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Explaining the meaning of today’s of Solemnity of Christ the King, Pope Benedict XVI has said: “The feast of Christ the King is…not a feast of those who are subjugated, but a feast of those who know that they are in the hands of the one who writes straight on crooked lines.” What the Pope meant by that statement was “God does not have a fixed plan that he must carry out; on the contrary, God has many different ways of finding [a human being] and of even turning [this person’s] wrong ways into right ways….” Of the many ways God finds human beings and writes straight on crooked lines, perhaps the most normal is when we invite God to make of us what Mother Teresa of Calcutta called “a pencil in God’s hand.” What Mother Teresa meant by that phrase is to invite God to let us be a vehicle of God’s grace. Mother Teresa described this way that God finds human beings and turns wrong ways into right ways to Edward W. Desmond in a December 4, 1989 interview for Time magazine. She said: “I am like a little pencil in his hand. That is all. God does the thinking. God does the writing. The pencil has nothing to do with it. The pencil has only to be allowed to be used.” “To be a pencil in God’s hand.” If we are to be a pencil in God’s hand, Mother Teresa said, this requires prayer. But, don’t think “formulaic prayer,” like rifling off a few Our Father’s, Hail Mary’s, and Glory Be’s so that God will take care of everything that’s wrong in our lives, in our homes, and in our world. As important as formulaic prayer is, when our desire is to be a pencil in God’s hand, Mother Teresa says, we try to pray through our work by doing it with Jesus, for Jesus, and to Jesus. When we pray through our work in this way, God assists us to us put our whole heart and soul into doing what is not only very important work but also work that possesses eternal significance. For Mother Teresa, her work included the dying, the crippled, the mentally ill, the unwanted, and the unloved of whom she said, “they are Jesus in disguise.” For you and me, our work includes our spouses, our children, our parents, our brothers and sisters, or relatives, friends, neighbors, and co-workers who are Jesus in disguise. As we pray through our work by doing it for these people with Jesus, for Jesus, and to Jesus, God assists us to put our whole heart and soul into doing not only very important work but also work that possesses eternal significance. Our role? Mother Teresa said: “You must make them feel loved and wanted.” This is much more important than doing big things for them. How often do we contemplate God’s greatest gift to us are all of those people God has so mysteriously placed into our lives, all of those people Mother Teresa says are “Jesus in disguise” and “need to feel loved and wanted”? If we don’t make those people loved and wanted, who will? Furthermore, how often do we pray that we will be a gift to all of those people, that is, to do our work with Jesus, for Jesus, and to Jesus, putting our whole heart and soul into doing this work of making them feel loved and wanted? This is how we proclaim the word of God, by putting prayer into action and serving the people who God is trying to find and turn their wrong ways into right ways. As Pope John Paul II said in his message to the 2004 World Youth Day, “The world is in urgent need of a great prophetic sign of fraternal charity! It is not enough to ‘speak’ of Jesus. We must also let him be ‘seen’ somehow through the eloquent witness of our own life.” However, many of us are challenged—threatened from all sides—not to pray so that God will use us as a pencil in His hand. Perhaps the greatest threat comes from our possessions. Because we have so much, we become so preoccupied with our possessions that we desire to possess even more. We then we end up having so many possessions that we have so very little to give of ourselves. How often do we contemplate the fact that if we had fewer possessions, we’d have so much more to give of ourselves to those whom God is trying to find and turn their wrong ways into right ways? Materially rich, we’re spiritually impoverished. How can we possibly function as a “pencil in God’s hand”? Another threat comes from our belief that there will be a tomorrow. This attitude is lionized in the song “Tomorrow” from the Broadway play, Annie, which is about an 11-year-old redheaded, spunky, and optimistic girl who is bound and determined to find her parents. Escaping from the orphanage and its mean and unpleasant matron, Miss Hannigan, Annie sings:
The sun’ll come out, tomorrow,
Just thinkin’ about, tomorrow,
When I’m stuck with a day, that’s grey and lonely,
Oh, the sun’ll come out tomorrow,
Tomorrow tomorrow, I love you tomorrow, Unfortunately, Annie’s parents died many yesterday’s ago when she was very young. Today, Annie is an orphan. She’ll never be able to realize her hopes tomorrow. In the world’s eyes, Annie is destined to be poor. Yet, think of how different things could have been for Annie had Miss Hannigan not hated children but saw herself as a “pencil in God’s hand” and seen in Annie “Jesus in disguise” who was in need of love and being wanted by her parents. Think of how different things would have been for Annie had Miss Hannigan not hungered so much for happiness that she tried to drown her unhappiness by imbibing in too many adult beverages! Contrast Miss Hannigan with the billionaire businessman, Oliver Warbucks, who allowed himself to be “a pencil in God’s hand” by opening his home—and heart—to Annie. Inviting Annie to his palatial home for the Christmas holidays, Oliver Warbucks and Annie initially are uncomfortable with each other. But, they soon come to love each other. “Daddy” Warbucks desperately wants to adopt Annie, but she insists that her parents will be coming for her. When at last it is revealed that Annie’s parents have died, Warbucks and Annie become a family, giving to one another what each truly needed, being loved and wanted. Who really was rich and who really was poor? Miss Hannigan was terribly lonely inside, never happy, and always needing something more to fill the void she felt in her heart and soul. Was what made Oliver Warbucks rich all of his money? No, he was rich because Oliver Warbucks opened his home and heart to an orphan, providing Annie the feelings of being loved and wanted she had never experienced. The lesson isn’t simply that material things don’t give joy. There is something far greater than that, the deep sense of peace we long for in our hearts and souls. Those are riches that have nothing to do with the material possessions and demarcate those who are truly rich from those who are truly poor. The vitally important lesson to draw from all of this is to invite God to use us as a pencil in His hand so that we become a vehicle of God’s grace alive and active in transforming our world. What we oftentimes don’t “get” is how God most normally shows His greatness by using our nothingness. There may not be that “Tomorrow” for which Annie. Yesterday is gone. We have only today to allow ourselves to be a “pencil in God’s hand.” When we do that, we need not fret about the future because it’s all God’s concern not ours. As Pope Benedict XI has reminded us, the solemnity of Christ the King is “a feast of those who know they are in the hands of the one who writes straight on crooked lines.” The gospel of the final judgment we have heard today serves to remind us that poverty is not the last word. Forget yesterday. Forget about tomorrow. Think only of today. God is calling us to be His “right hand” man, the “go-to guy” who God can count on to go after the “lost sheep of Israel” and, as pencils in God’s hand, to write straight on crooked lines today. It is of these to whom Christ will say: “Come, blessed of my Father, take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
A brief commercial break... As Catholics, we prepare for Christ's coming by celebrating the season of Advent. During those four weeks, we prepare the way for Christ to come into our own lives each and every day not just on Christmas day. For Catholic families, let me suggest five practical ways to prepare for Christ's coming: 1. Place an advent wreath in the center of your dinner table. Each evening before sitting down for dinner, have one member offer a prayer of thanksgiving to God for His presence in the life of your family and light the appropriate candle(s). Looking for an advent wreath? The best advent wreath (and Christmas wreath, by the way) is made of holly not evergreen. The elements of holly (the holly itself and the red berries) recall the crucifixion of Christ. He was crowned with thorns. The thorns bit into his brow, causing red drops of blood to flow. No color is more associated with Christmas than red, the color of Good Friday. This symbolism is consistent with scripture: "By the Lord's stripes we are healed." So, the holly is green, a color associated with life and hope—reminding us of the birth of the Savior—and the berries are red—reminding us of how the gift of eternal life has been won for us through the blood of Christ. I don't think it's easy to find holly wreathes, but then, I've never looked for one. I do know that a round metal wire holder and plastic holly branches can be purchased at Michael's. That would do the trick. Then remember: three purple and one pink candle. And, don't forget to place the Advent calendar on the front of the refrigerator. 2. Use an Advent calendar. Hang an advent calendar on the refrigerator door beginning on December 1st. Each morning, before everyone scatters for the day, have one member of the family open one door and read the scripture verse or describe the biblical scene behind the door. This is a great way for family members to keep focused on the coming of Christ for the rest of the day. 3. Make a Jesse tree. The Jesse tree is the traditional way that Catholics recall Jesus' heritage, coming from the line of King David, the son of Jesse. Have members of the family make a symbol for each day of Advent that marks an important moment in Israel's history (e.g., Noah's ark, Jacob's ladder, Moses' stone tablets, David's harp). Then, each evening before everyone goes to bed, gather the family around the Jesse tree, have the family member explain the symbol, and hang it on the tree. 4. Celebrate the Feast of St. Nicholas on December 6th. One way to "put Christ back into Christmas" is to reclaim the faith-filled life of heroic virtue revealed in the great Christian saint, St. Nicholas of Myra. Besides sharing simple gifts with family members, like placing candy in shoes that have been left outside of the bedroom door, share some time with people who are alone, in the hospital, convalescing, etc. 5. Celebrate God's mercy. Advent is a particularly fitting time for every member of the family to welcome the light of God's forgiveness into the dark places of family life. Gather the family together and go to church to celebrate the Sacrament of Penance together. Then, go out for pizza to celebrate God's mercy and a new beginning free from sin. By participating in these five practical activities to prepare for Christmas day, Catholic families will not only have contemplated their need for God and God's self-revelation through salvation history. In addition, they will have experienced God present and active in their family's life. Then, on Christmas day, when family members greet one another by saying, "Merry Christmas," they all will truly be prepared to celebrate the Mass wherein Christ will strengthen and nourish them with his body and blood to bring Christ to the world. Then... With only 40 days left until Christmas Day, the people at Magnificat® produce a companion edition for the season of Advent. Similar to a what older Catholics may remember as a "prayer book," the companion edition contains all sorts of prayers, readings, reflections, art, and activities for every member of the family to prepare each day of the season of Advent for the coming of Christ at Christmas. Grandparents might consider purchasing a copy for themselves and copies for each of their grandchildren. Confirmation sponsors might consider purchasing a copy for themselves as well as the person they sponsored in the faith. Spouses might purchase a copy for themselves and use it for daily prayer during the season of Advent. Parents might purchase a copy for the family and use it to lead prayer before dinner each evening. At a price of $3.95 for 1-4 copies plus $1 shipping/handling, $2.50 for 5-9 copies plus $3 shipping/handling, and $1.50 for 10-49 copies (plus $5 shipping/handling), the companion edition makes a perfect and very affordable opportunity to prepare for the coming of Christ at Christmas as well as an Advent gift to spur family, friends, and colleagues toward greater spiritual growth during the season of Advent. The companion edition has a limited press run that sells out each year. Furthermore, orders are filled in the order received. So, place your order early. To
place an order for the 2008 companion edition of Magnificat® for the
season of Advent, call
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HOMILY
