau, and is quite \u201chappy\u201d with it.\u00a0 But God recognized that growth is necessary for all of us.\u00a0 And so, he tried to wake Ahaz up because there is more to life than contentment in this world.\u00a0 And so, God promises Ahaz the coming of the real Messiah.\u00a0 Lesson 1 then is this:\u00a0 If you are content with your life, what gift might God be trying to give you to shake you out of your contentment and motivate you to grow?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In the second reading, we find that the long awaited coming of Jesus will occur at Bethlehem.\u00a0 Bethlehem was a small, insignificant shepherd town at the time.\u00a0 Certainly, Bethlehem was not the place that anyone expected the Messiah to come forward from at that time..\u00a0 But God works in His own unique way.\u00a0 Out of humble beginnings, the King of Heaven emerged.\u00a0 So, lesson two might be this.\u00a0 The most significant gift in our lives may come from the least expected source.\u00a0 It is something that blossoms forth from the depths of our hearts under the inspiration of the Spirit.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Then, Paul talks about the gift of faith, which leads us to apostleship.\u00a0 Yes, our Faith is one of the most endearing gifts that we have.\u00a0 Unlike many people born into this world, most of us didn\u2019t have to struggle to find the Lord.\u00a0 It was gifted to us by our parents when they brought us forward to be Baptized and promised to bring us up in the faith.\u00a0 We were infused with the Holy Spirit and became members of the Church- the gift of Faith.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Then came Mary, the mother of God, and the story of the Visitation.\u00a0 Mary was gifted with a mission by God.\u00a0 Mary takes the gift of her call and accepts it- accepting God\u2019s will for her, sacrificing her own wants and desires to do God\u2019s will for her.\u00a0 This is another great lesson about God\u2019s gift to us.\u00a0 We are all called by God to do something;\u00a0 it is written in our hearts and in our consciences.\u00a0 And it calls out to us constantly like the voice of the angel to Mary.\u00a0 The challenge is to accept that gift and do God\u2019s will. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The nativity story is next, along with the visit by the shepherds.\u00a0 The long awaited promise of the coming of the Messiah is fulfilled.\u00a0 It happens in the most humble of circumstances as predicted.\u00a0 Most people of the time would have been horrified.\u00a0 They would have thought- \u201cThis can\u2019t be it, this can\u2019t be the fulfillment of the covenant\u201d.\u00a0 But the shepherds show us another way.\u00a0 They experience the glory of God and leave with a sense of joy.\u00a0 The lesson in that for us is simple.\u00a0 Were hear this story each year, and are called upon to be joyful people.\u00a0 We are called upon to be joyful over God\u2019s greatest gift, Jesus Christ, and what it all means for us who believe- everlasting life.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

But are we joyful?\u00a0 Usually, life catches us up into the trap of worldly concerns.\u00a0 And we don\u2019t really appreciate the peace and joy that Christmas brings.\u00a0 That\u2019s because joy is a spiritual experience.\u00a0 We need to take the time; make the time; this Advent and Christmas season to recognize God\u2019s greatest gift and make it a priority to change our lives to capture the joy.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The last reading is known as the Last Gospel.\u00a0 It summarizes everything I\u2019ve been talking about- \u00a0the story of God\u2019s greatest gift to man.\u00a0 And St. John summarizes the effect of that greatest gift this way.\u00a0 That \u201cGrace and Truth came through Jesus Christ\u201d.\u00a0 Grace and Truth.\u00a0 These are the gifts, the lasting gifts that Jesus brought with him.\u00a0 Grace is the presence of God within us that the Holy Spirit brings.\u00a0 It is a gift; but Faith and acceptance of that Faith coupled with our resolve to do God\u2019s will for us, these enable the graces that God offers us.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Lastly, truth. \u00a0We all need the gift of Truth; the ability to discern what is true.\u00a0 Jesus Christ brought the truth.\u00a0 And this truth is different from the truth that the world proclaims.\u00a0 The Church safeguards the truth through the Magisterium.\u00a0 Truth is God\u2019s revelation to us through Jesus Christ, the Bible; the saints; the popes, the doctors of the Church, and the great councils of the Church.\u00a0 These have all helped to give us the fullness of truth.\u00a0 Our Catechism is a testament to the truth that has been assembled from Jesus Christ.\u00a0 Like the little boy in the story, the world cannot give us the Father.\u00a0 Rather, we must seek the Father in our hearts.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

God gives us himself this Christmas.\u00a0 He does that in his unique way.\u00a0 He comes to us bringing us grace and truth to fill our hearts with joy- a joy that lasts forever.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Advent Reflection Service Dc. Larry Brockman \u00a0 There once was a little boy who lost his mother about this time of year, right before Christmas.\u00a0 The father was very poor, and was distraught over the loss of his wife.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t know how he was going to care for his son and work to support […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[91],"tags":[257],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/450"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=450"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/450\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":451,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/450\/revisions\/451"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}