By walking away from Jesus, by ignoring the call to repentance and by being stuck in our own way of thinking and judgment, we can miss the new beginning that Christ is giving us. Stay and be one with Jesus, and so we receive the new beginning he is offering us.

Regardless of the sin, we are forgiven through the blood that he shed for us on the cross. Jesus doesn’t say to us: “It’s not fair. I gave up my life for you and yet you’re still having a great time sinning in the world.” Rather, Christ says to us: “I have died for all of you, regardless of who sinned more than the next person. I give to each of you according to what you need.”

As Moses drew near to the burning bush, we might ask ourselves: what invitation is being offered to us to draw near to the Lord? To what awakenings is God calling you? What is in your heart? As we continue our Lenten journey, may our prayer be that our hearts be once again “awakened” to God, to life, to repentance and to love. The more awakened we become, the more we come to recognize and bless God who is the source of all awakenings!

Peter, James, and John are surrounded by glorious light: “his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white,” and “they saw his glory.” But they run, they hide, they deny. They are unchanged. How is this possible? If a healthier diet, a faster car, better clothes, more efficient time management, more effective communication, or a more positive outlook can change someone’s life, how can the appearance of divinity itself, blazing with the light which burned before the stars were born, fail to renovate these fishermen?

Why do we give things up in Lent? So that a small denial, a freely sacrificed dessert or glass of beer, may remind us of the source of everything we have been given during the rest of the year, everything we have too easily taken for granted. Why do we strive to pray more, to come to confession, to set aside some money for the poor? Because all of these give God praise. All of these free acts of penance and charity are the sacrifice which pleases God, because they acknowledge Him as Lord by fulfilling His commandment of love.

Jesus goes further than asking us to regulate our speech or writing. He wants us to look into our hearts, our inner self, and find areas of growth. Allowing him and his word to penetrate our hearts will provide light for the course. Recognizing our weaknesses, limitations, biases, and sins will help us be patient with others while allowing us to grow into the persons God has made us to be. Along the journey, we come to the realization, ever new, that God has been merciful to us; it is this same mercy that He wants us to share with others.

This is a love that doesn’t point fingers; it’s a love that pulls and pushes in the direction of all that is of God and from God. Each one of us is meant to do great things with our lives, for God’s greater glory, for the glory of humanity, of our world. As we hear in our first reading from Samuel, it is a love that, no matter how difficult it is to bear and express, in the end brings “no harm to God’s anointed.” And the hard truth of the Gospel is that we are all God’s anointed, God’s beloved.

Our isolation and social distancing can lead us to focus on ourselves and our personal circumstances, especially our difficulties. We can easily say, “Woe is me!” This can be real and true, but it is only a problem if it distracts us from the needs of others and leads us away from also saying, “Woe are they!”

That same invitation, that same call Jesus gave to Simon and the others is given to us. Jesus offers us the same invitation to come, follow him. Do we hear that call, that invitation? Do we look at Jesus as Simon did and be amazed at this man before us? Do we follow him?

The Spirit of the Lord is upon us. He has sent us to be healers, lovers, reconcilers. He has sent us to show the world the big picture, the true picture, the whole picture of the Spirit of the Charity of Jesus Christ: a love which seeks to relieve suffering, to proclaim liberty, and to fall down in humble gratitude for the forgiveness of the Father.

We don’t know what tomorrow will be with this ever-changing virus. We don’t know what guidelines will be pronounced and what restrictions will be put into place. We are in a place where certainty as to how daily life will unfold no longer exists. But we do know, with certainty, that He is the cause of our strength, and that our gathering here each Sunday is how we can feel anew that presence and strength, and so go forth to vanquish any sadness.

Do we act like people who believe that God loves us, delights in us, rejoices in us? My guess is that we often forget it in the busyness of our days. St. Augustine seemed to think so. He once wrote, “because humankind would rather abandon for other concerns its consideration of God’s works – for which it ought to give praise, daily, to the Creator.

Today’s celebration of the baptism of the Lord, is another example of his humility. The Son of God, in order to participate in all that is human, also participated in the ritual of baptism. The sinless one, participated in the cleansing waters of baptism, not to exalt himself as having something greater than all others, rather, to offer to the world the example of humbly accepting his filial relationship with God, the Father.

The wise men didn’t need to see four or five stars before they left home. They saw one star and followed it to the newborn king . Although we don’t know what happened to them after they left, Christians have looked to them as models of what we seek to do in our own lives: to find Christ in whatever humble setting he appears, bow before him in worship, and offer him our small gifts of lively faith, loving action, and intense worship.

Christmas is the story of our redemption, the tale of the God-Man who would die for mankind’s salvation. Is life, love, and health worth a nickel if the heaven that we are destined for remains closed? This child of Bethlehem was born 2000 years ago in order that it might not remain closed. That is why Christmas is a holy day and then a holiday.

In this season of Advent, it is a holiday tradition to do some Christmas shopping and decorate our homes with Christmas trees, lights and ornaments. But it is even better to decorate our lives, our hearts with God’s presence, with his Word, with love, forgiveness and prayers. That’s what Jesus Christ wants from us, the best way to prepare for his coming.

Like fire, Christ needs air to grow. Like all of us, Christ needs space to breath. Like the crowds, we may be filled with expectation, but if our hearts are more filled with lists of gifts to get and give, stuffed with plans for comings and goings, how will Christ squeeze his way into us?