Hi everyone, and welcome to Weekly Homilies with Father Mark Suslenko, Pastor of SS. Isidore and Maria Parish in Glastonbury, Connecticut. We are part of the Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford. I'm Carol Vassar, parish director of communications, and this is Episode 4 of Season 5 for the Feast. Of the Nativity of the Lord - Christmas - : December 25, 2021. Our Gospel reading is from Matthew, Chapter 1, verses 18-2
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.”
When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. He had no relations with her until she bore a son, and he named him Jesus.
The Gospel of the Lord
“This Blessed Life” by Father Mark S. Suslenko, Pastor, SS. Isidore and Maria Parish, Glastonbury, Connecticut
There are two very important questions we can consider tonight. The first is this: is it good to be human? Is it good to be human? The second? Is it good to be here on earth? Is it good to be here on earth?
Now those may appear to be very basic questions, but how we answered them, and then the answers we provide, are pivotal to how we then live out our lives.
Is it good to be human? Is it good to be here on earth? I suppose some of us immediately answered both of those questions with an affirmative "yes." Maybe there are some here who are answering those questions with a definitive "no." And then perhaps others who are saying, I would like to say yes, but I'm not there yet.
You see, we have to be honest with ourselves in answering those two questions because our brains and our hearts can answer them differently.
As we consider our responses to those two questions. Is it good to be human? Is it good to be here on earth? Where are we going to get the information to provide that answer? What are we looking at?
Are we looking at the circumstances of our life? And saying things are pretty good for me. I have a good home. I have enough income. I have some friends. Yes, it's good to be human. It's good to be here on earth. Where if I'm looking outside of myself and I'm seeing turmoil now, seeing a lot of disarray and confusion, I'm feeling anxious because of the pressures that are coming down upon me, for feeling confused because of all of the conflicting voices, and fear is crippling me. And I find myself saying no because of those circumstances, or a yes with reservation because of those circumstances.
You see, what we're using to provide the answer is actually more important than the answer we're providing, and it reveals a lot about where we are, especially on our spiritual journeys. And the reason is this: we differ a great deal in our wellbeing, our sense of happiness, our sense of security to things outside of ourselves. So if the circumstances in my life are going along an acceptable manner, then my interior life catches up with that. If it's not acceptable, then my interior life becomes not acceptable. And as we consider the complexities of the world, we find people today, especially, very concerned about this situation of this life. Where we've come as a people, where we are as a nation, and where we are in the world and wonder how we got to the place we are?
You know, it's interesting, I have an opportunity to have wonderful conversations with people, especially with young couples preparing for marriage, and one conversation that I have more than I want to really have that disturbs me a bit is the conversation with young people when they begin to discuss the possibility of children. And they say to me, you know, I really don't know if we want to bring children into this world.
Or I can even think of myself and how easily I slip into this particular viewpoint of my life as it is now and saying, "I'm glad I grew up when I did because I wouldn't want to be growing up now." It bothers me when I begin to catch myself thinking that way because those are major decisions, major feelings that have a lot to do about the everyday stuff of life. And so we step back and we say, what happened? What changed? Why is it that we feel the way we do? There's so much anxiety, so much fear. How did we get to this point? It's a question worth asking.
And maybe it has something to do with the fact that we have spent tons of energy and tons of time for too many years and far too long trying to build up the wrong kingdom. We've invested so much time and energy and resources into ourselves. And not that that, necessarily, is a negative thing, but when we look outside our doors and windows and we see more of what we have put there than what God has put there, there's a problem.
And it could very well be that a lot of the anxiety, a lot of the worry, a lot of the trepidation, a lot of the fear, a lot of the unhappiness, a lot of the uncertainty is due to the fact that these human systems that we've put in place are not doing what we expected them to do or what we need them to do, and they're falling short.
Because in the end, our happiness, our sense of wellbeing, isn't meant to come from us.
So think about those questions that I asked in the beginning again: is it good to be human? Is it good to be here on earth? If we don't get the answers to those questions out there, then where can they possibly come from?
And the only other place to look is in here. And that's where the answer truly needs to come from. Because ultimately, is it good to be a human being? Is it good to be here? The only place to get the proper answer to that question is right here.
And the answer is Christmas. Because God chose to become one like us in the person of Jesus Christ to give humanity the most perfect sign it could ever, ever receive of not only who it's meant to be, but how it's meant to be.
And so the answer truly is not out there, but it's in here. Because this event that happened 2,000 years ago is absolutely useless to any of us, absolutely useless if it doesn't have some relevancy or some purpose today. If that event 2,000 years ago is just something we get together and celebrate, and casually remember once a year, then it has no import. It has to be useful today.
And so you say, how is it useful today? Because as God was born in Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago, God wants to be born in each one of us today. Ponder that: God wants to be born in each one of us today.
And so you sit there and you say, well, how can God be born in each one of us today? Very simply: by inviting him in.
So what happens in a person who accepts the birth of God within, who accepts that there is a creator, a loving creator who truly wants to make a home in their soul?
Well, first of all, we look within and we find all kinds of attachments to all kinds of stuff. Our souls are cluttered. They're cluttered with selfishness.
They're cluttered with anxiety and fear. They're cluttered with self-agendas. They're cluttered with addictions. They're cluttered with obsessions. They're cluttered with sinfulness and weakness. Our souls are so filled with ourselves that God can't find a home here. And what was the biggest problem? The first time? The Holy Family couldn't find a home. They couldn't find a place to rest.
God still has the same problem because we're so hard-hearted and so stubborn and we won't let him in.
Whether we realize it or not, our souls have a sign on it. And it says "no vacancy" because we want to believe, and we continue to believe we can do this ourselves. I don't need God. And that's how we make a lot of decisions in our life as if God did not exist. We can do it.
Well, look around. Where's it getting us?
God wants to be born in us. Well, how does that happen? You may ask in a very simple but profound way: God is love, and God wants to fill our soul with his presence, with his grace, because the missing component to the way we live life is we think we can do it ourselves. We can't. We need to live with grace. If we don't have grace, we can't succeed. If we don't understand that God is with us inspiring, helping, guiding, leading, we're never going to get where we can be.
And so God wants to bring the profound blessing of his presence, his love, into our souls. And if you don't think it's there, then consider why you care about the person sitting next to you. Why is it that there's this power, this presence, that says don't hurt another person? Why is this power or this presence within us that says, forgive, be kind, be gentle, be humble.
What is it that propels us to, in humanity, worry about the person on the other side of the world? It's this powerful presence of love. We didn't put it there. God put it there. And God wants to increase this love, increase this presence, strengthen us and build us up so that we can get out of the way and God can step up in, and do what God does best because when we allow this to happen, then two other things follow. Once we begin to follow the love that is at the core of who we are, we then develop a real sense of faith. And this faith is not just a faith in doctrines or rules. It's a fundamental trust in that love, that that love is going to keep me, sustain me, and allow me not to fall apart. That somehow in the plan of that love, the essence of myself will be okay.
And then that leads us to the third thing, which is hope. Not hope that tomorrow is going to be better. Not hope that I'm going to get a new job. Not hope that I'm going to get over my illness. Not that kind of hope. Not hope in anything temporal. This is hope in the blessed life which is the culmination of who we really are. Because if we realize that our source is love, then our end is love, and in between, we need to have faith and we walk by hope because of this blessed hope to which we are called this blessed life, which is the simple life. Just being. Isn't that what we truly want? With all of the distractions removed.
Simple being and happiness. Happiness. That's the blessed life.
So here's the bottom line, and this is what we have to get our brains and our hearts around before we can ever move and get out of our very destructive places. There is no hope without God. None.
There is no hope without God, and there is no purpose or meaning to life without grace.
We need grace. We need the guiding presence and love of God at our side, inspiring us, moving us, propelling us, and guiding us. Otherwise, we will not succeed. We may think we will, but we're not.
There is no hope without God and we need grace.
So, as we consider the gift of Christmas, as we consider the birth of Christ and all that that means, is it good to be human? Is it good to be here on earth?
If we take our cues from that event and what from God, what God has done in him through his son and in and through us, then the answer is a resounding yes. Without reservation. Absolutely. yes. It is good to be human. It is good to be the person I am, and it's good to be here.
When we understand that we are not alone and the power that is within us, that affirmation makes perfect sense. When Jesus went up on the mountain and was transformed in front of his disciples, Peter made an exclamation.
He said, "Lord, It is good that we are here." So maybe a wonderful prayer of Thanksgiving as the reality of Christmas penetrates our minds and hearts and souls, is to, in a quiet moment when you were alone with God, to say that very same thing: "Lord, it is good that I am here. I am happy to be here on earth. Thank you.”
Father Mark Suslenko is the pastor of SS. Isidore and Maria Parish in Glastonbury, Connecticut. Learn more about our parish community www.isidoreandmaria.org. And follow us on social media: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Our music comes free of charge from Blue Dot Sessions in Fall River, Massachusetts. I’m Carol Vassar. Thanks for joining us.