Homily for 31 Dec 2015

31 Dec 2015

In psychological terms, we might talk about “self care;” the idea that in order to “be there” for others, we have to take care of ourselves.  And this idea of “self care” seems to fit our situation today as Christians-in-the-world. 

Saint John says: “I write to you not because you do not know the truth, but because you do.”  And that reminder that our faith in Christ is correct, is part of the “self care” we should probably do more often as Catholics.  You don’t have to go too far in the media today, or even among family and friends, to find the naysayers bashing the Catholic faith or tearing Jesus down as some sort of joke.

After a while of that, we can begin to question our faith, or our understanding of Jesus as the Son of God.  Saint John is correct: many “anti-christs” have come into the world.  They’re all around us.  But John also gives us the very beautiful (and deep) prologue to his gospel as a bit of “self care” for the faithful: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . . And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” 

We may not understand fully what that all means.  But we do know it means that the Word of God who existed before time, took on human flesh in the person we know as Jesus the son of Mary and Joseph, Jesus Christ.  Jesus is God; we know that much.  And the “self care” we might do from time to time is to remember this about Jesus, and to let ourselves be awed in silence by the great mystery of the Incarnation.

If we ourselves are awed by Jesus as the Son of God, then we can help others to see Jesus as the Son of God.  Then we can do battle in the world: if we are strong in simple, childlike faith that Jesus is who he says he is: the Eternal Word of God . . . in the flesh.