Church of The Holy Spirit

Parish Bulletin for Sunday,December 2, 2007

First Sunday of Advent

Advent: "Be Ready"

Today, wherever Christians gather for worship, they will hear Paul's call to conversion and Matthew's exhortation to vigilance and Isaiah's vision of the end of war. Isaiah's words of peace and justice will be spoken on the battlefields of Baghdad, in the bunkers in Afghanistan and on the killing fields of Darfur.

For the most part, this prophet's vision remains just that – a vision without legs, a ‘dream' that seems too idealized to be realized and can appear to be mere words on paper. We humans seem unable or unwilling to bring the prophet's vision to life. So many times we listen, but do not follow the demands this vision entails. There is a split between hearing and doing. Some continue to believe that Isaiah's vision foresaw the impossible. Yet, as the prophet has pointed out, somehow the impossible must be joined with the necessary.

Something new and seemingly beyond all effort or genius or longing or even imagining must come to be. This is absolutely critical to the survival of humankind, to religious faith, to a civilized sense of the human – critical to the fate of the earth as we know it.

Isaiah, along with Paul and Matthew, has set the tone for yet another Advent season, reminding us that waiting for Jesus' return requires more than sentimental expectation. We cannot simply hope for justice; we are called to take those actions that will establish justice. Hands that control the weapons of war must be turned toward deeds of peace. If peace and justice are ever to happen on the global level, their seeds must be planted and tended in individual hearts.

What sword are you willing to surrender in order to build peace this Advent? The choice is ours; the season is now; and Christ is the reason. Sometimes we wait until it is too late and all we can say is: "If only I'd known, I would have done something different." The sacred writers of Advent remind us once more that we do indeed know and believe that Jesus will come among us again. We do know that coming will be characterized by judgment.

As our liturgical guide for this year, Matthew will tell us that preparing for judgment will consist in reaching out again and again to feed the hungers and thirsts of those least among us who cry out to us in need. Yet even in this knowledge, we need the annual call to alertness that is Advent. Ready or not, we are in Advent.

But are we ready? Are we prepared to answer the invitation once more to listen to what God is saying to us today? Can we hear God speaking to us in our newspapers, in our TV shows, in our children, in our friends, in our surroundings? Do we listen in the silence of our hearts to what others are saying to us or are we too caught up in the sound of our own voice?

Does the Gospel message make it into our hearts and are we prepared to answer the call that comes with every word that God speaks? This Advent, let us pray that God may open our ears so that we can hear, open our eyes so that we may see the vision of Isaiah, open our lips so that we may speak words of justice and open our hearts so that we may receive God's love through others. Let us make this the prayer of Advent!

— Rev. Thomas G. Moore

May all our beloved dead, especially

TUESDAY, Dec. 4
Weekday
8:30 a.m. - † Desiree LeBlanc

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 5
Weekday
8:30 a.m. - † Gorgena Aprile

THURSDAY, Dec. 6
Weekday
8:30 a.m. - † Spadafora family members

FRIDAY, Dec. 7
Weekday
8:30 a.m. - † Joseph Lee Nam Kwong

find eternal rest and refreshment in the kingdom of heaven. Let us pray to the Lord.

Please remember the sick in your prayers during the coming week, especially:
Ken Tai, Hassan Kinggrabe, Benjamin Rubio, John Shea, Mervyn Cardoza, Jack Hamilton, Melita Juliana and Yvonne Calgoni

. . . who have asked for our prayers . . . for those among us in special need . . . for those who experience the shadows of sickness and pain . . . for those who feel isolated in their illness . . . for caregivers . . . We pray to the Lord.

Parish Bulletin for Sunday,December 9, 2007

Second Sunday of Advent

Advent Waiting

During Advent, believers are called to cultivate a spirit of watchfulness. Waiting is an inevitable part of the human experience. We wait in line at the bank, at the gas pump, at the grocery store and in the doctor's office. Waiting can bring out the best or the worst in us, depending on what we are waiting for.

Think of those news reports for the line-ups for the latest and greatest PS2's. How about the line-ups for Best Buy and Future Shop – some people even willing to camp out overnight in the hopes of getting the best bargain around. How many of us were on the web ordering up the last Harry Potter book? And then looking for the delivery promised even on a Saturday – be the first on your block with a copy in your hands! Have you ever purchased tickets for a concert or play months in advance and then settled in for a wait filled with anticipation and longing for the day to arrive?

What about those times when waiting is not so pleasant? If we are waiting for test results for ourselves or a loved one, that wait can seem to take forever and our imaginations feed us the worst possible pictures filled with anxiety and fear. It can also be a struggle to wait for the departure of contentious relatives making a visit that seems to go on and on. How about those duty dinners at Christmas with relatives who never seem to go home and we can hardly wait until the door closes behind them. This waiting seems to last forever and can be exhausting and debilitating.

Yet there is another kind of waiting that we do that is richer, a waiting that is the fulfilment of a process already begun. For example, when seeds are planted in a garden, those who await the flowers are willing to allow them time to germinate and grow. Philosophers, artists, musicians and writers do not resent the time they spend mulling over ideas, for they are aware that a period of mulling is integral to the creative process. The parents who are expecting a child know that every moment of waiting contributes to the wondrous process of bringing forth a new life into the world. Waiting, planning, loving and hoping are all part of the preparation for welcoming such a gift.

The waiting of Advent is characterized by joy and not impatience and by hope rather than anxiety. Isaiah offers us a detailed description of the long-awaited One in the first reading today. Endowed with the very Spirit of God, that One will be characterized by wisdom, strength and understanding. He is faithful and true and he will judge with justice. In his presence, animosities will cease and a reign of peace that seems almost unimaginable will be enjoyed by those who welcome him into their lives. Paul tells us that the coming One is the fulfiller of promises, and in him God's truthfulness will be proven. Matthew insists that the Holy Spirit has come among us, baptizing us into a belonging that is to become obvious in all that we are and all that we do.

Because we know the One whom we await and we are well aware of what his coming will bring to fulfilment, our waiting is actually a process of anticipating his coming by becoming like him. If he is God's peace, we are to prepare his way by being makers of peace. This will mean more than prayers for peace or a well-intentioned plan for peace; making peace in anticipation of the One who is peace requires deliberate measures. Jesus made peace by his blood on the cross. This level of self-sacrifice has set the bar. How much of ourselves are we willing to give in order that the process of peace may move forward? If he who is to come is God's justice, then justice must inform our minds and our hearts and be translated into deeds that defend the rights of others. In a word, the One we await moulds our time of waiting. We are called to a radical surrender to Jesus Christ in all our living, in all our believing, in all our hoping, in all our loving and in all our serving. Amen.

"OPEN OUR HEARTS, LORD, AND ENTER OUR LIVES"

— Rev. Thomas G. Moore

May all our beloved dead, especially

TUESDAY, Dec. 11
Weekday
8:30 a.m. - † George Dermarker


WEDNESDAY, Dec. 12
Weekday
8:30 a.m. - † John Drake


THURSDAY, Dec. 13
Weekday
8:30 a.m. - † Jack Williams


FRIDAY, Dec. 14
Weekday
8:30 a.m. - † Nancy Fung

find eternal rest and refreshment in the kingdom of heaven. Let us pray to the Lord.

Please remember the sick in your prayers during the coming week, especially:
Ken Tai, Hassan Kingrabe, Benjamin Rubio, John Shea, Mervyn Cardoza, Jack Hamilton, Melita Juliana, Yvonne Calgoni, and Lucille Mercier

Parish Bulletin for Sunday,December 16, 2007

Third Sunday of Advent

"Advent Salvation"

How many of us have ever wondered what heaven is like? I suspect a great many of us have done so and even have an answer that has changed over the years, dependent on how old we are, our life circumstances and even impacted by our own life experiences. For some, heaven promises an end to pain, human struggles and every human limitation you can imagine. For others, heaven holds out the hope of reuniting with loved ones. When we come to the season of Advent, perhaps it is wise to re-word the question of heaven a little. We could ask, for example, what it will be like to meet the returning Christ, or, how will I experience the salvation he brings?

Now let us look at the people for whom Isaiah and James and Matthew were writing – Isaiah in Old Testament times and James and Matthew in the times following the rising of the Lord. Then, as now, most had formed an opinion on how the question should be answered. Not surprisingly, a distinctly political cast coloured the responses of a people formed under foreign oppression. Salvation equated with battles for freedom, for rights, for land and for renewed political power and economic stability. The Messiah, longed for and prayed for in the Jewish tradition, was a conqueror par excellence who would lead his people home. Yet our God is a God of surprises. Salvation is a mystery and the messiah was and is rooted in those who need him. Those without hope and those stripped of all power and ability to help themselves! It is to these forgotten – these outcast – these fringes – that the God of all creation comes to save.

Our God is the God of the poor. He comes to establish justice, healing, liberation and peace. Just read Isaiah and Matthew today! The opening of blind eyes, the clearing of deaf ears, the lame leaping like stags and the singing of the mute mark the kingdom of our God. This kingdom means food for the hungry, justice for the oppressed, protection for strangers, freedom for captives and the raising up of all who are bowed down. Jesus affirms in all that he says and all that he does that any power indifferent to despair and oppression is a perverse power and has no place in the kingdom of God. The salvation that Jesus came to realize in terms of the poor, the weak, the hungry, the oppressed, the displaced and the marginalized has now become the mission of the church. The One whom we await expects it.

If we are answering the needs of the homeless and hungry; if victims of injustice find in us a voice that speaks for them – then we are beginning to make authentic preparations to welcome the coming of Jesus again. Those who encounter the Lord meet the face of a healer, a giver, a friend, a brother, a servant, a lover. Is this the face with which we prepare to welcome Jesus when he comes again?

The blind, the lame, lepers and the deaf had been formerly regarded as outcasts from God and society because their physical challenges were attributed to sin. This is no longer so in the reign that Jesus proclaims. It is, rather, in service to these poor ones that Jesus expresses who he really is – for them and for us – the Messiah, the Anointed One. The nature and scope of God's salvation is revealed in the healing and redemption of God's least ones. The church finds its true identity in its defence of the rights and dignity of the poor and needy of this world.

The Gospel today gives us the question to ask. We hear, as did his followers, the answer. "Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?" Salvation means healing, not conquest, and service, not power. If we accept Jesus' answer, then we too are called to do as Jesus did and hold out against those who would force salvation into a neat legalistic formula. Jesus himself called ‘blessed' those who could embrace his purpose and his ministry without taking offence at him. That blessing sanctified the work of his first disciples as well as second generation believers forming Matthew's listening assemblies. That blessing reaches out with grace and power to embrace believers today who try to live and love and serve as Jesus did.

"Open Our Hearts, Lord, and Enter Our Lives"

— Rev. Thomas G. Moore

May all our beloved dead, especially

TUESDAY, Dec. 18
Weekday
8:30 a.m. - † Margaret LeBlanc

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 19
Weekday
8:30 a.m. - † Adriano Rodrigues

THURSDAY, Dec. 20
Weekday
8:30 a.m. - † Rossi Tanda

FRIDAY, Dec. 21
Weekday
8:30 a.m. - † Carmen Baptiste

find eternal rest and refreshment in the kingdom of heaven. Let us pray to the Lord.

Parish Bulletin for Sunday,December 23, 2007

Fourth Sunday of Advent

"Advent Trust in the God-with-us"

"Don't be afraid!" These words echo in our Gospel story this morning. The angel visits Joseph in a dream to exhort him to leave off his fears and worries and continue to do the right thing for his pregnant wife and his coming child.

One can only imagine the thoughts going through Joseph's mind – the questions he must have asked himself, the struggles to find the right balance between human relationship and Jewish law. Add the fact that many in their small town would be not only curious, but also willing to make judgmental decisions and we see a clear picture of a man needing to know that God was with him. If we stop to think about it, these words resound throughout both the Old Testament and the New Testament writings. Each time, the one who hears these words is assured that God is greater than any fear and that there is indeed an antidote to fear. God told Abraham to ‘fear not' before making a covenant with him. Gabriel said the same to Daniel when he was terrified by a vision. An angel said it to Zechariah and Gabriel encouraged Mary at the Annunciation. Angels said it to shepherds and Jesus said it to his disciples when they thought the Lord was a ghost walking on water. A voice at Jesus' transfiguration told Peter, James and John not to fear the moment and the same assurance was offered to Mary Magdalene at Jesus' tomb.

If we recall the stories surrounding these events, we realize that the people involved had good reason to fear. When we hear them today, what comes to our minds? How does ‘fear not' speak to those who have lost a job? Deal with a diagnosis of cancer? Treat a child's addiction to drugs or alcohol? How does it speak to us when coping with the death of a loved one? What about the effects of hatred and violence? The horrific dangers posed by paedophiles and other criminals who prey on the defenceless? The seemingly endless spate of storms floods, mudslides, and fires and the overwhelming destruction these leave behind? How does "Do not be afraid" even begin to speak to the tragedies of war, genocide, famine and disease that strike with merciless frequency all over the world?

Think about it. Believers should not live in fear or allow it to stifle their spirits and drown their hopes because, through it all, within it all, despite it all – God is with us. This assurance is proclaimed in Isaiah and fulfilled in the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas, God in our flesh, assures us that fear is not the critical or identifying mark of a Christian. At the heart of Christianity is God-with-us. At the very root of who we are as believers is the assurance that God is love and that "perfect love casts out fear." (1 John 4:18).

Our God is fearless and his ultimate act of fearlessness is trusting the divinity to human flesh and willed to be born of a young woman and her betrothed into a world of pain and struggle, suffering and dying. A child of the divine trust, Jesus entrusted himself to 12 friends, many of whom were disappointed and confused by him. For this trust he was denied, betrayed and deserted. Before dying, he entrusted himself to his followers in Word, in Bread, and in Spirit so that he might remain with us as guide, transforming all our fears into trust and faith.

If God can so trust human beings with the divine presence and purpose, can we do any less that entrust to God all that we are, all that we fear and all for which we hope? Christmas does not automatically create trust or cast out fear. But when we come to the crib this year, let's sing our hearts out, pray with all that is in us, kneel at the manger and reflect on the divine becoming vulnerable, worship and adore in the fullness of our faith tradition, celebrate Eucharist. Will fear evaporate instantly? No! But the antidote lives. God-is-with-us. Alleluia! Alleluia!

"Open Our Hearts, Lord, and Enter Our Lives"

— Rev. Thomas G. Moore

May all our beloved dead, especially

THURSDAY, Dec. 27
Weekday
8:30 a.m. - † Rossi Tanda

FRIDAY, Dec. 28
Weekday
8:30 a.m. - † David Simon

find eternal rest and refreshment in the kingdom of heaven. Let us pray to the Lord.

Let us remember in particular all those who mourn the loss of a loved one at this time of year. May the peace, joy, hope and love of Christmas fill their hearts and offer comfort.