Greetings - here is my homily for January 25 2009 - the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time. The readings can be found at http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/012509a.shtml
Thanks for reading!
Fr. Jim Chern
HOMILY:
Despite who you might have voted for, or what your political leanings are, as Americans it’s probably a bi-partisan opinion that this past week was truly a historic week in the life of our country. As the nation inaugurated President Barack Obama, the significance of this moment was obvious. Reflecting on his being the first African-American to be elected to our nation’s highest office, our new President noted that he was a "man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant [but now he could] stand before [us] to take a most sacred oath." For those of us who didn’t live through such turbulent times in American history, we can’t fully appreciate how significant that really is.
To recall some terms we heard a lot on last year’s presidential campaign trail - that such a change has occurred is truly a sign of Hope for America. Hope that bigotry, Hope that racism are things of the past. Hope that we as a nation continue to grow into the ideals that we were founded on of equality of all men and women. These things – despite important differences on a variety of issues we might have with our new president - are things as a nation we should come together and celebrate.
And from all accounts, the nation truly did. Close to 38 million people watched or listened to the Inauguration festivities on Tuesday; over 1.2 million people braved the chilly 22 degree weather to witness the event live in Washington DC; This even captured the imagination of the world media where an unprecedented 35,000 news stories on the inauguration were written around the world, 35 times more than previous inauguration coverage..
We seem to be people of the moment though believing that there was nothing more historically significant than what is taking place before our eyes – in our day, in our age, in our time. The reality is that all Inaugurations are important to various degrees and for different reasons.
Sometimes an Inaugural speech contains a memorable line that is quoted and used as a sound bite to this very day- Roosevelt’s "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself..." or John F Kennedy’s words "ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country", are just two examples of speeches that have withstood the test of time.
Sometimes just the times in which the new president is sworn in raise these happenings to an even more serious level. Abraham Lincoln’s second Inaugural address is remembered because it came at the end of the Civil War. On that January morning, more Americans were dead from that conflict than any other war - previous or since. So the nation was shattered, wounded and divided. Recognizing that, Lincoln’s speech called for his fellow citizens to go about the hard work of reconciliation.
Every inauguration on some level contains hopes of a nation, whether they voted for this man or not, that the new President’s promises of renewal will be realized. As we listen to his grasp of some of the problems the nation faces, we root for him in his commitment to meet those challenges. We wonder will his vision for the future of the country be realized. We realize he’s an imperfect human being, like each of us so there will be mistakes. And we hope (probably more for our own sakes than anything else) that the successes outnumber the failures
Tonight, we hear Jesus’ Inaugural address. And with the benefit of close to 2,000 years perspective, we know that there has never been a more powerful inaugural address or words that are more profound, more life changing, more historical than the ones Jesus gives tonight in this Gospel:
This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel.
Kind of short when we compare it to our president’s speeches. Yet All of human history hangs on those words. Jesus is no longer a baby in a manger. He’s not this figure that is capturing the attention of John the Baptist who’s telling his followers - "he’s the one who’s mightier than I – that all humanity has been waiting for." Jesus, the Messiah, God among us; says to us in these words that a whole new world order is being ushered in. A truly new day and age is about to begin.
But here’s the thing - it’s not being forced on any of us. He’s not some dictator imposing his rule on us. And He’s not someone we can "vote out" in favor of someone else if we don’t like his message. This is God’s Kingdom - and Jesus in his address invites us to be a part of his Kingdom. And the choice is ultimately ours. Whether we belong to it or not is up to us.
These four men - James, John, Simon Peter and Andrew recognize what is being offered. So excited to respond to Jesus invitation they quickly abandoned their homes, their former lives, their economic security - they drop their nets, they drop EVERYTHING and follow Jesus.
And this inaugural address of Jesus - these important words resonate through the ages, through the centuries, through thousands of years and
– still having life changing affects on people
– still calls people to continue to drop everything
– still inspire people to freely choose to follow Jesus as their Messiah.
We see it in those who respond to the call to the vocations to priesthood and religious life. That’s just one example of how God still calls men and women to give up their lives, give up their economic security, let go of their wants, their worldly relationships and put Jesus and spreading that good news as central to their lives. While God could have chosen many different ways for his word and message to endure, this is one way through men and women who’ve responded to Jesus’ inaugural address and made it the all-encompassing focus of their lives. These vocations are examples of people who (to paraphrase) - asked not what our God could do for them - but recognized what he has already done - and couldn’t think of anything more important than dedicating their lives to praising God and sharing that word.
Those vocations bear witness to this universal call in the Gospel: that all of us are being invited to be a part of God’s kingdom, to be a part of history rather than merely a spectator to it. We need to answer that and renew that answer again and again. Will we "come after" Jesus - to know him, to follow him, to listen to him - to truly love him.
Will we give our lives by "repenting" - by letting go of always trying to do things our way? Will we believing that the time of fulfillment comes only when we trust that God has our best interests at heart?
Jesus in making his inaugural address tells us how God in a sense votes for us, chooses us. His promises are guaranteed. His agenda, his vision, his mission are certain to be accomplished - if we are willing to set aside everything and truly follow him...
WHAT DO YOU WANT
Hi everyone, here’s my homily for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time - Sunday, January 18, 2009. The readings can be found at http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/011809.shtml Thanks for reading and all your comments and feedback! Fr Jim
HOMILY:
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not the easiest person in the world to buy a gift for. Around November with my birthday coming up followed by the beginnings of Christmas shopping, the question will usually come from Mom, "What do you want, honey?" Sometimes other family members will ask the same seemingly simple question as well: What do you want? To be completely honest, when it’s one of my brothers, calling the day before my birthday while walking around the mall, it sounds more like Whaddya want? (with just a bit of exasperation in their voices). But you get the idea.
I always feel bad because I never really have a good answer. They are asking because they want to do something meaningful, something special, something that will fulfill a need. Usually I say, "I don’t know" - because I really don’t. I suppose it’s harder to buy something that is meaningful, that is useful, (that fits!) for adults than it is for kids. When I was little, magically Santa knew the right size, what I needed, what toy or game I whimpered about every time I saw its advertisement or saw it at the store.
Being grown up, and a priest at that, it’s harder for my relatives to be creative. How many pairs of black socks, black pants and black shoes do I need? They’re never too sure what DVD’s I have or want, or what book I might be interested in - so I realize that it’s hard for them to surprise me. Often when they ask me, "What do you want?", I’m usually thinking I don’t really need anything, so I don't have any good suggestions for them and usually end up saying, "Whatever you get me I’ll be happy with."
This Christmas, my family got me some really nice gifts. But, there were two that I needed to return. One was a fleece that I had pretty much had a duplicate of, and the other was a nice shirt from Hollister, which even though was an XL, because I have more than 2% body fat, it really didn’t fit me comfortably.
So returning those two gifts, here I am at the store. I’m returning these things - with receipt in hand (my family knows me well enough now to just include the receipts as well) and because the person at the cash register can’t give me money back, I come full circle as she asks me the one thing I still don’t have an answer to – "What do you want?"
"What do you want?" – Maybe you’re as unsure as I am when you hear that question. Whether it’s trying to decide what to order off a menu in the restaurant, which major to finally declare, which job to take, which house to purchase - we can often be stuck without an answer to that seemingly simple question, What do you want?
We want to consider the options, see what’s possible, find out who’s asking it and why – and then try to give a good and definitive answer.
It’s fascinating that in the Gospel of John, which is tonight’s Gospel, the very first words Jesus utters, the first question he asks his new disciples is, "What do you want?" (in other translations, it’s "What are you looking for?" [NAB]; or, going back a few years, simply, "What seek you?" [Douay-Rheims version]).
John the Baptist told his disciples who Jesus was - the Lamb of God - and immediately something told them they needed to follow him. After listening to John preach about the need to go into the river and repent of their sins, and about the one who was coming after him who was mightier than he, John's disciples feel compelled to leave him and follow Christ. John the Baptist saw Jesus walking by and pointed him out to his disciples saying, there’s the Lamb of God - there’s the one I’ve waited for and been preparing you for all these years. It's time to follow him.
Immediately, these two disciples follow Jesus, and Jesus turns around and asks, why are you following me, what are you looking for, what do you want?
And it’s almost like they don’t know what to ask for, don't know what they want themselves. They turn it around (perhaps stalling for time) and ask him the seemingly off topic question, Where are you staying? And it is then that Jesus invites them to "come and see."
The great thing about this Gospel passage is that it’s perfect for everyone: For those who believe they’ve been following Him, following His commands, following His call. For those unsure who Jesus is and are curious about the man. This passage even works for someone stuck in the middle – whatever place you find yourself in, Jesus turns to us today [tonight] and asks;
What do you want?
Just hearing that directed from Him can really be unnerving, can’t it? Immediately, we turn to our lists: I want a job; I want nice things; I want my relationships to work out; I want my family to be healthy; I want... I want... I want... we know we 'want,' but we're not sure just what we want first.
But Christ isn’t some 'genie in the lamp' looking to give us three wishes. Which is why we too are invited to "come and see." Once we’ve recognized him as the one we need to follow - the one who has all the answers - the Messiah, the Lamb of God, and all of those other terms and titles we don’t fully understand (yet somehow know are a big deal) - we need to go to him ... and in order to find what we're truly looking for, we need to stay with him.
And in learning who Christ really is, by seeing and staying with him, our true desires, our deepest longings, our truest selves start to fully be revealed.
God wants to be with us - and wants us to want to be with him. Really, what more could we want?
HOMILY:
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not the easiest person in the world to buy a gift for. Around November with my birthday coming up followed by the beginnings of Christmas shopping, the question will usually come from Mom, "What do you want, honey?" Sometimes other family members will ask the same seemingly simple question as well: What do you want? To be completely honest, when it’s one of my brothers, calling the day before my birthday while walking around the mall, it sounds more like Whaddya want? (with just a bit of exasperation in their voices). But you get the idea.
I always feel bad because I never really have a good answer. They are asking because they want to do something meaningful, something special, something that will fulfill a need. Usually I say, "I don’t know" - because I really don’t. I suppose it’s harder to buy something that is meaningful, that is useful, (that fits!) for adults than it is for kids. When I was little, magically Santa knew the right size, what I needed, what toy or game I whimpered about every time I saw its advertisement or saw it at the store.
Being grown up, and a priest at that, it’s harder for my relatives to be creative. How many pairs of black socks, black pants and black shoes do I need? They’re never too sure what DVD’s I have or want, or what book I might be interested in - so I realize that it’s hard for them to surprise me. Often when they ask me, "What do you want?", I’m usually thinking I don’t really need anything, so I don't have any good suggestions for them and usually end up saying, "Whatever you get me I’ll be happy with."
This Christmas, my family got me some really nice gifts. But, there were two that I needed to return. One was a fleece that I had pretty much had a duplicate of, and the other was a nice shirt from Hollister, which even though was an XL, because I have more than 2% body fat, it really didn’t fit me comfortably.
So returning those two gifts, here I am at the store. I’m returning these things - with receipt in hand (my family knows me well enough now to just include the receipts as well) and because the person at the cash register can’t give me money back, I come full circle as she asks me the one thing I still don’t have an answer to – "What do you want?"
"What do you want?" – Maybe you’re as unsure as I am when you hear that question. Whether it’s trying to decide what to order off a menu in the restaurant, which major to finally declare, which job to take, which house to purchase - we can often be stuck without an answer to that seemingly simple question, What do you want?
We want to consider the options, see what’s possible, find out who’s asking it and why – and then try to give a good and definitive answer.
It’s fascinating that in the Gospel of John, which is tonight’s Gospel, the very first words Jesus utters, the first question he asks his new disciples is, "What do you want?" (in other translations, it’s "What are you looking for?" [NAB]; or, going back a few years, simply, "What seek you?" [Douay-Rheims version]).
John the Baptist told his disciples who Jesus was - the Lamb of God - and immediately something told them they needed to follow him. After listening to John preach about the need to go into the river and repent of their sins, and about the one who was coming after him who was mightier than he, John's disciples feel compelled to leave him and follow Christ. John the Baptist saw Jesus walking by and pointed him out to his disciples saying, there’s the Lamb of God - there’s the one I’ve waited for and been preparing you for all these years. It's time to follow him.
Immediately, these two disciples follow Jesus, and Jesus turns around and asks, why are you following me, what are you looking for, what do you want?
And it’s almost like they don’t know what to ask for, don't know what they want themselves. They turn it around (perhaps stalling for time) and ask him the seemingly off topic question, Where are you staying? And it is then that Jesus invites them to "come and see."
The great thing about this Gospel passage is that it’s perfect for everyone: For those who believe they’ve been following Him, following His commands, following His call. For those unsure who Jesus is and are curious about the man. This passage even works for someone stuck in the middle – whatever place you find yourself in, Jesus turns to us today [tonight] and asks;
What do you want?
Just hearing that directed from Him can really be unnerving, can’t it? Immediately, we turn to our lists: I want a job; I want nice things; I want my relationships to work out; I want my family to be healthy; I want... I want... I want... we know we 'want,' but we're not sure just what we want first.
But Christ isn’t some 'genie in the lamp' looking to give us three wishes. Which is why we too are invited to "come and see." Once we’ve recognized him as the one we need to follow - the one who has all the answers - the Messiah, the Lamb of God, and all of those other terms and titles we don’t fully understand (yet somehow know are a big deal) - we need to go to him ... and in order to find what we're truly looking for, we need to stay with him.
And in learning who Christ really is, by seeing and staying with him, our true desires, our deepest longings, our truest selves start to fully be revealed.
God wants to be with us - and wants us to want to be with him. Really, what more could we want?
GETTING INTO THE RIVER WITH US
This is my homily for January 11, 2009 – The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. The readings can be found at http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/011109.shtml - Thanks for reading!
Fr. Jim Chern
HOMILY:
On the front page of a newspaper was a picture of a young man sitting on some school steps. He was bald, and all around him were his classmates, about 25 of them, some wearing school jackets, others in T-Shirts and regular jackets, their heads bowed towards the camera - and they too were bald. The Headline read: TRUE BLUE PALS and the caption said: Mark Busse, 16, of Reardon, Washington, poses with classmates from his high school in this eastern Washington state town.
His friends shaved their heads to show support for Busse after his hair fell out following chemotherapy for inoperable lung cancer. His buddies said that they didn't want him to stand out in the 180 student high school. What an awesome act of kindness and friendship that was. Mark, despite his illness, despite his troubles, is a very lucky young man - he has the best kind of friends anyone can have - even though they are not sick, even though they have no reason in the world to shave their heads and experience some of what young Mark experiences - do so anyway. They identify with him. They walk in his shoes. They show him that he is not alone. They perform an act, they give him a sign.
In today’s celebration of The Baptism of the Lord, we see a similar act by Jesus. At the Jordan River, John the Baptist is preaching the need for repentance and washing clean the sins of those who come to him in this "ritual cleaning".
Jesus did not need to be baptized – He didn’t have the sickness we have, he wasn’t a sinner, he had no cause for repentance. But Jesus does this to show what he has taken upon himself: our burdens, our sickness, our sins, in the hope that by his showing his complete identification with us we will turn away from that life, from our sins and turn towards Him, the Son of God who saves us from Sin and offers us eternal life. Jesus by undergoing this Baptism once again says God loves you and I so much that he wants to identify with us. He wants to make it easy for us to relate with Him. This is how Jesus starts his ministry to identify with us who are lost and lonely searching for a way back to God.
When we were baptized, it was the beginning of our acceptance of Jesus’ healing love, our desire to be as he was. We renew ourselves in that call, in that relationship with Jesus. We are in the river with Christ. And thank God for that, for the only hope we have to transform our lives from darkness to light, to recreate our world from an existence of sinful selfishness to a hope-filled community is in Him.
Fr. Jim Chern
HOMILY:
On the front page of a newspaper was a picture of a young man sitting on some school steps. He was bald, and all around him were his classmates, about 25 of them, some wearing school jackets, others in T-Shirts and regular jackets, their heads bowed towards the camera - and they too were bald. The Headline read: TRUE BLUE PALS and the caption said: Mark Busse, 16, of Reardon, Washington, poses with classmates from his high school in this eastern Washington state town.
His friends shaved their heads to show support for Busse after his hair fell out following chemotherapy for inoperable lung cancer. His buddies said that they didn't want him to stand out in the 180 student high school. What an awesome act of kindness and friendship that was. Mark, despite his illness, despite his troubles, is a very lucky young man - he has the best kind of friends anyone can have - even though they are not sick, even though they have no reason in the world to shave their heads and experience some of what young Mark experiences - do so anyway. They identify with him. They walk in his shoes. They show him that he is not alone. They perform an act, they give him a sign.
In today’s celebration of The Baptism of the Lord, we see a similar act by Jesus. At the Jordan River, John the Baptist is preaching the need for repentance and washing clean the sins of those who come to him in this "ritual cleaning".
Jesus did not need to be baptized – He didn’t have the sickness we have, he wasn’t a sinner, he had no cause for repentance. But Jesus does this to show what he has taken upon himself: our burdens, our sickness, our sins, in the hope that by his showing his complete identification with us we will turn away from that life, from our sins and turn towards Him, the Son of God who saves us from Sin and offers us eternal life. Jesus by undergoing this Baptism once again says God loves you and I so much that he wants to identify with us. He wants to make it easy for us to relate with Him. This is how Jesus starts his ministry to identify with us who are lost and lonely searching for a way back to God.
When we were baptized, it was the beginning of our acceptance of Jesus’ healing love, our desire to be as he was. We renew ourselves in that call, in that relationship with Jesus. We are in the river with Christ. And thank God for that, for the only hope we have to transform our lives from darkness to light, to recreate our world from an existence of sinful selfishness to a hope-filled community is in Him.
AN EPIPHANY STORY - AN ATHEIST MOVED TO WONDER
This is my homily for The Feast of the Epiphany - January 4, 2008. The readings can be found at http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/090104.shtml - Thanks for reading. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Fr. Jim
HOMILY: Penn Jillette is one of those celebrities whose name may not immediately register without hearing his stage partner's name - Raymond Teller. Together, they make up the comedy and magician team of Penn and Teller. They’ve performed their act all across the country, as well as on a bunch of late nigh talk shows, doing their illusions, peppered with Penn’s outspoken monologues next to Teller’s relative silence. Together they’ve become a modern Laurel and Hardy.
But Penn has been able to create a solo career as well - which is often times difficult once a person has been "type-cast" as part of a duo. He has his own voice-over work for television networks like Comedy Central, he produces movies, and he has his own stand up routines that would fall into the "Bill Maher" category of (for lack of a better word) "humor". He can be very outrageous, and as a professed atheist, has often times said blasphemous things that would offend any of us (a few years ago he said some disgusting things about Mother Teresa, for example).
While it’s understandable, to put it politely, that he’s not "my cup of tea," I can see he’s a very intelligent man who is rarely at a loss for - and can easily devour someone with - his words in a verbal confrontation or debate.
That’s why it was interesting, a few weeks ago, when Penn Jillette made headlines for a video blog that he posted online (dont know how to post videos here, but you can see it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JHS8adO3hM ).
To give you the summary, he had done his show one evening and after the show, he went outside to meet some fans and sign some autographs. While he was meeting people he noticed one man standing off to the side; he could tell that this guy was hovering, and obviously wanted to talk to him.
It turns out that the night before, the man seen Penn’s show. Penn was convinced that the guy was a real fan of the show - he had participated as a volunteer in the act, and was complimentary about how much he enjoyed the performance. He came back this next evening to give Penn a Bible. This fan spoke to Penn face to face, looked him in the eye, was honest (and in my own words, loving) as he told Penn that he was a business man, who also proselytizes, spreading the Gospel whenever he can. In the Bible he had put an inscription with his name and phone numbers in it.
What is so moving is that you could see how Penn was truly affected by this encounter. He calls this experience "wonderful." In the 5 minute video he’s often at a loss, or struggling for words. He repeatedly describes this man as "kind, nice and sane [as he] talked to [him] and gave [him] this Bible..."
And then Penn said something interesting; he said, " I don’t respect people who don’t prostelytize . . . How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible, and not tell them that . . . this guy was a really good guy. He cared enough about me to proselytize." Then Penn concluded, "I know there is no God. And one polite person living his life right doesn’t change that. But he was a very, very good man."
In his head, I believe that Penn still 'believes' in his brand of atheism - but it sounds like his heart was moved to wonder - it sounds like this encounter with a man who purely, simply, loved him enough to share the "good news of great joy for all people" helped shift his perspective a bit; and that maybe, just maybe, one day thise avowed atheist might truly believe.
This feast of the Epiphany is all about our being moved to wonder as well. As we continue this great Christmas season, we recall how amazing, miraculous, life-altering events keep happening as people come in contact with the infant Jesus - the Christ who has yet to utter the Beatitudes; who has yet to speak those words of forgiveness and healing; who has yet to perform the miracles of loaves and fishes, and turning water into wine; who has yet to reveal the greatest commandment to His followers.
All He has done is to be revealed, to be born, to come into the world. And in today’s feast, we hear in the Gospel how the powers and authorities of his time already felt threatened by that, how Herod actually wanted the child Jesus killed. So he sent wisemen out in the night to search for the Child and report back to him what they’ve found.
And what happens? They are so overjoyed at the star leading them to the Child Jesus that after seeing him they don’t return to Herod, but go home by another way. Their life has been changed in this one encounter.
The US Bishops explained the relationship between Christmas and Epiphany like this - up until today, what we have celebrated is the birth of Christ. Today we celebrate our birth. We are born as Christians as we give homage to Christ, as we bring his presence to the world. We who have "seen the star," who have received Jesus Christ into our world have the power of the Holy Spirit to make Him manifest to the world.
One gentle, loving Christian went to Penn Jillette - loved him enough that he was willing to accept him where he was and share the "good news" with him (hmm, sounds familiar). Penn’s journey toward Christ is far from complete - he doesn’t realize that he’s in a sense seen the star and been struck with wonder by that light.
But who, out there, is waiting for us to do that for them as well? Jillette in his video said he realized that many so-called believers don’t share their faith, because it’s socially awkward. And he compared it to someone seeing a run-away car barreling down a street towards another person and wondering if he should go and push him out of the way.
The words of the "avowed" atheist ring out the challenge to us this Epiphany, to ask ourselves if we are willing to announce the presence of Christ to the world and help move them to wonder as well; or to paraphrase Jillette’s words, to ask ourselves, 'How much do we have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible, and yet not tell others about it?'
Fr. Jim
HOMILY: Penn Jillette is one of those celebrities whose name may not immediately register without hearing his stage partner's name - Raymond Teller. Together, they make up the comedy and magician team of Penn and Teller. They’ve performed their act all across the country, as well as on a bunch of late nigh talk shows, doing their illusions, peppered with Penn’s outspoken monologues next to Teller’s relative silence. Together they’ve become a modern Laurel and Hardy.
But Penn has been able to create a solo career as well - which is often times difficult once a person has been "type-cast" as part of a duo. He has his own voice-over work for television networks like Comedy Central, he produces movies, and he has his own stand up routines that would fall into the "Bill Maher" category of (for lack of a better word) "humor". He can be very outrageous, and as a professed atheist, has often times said blasphemous things that would offend any of us (a few years ago he said some disgusting things about Mother Teresa, for example).
While it’s understandable, to put it politely, that he’s not "my cup of tea," I can see he’s a very intelligent man who is rarely at a loss for - and can easily devour someone with - his words in a verbal confrontation or debate.
That’s why it was interesting, a few weeks ago, when Penn Jillette made headlines for a video blog that he posted online (dont know how to post videos here, but you can see it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JHS8adO3hM ).
To give you the summary, he had done his show one evening and after the show, he went outside to meet some fans and sign some autographs. While he was meeting people he noticed one man standing off to the side; he could tell that this guy was hovering, and obviously wanted to talk to him.
It turns out that the night before, the man seen Penn’s show. Penn was convinced that the guy was a real fan of the show - he had participated as a volunteer in the act, and was complimentary about how much he enjoyed the performance. He came back this next evening to give Penn a Bible. This fan spoke to Penn face to face, looked him in the eye, was honest (and in my own words, loving) as he told Penn that he was a business man, who also proselytizes, spreading the Gospel whenever he can. In the Bible he had put an inscription with his name and phone numbers in it.
What is so moving is that you could see how Penn was truly affected by this encounter. He calls this experience "wonderful." In the 5 minute video he’s often at a loss, or struggling for words. He repeatedly describes this man as "kind, nice and sane [as he] talked to [him] and gave [him] this Bible..."
And then Penn said something interesting; he said, " I don’t respect people who don’t prostelytize . . . How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible, and not tell them that . . . this guy was a really good guy. He cared enough about me to proselytize." Then Penn concluded, "I know there is no God. And one polite person living his life right doesn’t change that. But he was a very, very good man."
In his head, I believe that Penn still 'believes' in his brand of atheism - but it sounds like his heart was moved to wonder - it sounds like this encounter with a man who purely, simply, loved him enough to share the "good news of great joy for all people" helped shift his perspective a bit; and that maybe, just maybe, one day thise avowed atheist might truly believe.
This feast of the Epiphany is all about our being moved to wonder as well. As we continue this great Christmas season, we recall how amazing, miraculous, life-altering events keep happening as people come in contact with the infant Jesus - the Christ who has yet to utter the Beatitudes; who has yet to speak those words of forgiveness and healing; who has yet to perform the miracles of loaves and fishes, and turning water into wine; who has yet to reveal the greatest commandment to His followers.
All He has done is to be revealed, to be born, to come into the world. And in today’s feast, we hear in the Gospel how the powers and authorities of his time already felt threatened by that, how Herod actually wanted the child Jesus killed. So he sent wisemen out in the night to search for the Child and report back to him what they’ve found.
And what happens? They are so overjoyed at the star leading them to the Child Jesus that after seeing him they don’t return to Herod, but go home by another way. Their life has been changed in this one encounter.
The US Bishops explained the relationship between Christmas and Epiphany like this - up until today, what we have celebrated is the birth of Christ. Today we celebrate our birth. We are born as Christians as we give homage to Christ, as we bring his presence to the world. We who have "seen the star," who have received Jesus Christ into our world have the power of the Holy Spirit to make Him manifest to the world.
One gentle, loving Christian went to Penn Jillette - loved him enough that he was willing to accept him where he was and share the "good news" with him (hmm, sounds familiar). Penn’s journey toward Christ is far from complete - he doesn’t realize that he’s in a sense seen the star and been struck with wonder by that light.
But who, out there, is waiting for us to do that for them as well? Jillette in his video said he realized that many so-called believers don’t share their faith, because it’s socially awkward. And he compared it to someone seeing a run-away car barreling down a street towards another person and wondering if he should go and push him out of the way.
The words of the "avowed" atheist ring out the challenge to us this Epiphany, to ask ourselves if we are willing to announce the presence of Christ to the world and help move them to wonder as well; or to paraphrase Jillette’s words, to ask ourselves, 'How much do we have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible, and yet not tell others about it?'
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