Called to be mirror of eternity (Sunday homily)

 You’ve heard me say before that Advent is mainly about eternity; 

it is about Christmas because that is a down-payment on eternity.

One of the reasons this is worth emphasizing 

is because it helps us be clear about Christmas too;

so we don’t misunderstand Christmas, the way our society does.

Stop and consider the way we celebrate Christmas as a society; 

and you’ll see that it actually distorts our focus. 

We start seeing ads and TV specials hinting at Christmas 

back in September, even August.

Once Hallowe’en is over, it’s all Christmas, all the time, for two months.

More, more, MOAR! Till we arrive at December 25, CHRISTMAS! Exhaustion! It’s over! Here come the bills, ouch!

See what we’ve done? We’ve turned Christmas into the climax.

But what if that’s all wrong?

Christmas isn’t the END; it’s the BEGINNING. 

It is the down payment on the complete redemption of humanity; 

on the New Creation, on what lies ahead for each of us.

Christmas is the first, concrete beginning of salvation –

of a relationship with God being possible, of heaven being opened.

If someone asks, why be a Christian, the short answer is, 

because of the eternity Jesus offers us.

Jesus came to fix what went wrong with humanity.

That’s why he was born; that’s why he died and rose.

You and I join our lives to his, living for him, watching for him, 

Till he comes again to bring us to that fullness of life.

Our life is to be what Advent models for us:

Keeping our gaze on the far horizon of eternal life.

This is a good time to recall the ancient Christian practice 

of giving up marriage for the sake of the Kingdom, 

which lives on in priests and religious, of course. 

Why should anyone give up marriage for the sake of the Kingdom?

So many people, especially in our time, simply do not understand it.

Nor do they get why anyone would take vows in religious life, 

and enter a convent or monastery. 

Is it because we think marriage is something bad? 

Hardly: we call it a sacrament. Marriage is something very, very good.

And that is precisely the point. 

There’s nothing noteworthy about giving up a bad thing. 

But when someone gives up something extraordinarily good, 

the natural question is, why?

And the answer is, they are looking to something better. 

To eternity. That is why when you see religious sisters and brothers, 

their faces are lit with an other-worldly light. 

They have given up possessions and the world and marriage, 

and they are full of joy.

To embrace the religious life is to be a mirror of eternity,

so that people see in your life, not the ordinary things of this world, 

but the New Creation that we hope for.

People see that you are dressed and ready for the Kingdom.

How do you know if you are called to the religious life?

Well, if you find yourself longing for more: for more prayer; 

for more Mass; for more than this world can offer; for more Christ:

Then this calling may be for you. 

And I want to remind you we have a second collection today 

to benefit those retired brothers and sisters 

who gave up so much of this world, 

precisely to be a shining witness of what lies ahead.

You are always generous, thank you in advance.

All the same, it is not only priests and religious 

who are called to be a witness to hope. 

Every single Christian – every one of us – 

is asked by Christ to be such a mirror of eternity.

And if that sounds demanding, it is. 

But then, realize that life makes more sense 

when we keep our focus on what we’re working toward and waiting for.