On December 14th the Church celebrates the Feast of St. John of the Cross.  Encouraged by St. Teresa of Avila, John helped to lead a reform of the Carmelite Order.  He remains renowned for his wisdom and sanctity.  He died in 1591.  Below is a selection from one of his writings that is the second reading for the Church’s Office of Readings for the feast. 

Though holy doctors have uncovered many mysteries and wonders, and devout souls have understood them in this earthly condition of ours, yet the greater part still remains to be unfolded by them, and even to be understood by them.

We must dig deeply in Christ.  He is like a rich mine with many pockets containing treasures: however deep we dig we will never find their end or their limit.  Indeed, in every pocket new seams of fresh riches are discovered on all sides. 

For this reason the apostle Paul said of Christ: “In him are hidden all the treasures of the wisdom and knowledge of God.”  The soul cannot enter into these treasures, nor attain them, unless it first crosses into and enters the thicket of suffering, enduring interior and exterior labors, and unless it first receives from God very many blessings in the intellect and in the senses, and has undergone long spiritual training. 

All these are lesser things, disposing the soul for the lofty sanctuary of the knowledge of the mysteries of Christ: this is the highest wisdom attainable in this life.

Would that men might come at last to see that it is quite impossible to reach the thicket of the riches and wisdom of God except by first entering the thicket of much suffering, in such a way that the soul finds there its consolation and desire.  The soul that longs for divine wisdom chooses first, and in truth, to enter the thicket of the cross.

Saint Paul therefore urges the Ephesians, “…not to grow weary in the midst of tribulations, but to be rooted and grounded in love, so that they may know with all the saints the breadth, the length, the height and the depth – to know what is beyond knowledge, the love of Christ, so as to be filled with all the fullness of God.”

The gate that gives entry into these riches of his wisdom is the cross; because it is a narrow gate, while many seek the joys that can be gained through it, it is given to few to desire to pass through it. 

“What is the context?”  This is a critically important question that moves across all fields of study and inquiry.  In scientific work – what are all the variables (the context) of an experiment or observation?  In the discipline of sociology – what is the context of the lived situations of peoples or a specific grouping?  In literature – what  is the context in which an author wrote?  In the study of Scripture – what is the full context of a particular verse?  The awareness of context is a critical component needed in order to fully understand a situation or even a person. 

“What did you go out to the desert to see?” asks our Lord – referring to John the Baptist – in today’s gospel (Mt. 11:2-11).  “A reed swayed by the wind? … Someone dressed in fine clothing?  Those who wear fine clothing are in royal palaces.  Then why did you go out?  To see a prophet?”  John indeed was a prophet says our Lord precisely because – the gospel reveals – he lived not just in one but in two contexts. 

John lived fully in the context of our world and he did not seek to escape it.  He was not naive in any sense of the term – this realism, in fact, is what eventually brought him to being imprisoned and finally executed.  John recognized the sinfulness of his time and the abuses of power which were occurring.  He did not feign ignorance, turn a blind eye nor wrap himself up in a cocoon of entertainment.  John saw the reality of the limited human condition but his perception did not end there – rather, he saw further.  (This is the saving grace which set John apart and which in fact sets all prophets apart.)  John perceived the deeper reality at work; a more fundamental context possible to choose. 

John saw the dawning of the Kingdom of God and he made the choice – even while living within the context of this world – to set his life by the context and the horizon of the Kingdom of God.  “What did you go out to see…?” asks our Lord.  “A reed swayed by the wind?”  “No,” the gospel concludes for us, “you went to see a prophet.”  So, when John’s disciples arrive and ask Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come…?” Jesus answers by pointing to that which John has been living his whole life in anticipation of – the very Kingdom of God.  “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.  And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.”

The prophet lives fully aware of the context of this world; but fully guided by the context of the Kingdom of God.  This is why the prophet is anything but a “reed swayed by the wind”; precisely because he or she lives by that which is greater than this world.  The prophet sees the coming of God’s Kingdom shining through and transforming the very weak and limited context of this world.  

“In Christ, God works his plan,” I recently read, “not in the extra-ordinariness of the miracles or in the mystery of esoteric magic, but in the ordinariness of mercy and in the mystery of compassion.”  When good news is announced to the poor, when miracles of charity and justice are worked, when life is found exactly where there was thought only to be death, when self is forgotten in order to serve the poor and the weak – the Kingdom of God shines forth and is present.

The Kingdom of God – this is the true and real context for us who are in Christ Jesus.  We do indeed live fully in the context of this world but we are continually guided and formed by the context and horizon of God’s Kingdom.  Like our brother John the Baptist – who was greatest of those born of women yet less than the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven – we too are meant to be more than mere “reeds swayed by the wind…”   

If a picture is worth a thousand words then the Sistine Chapel is nothing short of the full proclamation of the history of salvation! 

A few times now, I have known the experience of standing in the chapel and staring speechless at the beauty surrounding me.

I just found out about a part of the Vatican website that allows one to do just that (minus the crowds and the guards shouting “Silence” every few minutes)!  Move your cursor and the view moves with you. 

Below is the link.  Check it out.

  http://www.vatican.va/various/cappelle/sistina_vr/index.html

It is well known that Edgar Allan Poe lived a tortured life.  His writings reflect this dark reality.  There is one poem though that stands out as an exception.  The story behind the poem is that one day over the noisy din and clamor of the street Poe heard the clear ringing of a church bell.  Intrigued, he followed the noise and arrived at a church staffed by the Jesuits.  Going inside he asked the reason for the ringing of the bell.  He was informed that the bell was being rung to signal the Angelus – the traditional noon-time prayer which reflects on Mary’s “yes” to the announcement of the archangel Gabriel.  Inspired by this, he wrote the following poem.

“Hymn”

At morn–at noon–at twilight dim–
Maria! thou hast heard my hymn!
In joy and woe–in good and ill–
Mother of God, be with me still!
When the Hours flew brightly by,
And not a cloud obscured the sky,
My soul, lest it should truant be,
Thy grace did guide to thine and thee
Now, when storms of Fate o’ercast
Darkly my Present and my Past,
Let my future radiant shine
With sweet hopes of thee and thine. 

On tomorrow’s feast of the Immaculate Conception (Dec. 8th) and also on the upcoming feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Dec. 12th) the Church, once again, rings the bell for the Angelus in the midst of the deafening din and clamor of our world; calling us to remember the truth and the precious beauty of the hope that has been given our world by the incarnation of our Lord and by Mary’s simple “yes”.

Below is another worthy reflection offered by the preacher to the Papal household – Fr. Rainero Cantalamessa.  It is taken from the “Blessed are the Peacemakers” chapter in “Beatitudes: Eight Steps to Happiness.”

The Pope’s message (Pope Benedict XVI’s message for World Day of Peace, 2007: “The Human Person, the Heart of Peace.”) dedicates a paragraph to the difficulty that we meet today in the relationship between religion and the secular world:

“As far as the free expression of personal faith is concerned, another disturbing symptom of lack of peace in the world is represented by the difficulties that both Christians and the followers of other religions frequently encounter in publicly and freely professing their religious convictions.  There are regimes that impose a single religion upon everyone, while secular regimes often lead not so much to violent persecution as to systematic cultural denigration of religious beliefs.  In both instances, a fundamental human right is not being respected, with serious repercussions for peaceful coexistence.”

There is a sign of this attempt to marginalize religious beliefs every December, namely, the campaign in America and various countries of Europe against the religious symbols of Christmas.  The reason cited is the desire not to offend people of other religions who live among us, especially Muslims.  But this is only a pretext.  It is actually part of secularized society – not the Muslims – who do not want these symbols.  Muslims have nothing against Christian Christmas, which they also honor.  In the Koran there is a sura dedicated to the birth of Jesus that is worth knowing about and that could encourage dialogue and friendship among religions. 

Behold!  The angel said:
“O Mary!  Allah giveth thee
Glad tidings of a Word
From Him: his name
Will be Christ Jesus. 
The son of Mary, held in honour
In this world and the Hereafter
And of (the company of) those
Nearest to Allah. 
…
She said: “O my Lord!
How shall I have a son
When no man hath touched me?”
He said: “Even so:
Allah createth
What He willeth:
When He hath decreed
A Plan, He but saith
To it, ‘Be,’ and it is!”     (The Holy Qur’an, sura 3)

We have reached the height of absurdity when some Muslims celebrate the birth of Christ and tell us that “it is not Muslims who do not believe in the miraculous birth of Christ,” while people who call themselves Christians want to make Christmas a winter festival populated only by reindeer and teddy bears.

We Christians cannot, however, let ourselves become resentful and argumentative with the secular world.  Alongside the dialogue and the peace among religions, there is another task for the peacemaker: peace between believers and nonbelievers, between religious people and the secular world that is dismissive or hostile to religion.  We need to give a reason, with firmness, for the hope that is in us but to do so, as the First Letter of Peter exhorts, “with gentleness and reverence” (1 Peter 3:15-16). 

“Reverence” in this case does not mean a human respect that keeps Jesus hidden to avoid arousing reactions.  It means a respect for the interior life that is known only to God and that no one can violate or force to change.  It does not mean putting Jesus aside but demonstrating Jesus and the gospel by our lives.  We only hope that equal respect will by shown by others toward Christians, which unfortunately has often been lacking up until now. 

John the Baptist knew exactly why the Pharisees and the Sadducees were seeking his baptism.  They were there because it looked good.  These religious authorities recognized that the people respected John and were following him.  The crowds were with John.  The Pharisees and Sadducees wanted to cash in on this.  Appearance-wise, public relations-wise it looked good to be there.  But their hearts were not there (in fact their hearts were far removed) and John recognized this. 

“When he (John) saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, ‘You brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?  Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance…”  (Matthew 3:6)

Despite the appearance these men were not open to the truth of what John was proclaiming.  They were not open to the call of conversion. 

They were hypocrites.  Here, it is helpful to note that the word “hypocrisy” has its origin in the theater arts.  Hypocrisy simply meant “to recite”, to represent something on a stage, but not truly “to be”.  A hypocrite is a pretender who wears a mask and not an authentic person.  In hypocrisy we cease being persons and we become characters. 

I recently read the following distinction which I find helpful:

A fictive character is nothing more than the corruption of an authentic person.  A person has a face; a character wears a mask.  A person is drastically naked; a character is only clothing.  A person loves authenticity and reality; a character lives a life of make-believe and artifice.  A person lives his or her own convictions; a character follows a script.  A person is humble and light; a character is cumbersome and unwieldy. 

Enlightened by this distinction between the person and the character it can be seen that John’s denouncing of the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and Sadducees is a denouncing of that temptation we all know; the temptation to live life merely as a character rather than as a person.  Fundamentally, it is the all-to-common temptation to be complacent and satisfied with being less than what we are indeed meant to be.  Further, John’s denouncing is also a pointing and a proclamation: a pointing to the coming messiah as the “true person”, “the fully authentic one” and a proclamation of the good news that it is by our encounter with this messiah who comes to us that we ourselves can cease being mere characters and begin to become persons. We can know authenticity. 

But, our spirits are weak and this journey to becoming an authentic person frightens just as it also beckons.  On our own we cannot achieve it but … we are not meant to make it alone.  We must remember that we are Christians and not stoics. 

“I,” says John “am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I.  I am not worthy to carry his sandals.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Matthew 3:10)

It is the Holy Spirit – active in our lives and in the life of the Church – who calls us to authentic personhood.  The Holy Spirit is that fire that purifies just as it burns. 

The work of the Holy Spirit is indeed a true mystery in the life of each believer but its fruit is evident – going where we did not think we could go, achieving what we never believed we could achieve, giving of self like we never thought we could and becoming who we are truly meant to be. 

John’s denouncing of the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and Sadducees is both a pointing and a proclamation for us.  In his denouncing, this “greatest of all the prophets” points ahead to Jesus alone as the truly authentic person and he proclaims that it is in our encounter with him and in our baptism with the Holy Spirit that we, ourselves, also become persons and not merely just another character reciting on a stage. 

Below are found the lyrics for the classic Advent hymn, “On Jordan’s Bank, The Baptist’s Cry”.  Notice the call to authentic personhood that is only found in the advent of our Lord.  “…Stretch forth thine hand, to heal our sore, And make us rise to fall no more…”

On Jordan’s Bank, The Baptist’s Cry

On Jordan’s bank, the Baptist’s cry
Announces that the Lord is nigh;
Awake, and hearken, for he brings
Glad tidings of the King of kings!

Then cleansed be every breast from sin;
Make straight the way for God within;
Prepare we in our hearts a home
Where such a mighty Guest may come.

For Thou art our Salvation, Lord,
Our Refuge, and our great Reward.
Without Thy grace we waste away,
Like flowers that wither and decay.


To heal the sick stretch out Thine hand,
And bid the fallen sinner stand;
Shine forth, and let Thy light restore
Earth’s own true lovliness once more.

Stretch forth thine hand, to heal our sore,
And make us rise to fall no more;
Once more upon thy people shine,
And fill the world with love divine.


All praise, eternal Son, to Thee
Whose advent sets Thy people free,
Whom, with the Father, we adore,
And Holy Ghost, forevermore