Christmas Day in Luxemburg

It's Christmas Day and, even though I wrote yesterday that I probably wouldn't write for a week while I'm visiting friends, I'm going to write today. I had an incredible experience of worship at the small, rural community of Luxemburg, Iowa. Christmas Eve masses are just hectic. Everyone comes with the "have to" attitude and just sit like a log throughout the ceremony. Last night in Sherrill, for instance, church was packed when we started but, by the time that I finished distributing communion and sat down, the balcony was nearly empty. But, in the incredibly beautiful church in Luxemburg, I looked out at a bunch of people smiling. At one point, a baby got loose from his father and crawled under a pew to rescue his pacifier that had got loose. Then, when he shoved it in his mouth, he turned around and went under the pew back to his father. Mother and Father were mortified. I just smiled at them. I thought to myself, I wonder if Mary and Joseph chased Jesus when he chased after his pacifier.

Merry Christmas

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas. I'm probably going to have difficulty updating my blog between now and New Years because I'll be away from my office. I hope you joyfully celebrate the presence of the savior of the world today and have a joyfilled and safe new years celebration. God bless you all.

Who put the fun in funeral?

Part of being a priest means doing funerals. Even though I don't always know the person very well, I genuinely like celbrating funerals. There is something about helping a family get some hope in the midst of a terrible situation like death that appeals to me. Today, I had a funeral in St. Francis Parish in Balltown, Iowa, one of the five rural parishes north of Dubuque. It was about a million degrees below zero with a trillion degrees below zero wind chill. But, the family hung together so tightly and supported one another so well that it really was a celebration of a life with the hope that we are celebrating eternal life. It was odd, however, to celebrate this so close to Christmas. I told the family that we are like St. Joseph at the first Christmas, not entirely sure about when Christ will come (again) but certain that we are looking forward to it because we will, hopefully, see their loved one again.

Jews and Christians

Ever since I spent a semester in the Holy Land, my understanding of Judaism has changed a lot. Part of this change came about because of a couple of professors that I had over there. Part of it happened when I took a class about Jewish/Christian relations back in the states. The biggest controversy that still separates Jews and Christians has to do with the idea of the covenant. Jews, rightly, say that if God has annulled the covenant that he made with them, his people, then God is not faithful to the promises he made. But, if there is one thing that we can say about God it is that he is faithful. He demands that we be faithful in our relationship to him so he must be faithful to us.
So, God couldn't have annulled his covenant to the Jews. Jesus himself said that he didn't come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. So, the covenant remains for the Jewish people even though it has been broadened for all of humanity. One analogy I heard about this relationship was to think about two lungs breathing. Both lungs have the same result of oxygenating the blood but they are two separate lungs. And, just as a body cannot function as well without both lungs, so we, Christians, need Jews to remind us of who our messiah really was.

Unsafe travel

I had some time to think about things on the way back to my parish today. It was the first real snow for parts of Iowa today, including part of my drive. At one point, I found myself skidding sideways down the road heading for the ditch convinced that I was going to have to call a tow truck. Thankfully, however, things straightened out and I went on from there. I was really glad as things got clearer and clearer the closer I got to Dubuque until the roads were dry and there was no sign of snow. I keep thinking about the spokesman for the Catholic league, a defensive arm of the catholic church. They have no official standing within the church but they believe themselves to be defensive to the extent that they speak out against anti-catholic bias, of which in our media, there are tons. I'm always frustrated by the sheer number of times that a catholic priest is portrayed as a pedophile. They are portraying the minority of people as the majority, unfortunately. I feel terrible for the victims of priest sexual abuse, I just wish that people would realize that, contrary to stereotypes, pedophilia 101 is not a class we took in seminary. It is not a part of canon/church law. It is not something encouraged by the Bible. It is definitely not part of what a good priest does. Saying that all priests are pedophiles is similar to saying that all asian people are good at math. But, the speaker for the catholic league the other day came out and denounced media coverage. In that aspect, we are in agreement. However, his ugly characterization of the media as being run by atheistic judaism was the stupidest stereotype that he could have employed. If you think that the media is unfair, say that you do and make an intelligent argument for protecting human life from natural conception until natural death or being fair to the majority of priests or protecting legitimate marriage. Don't make ignorant nazi comments that ruin anything productive you have to say. It only makes us look worse.

Family

My family is gathering today in my hometown, Marshalltown, Iowa. I have ten nieces and nephews and I look forward to watching their eyes light up as they open their presents. They teach me so much. I think I've learned a lot about being "fatherly" from my nieces and nephews, though I learn just as much from their parents. In the scriptures there is an emphatic statement from Jesus that we are to call no one, "Father". As a teenager, I remember thinking to myself that, when I became a priest, I wouldn't make anyone call me "Father." In the midst of theological studies, it occurred to me that Jesus was employing a nuance that my teenage mind could not appreciate or understand when he made that statement. I do, nonetheless, think that he wanted us to be careful with authority. There is a blinding nature that comes with power. It makes people think they are indestructible. The truth is that the term “Father” is not given to me by God to be used as power. It reminds me that I’m not the real pastor of this flock. I’m just the guy that God has chosen to stand in for him. He has given them to me and will judge me on how well I take care of them, just as he will do to fathers and mothers of children. It makes me shudder when people call me “Father.”