tvc . dsj . org | December 13 , 2016 sPirituAlity 15
By Father Brendan McGuire
pastor of Holy Spirit parish , San Jose , and Vicar General for special projects , Diocese of San Jose . Email him at bmcguire @ dsj . org .
Committed Alumni Sunday , December 18 , 2016
I have two friends who follow college football teams fanatically , each one for a different team : University of California , Berkeley and University of Notre Dame , Indiana . These guys are serious fans ! When the game is on , they are wearing everything in team colors , even if they are not at the game itself . Somehow they think everybody is watching them through the television !
But there is a difference between them . One of them is an alumnus of his university ; the other is not . My friend in Berkeley , he follows Cal , but he is not an alumnus . Don ’ t get me wrong . He is a committed fan , wears all the stuff , and goes to as many games as he can . But my University of Notre Dame friend , he is an alumnus of many years , and he wears the gear all the time , whether there is a game on or not . Everyone knows he is from Notre Dame , and he is proud of it .
There is a difference between fans and alumni . There are those who are fans and support the sports . Then there are alumni who support the sports with some extra attitude . Alumni are a different breed . The alumni are committed to the university , and the sport is just a part of it . The committed alumni are not only into some of the sports , but they are also committed to the institution and everything that the University represents . Committed alumni have been profoundly touched by their experience at their University , and they are committed for life .
Saint Paul , in today ’ s second reading , says , “ I am a slave for Christ .” He does not use the word “ alumni ,” or he doesn ’ t use the word “ friend ;” he uses the word “ slave .” That is a pretty hard word . Paul is saying it as a badge of honor . He is proud to be a slave of Christ . In a sense , he is a completely committed alumni of Jesus Christ .
Next week there will be lots of alumni coming to the Christmas Day celebration , but there will also be lots of fans . They come , and they like Jesus . He is a nice guy . He did some good things . He was a great guy .
But the committed disciples , the committed alumni , are in for the long haul . It is up to us to make sure that Christ is known in the world . As Pope Francis says , “ We must share the joy of the Gospel to the whole world .” And how he wants us to do this is primarily through our actions .
We , who have faith , are called to respond with action . Today , we recommit to Team Christ . We are going to be committed alumni . I know some of you may not feel totally committed , but today we recommit . May we reach out to get more committed alumni in these next few days , to see if we can convert some fans to real committed alumni of Christ . That is our role . It is not enough to come to Church and just do what we do . We have to be evangelists . We have to tell the world about the Christ , and we do that primarily through what we do and in what we say .
Sunday Homilies
God With Us : Emmanuel Sunday , December 25 , 2016
Several years ago , Kate Middleton and Prince William gave birth to their firstborn son . There was great speculation for months about this birth by reporters all over the world . In fact , weeks ahead of time they camped out at the hospital right across the road from the front door where the child was to be born . The child was born in a private suite in a private wing of the hospital , and when the mother eventually gave birth , it was written on a scroll and proclaimed outside the hospital announcing the birth of George Alexander Lewis , the future king of England . The first people to visit the child , George , were his grandparents , the current Queen of England and her husband Prince Phillip . The bells tolled a special , newly composed tune from Westminster Abbey and Cathedral of St . Paul for no less than four solid hours .
Contrast that with the birth of Jesus Christ , the Son of God . There was great anticipation of it by all the prophets for centuries and indeed millennia beforehand , but when the Son of God came , the angels appeared only to a few lowly shepherds in the fields outside . Remember , shepherds were considered members of the lowest profession because they were nomads who slept with their sheep in the open field . Yet , it was to them the angels came to announce , and the shepherds greeted the newborn king , who was born in a stable , a cave for animals , wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger , a trough for animals , as Luke ’ s Gospel tells us today .
We might ask : If God is all powerful , why not come in majesty and glory ? Why not come as royalty ? Why come in such poverty ?
But that is the point . God comes not as someone with power and authority over us . He came as one of us so that we could relate to him as a fellow human . God wants to communicate with us that he loves us and that he is not some deity in the sky but a personal God . A God who wants a personal relationship with each and every one of us , so he sends his Son to be with us so that we would know God , through Christ , who would be our brother . No matter where we are and no matter what we are doing , no matter how far away we might think we are , or how far away we might want to be , God is always with us , and God is always on our side . Emmanuel : God With Us .
That is the simple yet profound message of Christmas : that God became one of us so that we know God is with us , that God loves us , and that God saves us . And his only request is that we respond by loving one another and loving him . Today , God is with us . Emmanuel . God does save us . Jesus Christ .
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