In 2008 Pope Benedict wrote: “Violence, in many cases, marks the relations between persons and peoples. Poverty oppresses millions of inhabitants. Discrimination and sometimes even persecution for racial, cultural and religious reasons drive many people to flee from their own countries in order to seek refuge and protection elsewhere.”
In our first reading today, God wants something more than a fancy temple or a new church. God wants to work with us to address the issues of our world. That’s what the coming of Christ is all about. He came to create something new for us: “I will fix a place for my people.”
He wants something new for us, and that something new is made real in our gospel story about an angel speaking to a poor young woman, promising a savior who will finally “rule” over the people and lead them to something new. “Hail, full of grace!” the angel said. “The Lord is with you.” “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and he power of the Most High will overshadow you.”
God’s reign will transcend our limited personal vision just as it did Mary’s and it will bring together, the whole world, in a new kind of justice and peace.
Today scriptures speak to our human day-to-day living, and they remind us that God really does want something different for us than all the injustice, violence, economic horror, confusion and terror that holds our lives and our world in its grips today. He wants a new reign of justice and peace, simplicity and hope, and he invites us to make that reign real. It won’t happen if we don’t make it happen.
As our governments – National, State, Local - address the huge problems in our economy, what it’s doing and not doing for individuals and families, we need to work together to be sure that the values of our faith and our church’s social teaching will be included in their solution, remembering:
First, that God invites us to not forget the poor – especially those in our country, in our community, who have been living the recession for decades.
Secondly, that Jesus taught us more about wealth and possessions and greed than anything else and that he invites us to work to create an economy focused on the common good, an economy that is concerned with something more than consumer spending, the gross domestic product, and our stock portfolio, and building more barns to store our wealth so we can eat, drink, and be merry.
And finally, that God invites us to be working to create an economy that is focused on the benefit of all people no matter how poor or how wealthy they may be. Then indeed God will have a place in which He can dwell with all people in peace and justice.
Like Mary we may ask, but “how can this be?” and like her, I pray, hear the angel say to us “nothing will be impossible for God” as long as we, with Mary, respond: “May it be done to me according to your word,” understanding it can’t happen without our yes, any more than Christ’s coming could have happened, without her yes.
In our first reading today, God wants something more than a fancy temple or a new church. God wants to work with us to address the issues of our world. That’s what the coming of Christ is all about. He came to create something new for us: “I will fix a place for my people.”
He wants something new for us, and that something new is made real in our gospel story about an angel speaking to a poor young woman, promising a savior who will finally “rule” over the people and lead them to something new. “Hail, full of grace!” the angel said. “The Lord is with you.” “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and he power of the Most High will overshadow you.”
God’s reign will transcend our limited personal vision just as it did Mary’s and it will bring together, the whole world, in a new kind of justice and peace.
Today scriptures speak to our human day-to-day living, and they remind us that God really does want something different for us than all the injustice, violence, economic horror, confusion and terror that holds our lives and our world in its grips today. He wants a new reign of justice and peace, simplicity and hope, and he invites us to make that reign real. It won’t happen if we don’t make it happen.
As our governments – National, State, Local - address the huge problems in our economy, what it’s doing and not doing for individuals and families, we need to work together to be sure that the values of our faith and our church’s social teaching will be included in their solution, remembering:
First, that God invites us to not forget the poor – especially those in our country, in our community, who have been living the recession for decades.
Secondly, that Jesus taught us more about wealth and possessions and greed than anything else and that he invites us to work to create an economy focused on the common good, an economy that is concerned with something more than consumer spending, the gross domestic product, and our stock portfolio, and building more barns to store our wealth so we can eat, drink, and be merry.
And finally, that God invites us to be working to create an economy that is focused on the benefit of all people no matter how poor or how wealthy they may be. Then indeed God will have a place in which He can dwell with all people in peace and justice.
Like Mary we may ask, but “how can this be?” and like her, I pray, hear the angel say to us “nothing will be impossible for God” as long as we, with Mary, respond: “May it be done to me according to your word,” understanding it can’t happen without our yes, any more than Christ’s coming could have happened, without her yes.
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