Grabbing the baby Jesus

I went to my son's preschool Christmas program this morning at Old St. Mary Church on south Michigan avenue. He was very excited to have us see him in his elf costume, but the real excitement came from a little boy who was probably about 3 years old. My wife and I were chatting with another parent waiting for the program to start when this boy came sprinting down the aisle of the sanctuary. He had his eyes and feet focused on the little barn that was constructed in the front of the church. More specifically, he was dying to get to the baby Jesus. He grabbed the doll and started looking at him and about ten seconds later the boy's mom grabbed him and whisked him away.

We're told to wait during the Advent season. Children are told to wait as they count down the days until Christmas. Adults are told to wait and use this period of waiting as a time for spiritual growth and reflection. But we don't often hear how we are supposed to wait. I don't think it's a passive waiting, but an eager one, like a boy who simply cannot control himself because of his desire to see the baby Jesus.

Faith in God through the living Christ enables us to engage in active waiting and anticipation. Something sacred and abundant is always in our midst because God is faithful and has surprises and adventures in store for us every day. Let us then throw off the covers in the morning and, like this little boy, run into the day actively waiting and watching to see where Jesus might be.

Mary's witness

From my contribution to our eNews:

Tuesday was World AIDS Day and, rightfully so, emphasis has been given in recent years on the AIDS epidemic in Africa. While that certainly deserves our attention, I also remember Darryl on Dec. 1.

I first moved to the Chicago area in 1992 and soon started volunteering with an organization that was then called Open Hands Chicago. My task was pretty simple--deliver meals in the Uptown and Edgewater neighborhoods to people with AIDS who were unable to make meals for themselves. Darryl was one of those people. We were never close, but our relationship reminded me that there were real people at these addresses who struggled as they lived with this disease.

It's appropriate that World AIDS Day comes during the Advent season. While I enjoy the pre-Christmas preparation as much as anyone (I'm listening to "Silent Night" on Pandora as I type this), it's important to remember the radical words that Mary sang when she discovered that she was pregnant: "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowlinesss of his servant...He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty" (an excerpt from Luke 1:46-55).

Mary reminds me that God came first to the the forgotten, the sick, the lonely. We must never forget that because the only way that God will lift up the lowly and fill the hungry with good things is through you and me doing things like delivering meals, advocating for the voiceless, and loving the lonely.