In this first Sunday of Advent, our readings continue the theme of being ready for the end times.  Next week they will turn to preparing us to celebrate the birth of our Savior.  I was struck this year by the following phrase from our Gospel: Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life.
 
Those of us who are trying to live a life according to Gospel values have probably done well at controlling carousing and drunkenness.  We have learned how to use our faith life and our religious observance in community to help us grow in our ability to obey the commandments and be kind to those in need.
 
But, what about “the anxieties of daily life”?  As we have gotten older, have we gotten better at trusting that God is in control and all will be OK?  Yes, there are the major crises that happen: two weeks ago, I shared about being diagnosed with tuberculosis as a teenager and being smashed between two cars, wondering if I would ever walk again.
 
I am thinking more about the pressures and anxieties of everyday life: running from one task to another, putting up with annoying people, coping with unexpected interruptions and delays, etc., etc.  How do I cope with these “anxieties of daily life”?  Am I able to stay calm?  Am I able to say a short prayer, asking the Lord to help me?  Can I keep my focus on what is really important, despite the distractions?  Perhaps how we grow in our ability to handle small inconveniences and anxieties prepares up to cope with the big ones, when they come along. How am I doing at coping with the stress and anxiety of daily life?  God is there to help: am I letting Him?
 
Church sign: If God is your copilot, change seats!

Today we celebrate the feast of Christ the King.  Very often an icon or statue of Christ the King presents Christ as we hear at the Last Judgment in Matthew: When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne…
 
While the Last Judgment presents our ultimate goal, to be on the side that enters the Kingdom, we are not there yet: we are in the process of building up the Kingdom by the way we live our lives.  From that perspective, I like an icon or statue of Jesus the King as He is presented in our Gospel today: defenseless, alone, beaten with whips, crowned with thorns, and plopped in front of Pilate, the secular power whom Jesus allows to have complete control over Him.
 
This is a King who humbles Himself in a most degrading way and allows Himself to be tortured, all to bring about the Kingdom of justice, love, and peace.
 
My friends, this feast calls us to imitate Jesus, not just to win glory for ourselves, but by doing our best to bring about His Kingdom of justice, love, and peace.  There is so much unhappiness and pain in our world, so much conflict and division.  There are many who do not have the basic necessities of life.  We can’t solve it all, but we need to model our lives after our King, doing our best to bring about His Kingdom in the lives of those we are able to touch.
 
We can’t do it all. It isn’t all our work.  But we can do our part. Let us resolve to do so, as we pray: Christ, the humble King, give us the strength to follow your example in building up your Kingdom of justice, love, and peace.
 
Church sign: Make the rest of your life the best of your life!

As we approach the end of the Church year and the feast of Christ the King, our readings can be scary, talking about the end times in what is called apocalyptic language.  The purpose is not to scare us, but to invite us to live as we should and trust in God’s love and protection.  Over the course of my life, I have become a little better at doing that, but it has been a struggle.  A couple major events helped me.
 
When I was 17 and a senior in high school, I was diagnosed with tuberculosis, a death sentence in those days.  As my parents were taking me to the sanatorium in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where I would be locked up, my mother said to me, “God loves you and will take care of you.”  I kept saying that to myself and He did: my parents gave permission for me to be experimented on with new drugs and they worked right away (they are the go-to drugs today): in less than a year, I was released.
 
When I was 35, I was smashed between two cars when I stopped to help someone who had slid off the road on black ice.  It looked like I wouldn’t walk again.  Once again, my mother reminded me of God’s love and protection.  It took nine months, but I was able to walk again.
 
These were two dramatic incidents in my life, but there were many smaller ones.  I suspect if you reflect on your life, remembering times you were in a bad place or felt threatened, you will find that God was there and helping you get through it.  What a wonderful gift our faith is! 
 
As we approach the celebration of Christ the King, let us thank Him for being a King who always walks with us and supports us.  We are truly blessed.
 
Church sign: No God - no peace.  Know God - know peace.

When the Gospels were written, widows were one of the most vulnerable and impoverished groups: they had no rights, they had no man to protect them, and they were often fleeced by those with more power.  In both our first reading and the Gospel, a widow who had practically nothing gave it all in the name of God: in the first reading the widow fed the prophet Elijah with her last food and in the Gospel the widow put her two small coins in the temple collection box.  Jesus praises the widow: she gave more than the rich people donating lots of money, because she was giving all that she had, not from a
surplus.
 
A message to us is that we have been blessed by God with time, talent, and treasure and it is expected that we will share, and not just from what is left over.
 
Time: we have 24 hours in a day.  Some of that goes to necessary tasks (sleeping, eating, work, family and home maintenance, etc.).  The question is what do I do with my spare time?  How much do I spend on me productively, e.g., exercising or unwinding?  How much do I spend helping others? How much do I waste, for example, in front of the television?
 
Talent: do I use my gifts to help others?  For example, joining the choir if I have a good voice.  Being a hospitality minister if I enjoy welcoming people.  Being a lector.  If I am a good host or can cook, joining the Community Life Committee.  And so on.
 
Treasure: how much of my resources do I spend on me and my family?  How much do I give to worthwhile causes?
 
The bottom line is we have been blessed with gifts and God expects us to share, as did the widows in our readings this weekend.  I invite us to reflect on how we are doing.  God bless.
 
Church sign: If you don’t know what to do with yourself, do something for someone else.

Suppose a friend, interested in becoming Catholic, asked you, “What do you have to do to be a really good Catholic?” What would you answer?  Go to Mass on Sundays?  Pray every day?  Or what?
 
The way I was brought up, I would have given those answers, along with “don’t eat meat on Friday.”  Those are good answers for an “Old Testament” mentality, because they emphasize my relationship with God, as Moses presents in our first reading: “…you should love the Lord your God…”
 
In our Gospel reading, Jesus quotes Moses and reinforces that love of God is essential.  But He adds another commandment and puts it on the same level as the first: “…love your neighbor as yourself.”  These two become the one Great Commandment.
 
So, what is the answer to our question?  To be a really good Catholic you must show your love of God by your love of others.  There is no way around it.  Often Jesus called out those who followed all the rules but were not helping others or, even worse, were taking advantage of others, especially those who were most vulnerable.  For example, the two religious leaders in the Good Samaritan parable were following the rules, but they ignored the man in need. Another example: Jesus accused the religious leaders of laying burdens on people and not lifting a finger to help them. 
 
It can be easier to “follow the rules” by going to Mass and obeying the 10 commandments than to go out of our way to show love of others.  But when you look at some of the people angrily spouting hate in the name of Christianity, do you really think that is how Jesus would act?
 
I invite us to reflect this week on how we are allowing our religious observances to help us grow in selfless love and service to others.  We will never be perfect, but we have to be growing.  God bless.
 
Church sign: Show your love of God by what you say and do to others.