winter storm warning

As I drove today to hear confessions at the grade school across town, go to the hospital, and inquire about a cover for my hitch, I heard that parts of the stat of Iowa are under a snow advisory. In a month and a half, I'll be ready for the snow to be finished and still have two and a half months of snow left. But, for tonight, I'm happy that the snow is coming if for no other reason then because it forces me to slow down.

more time

I'm supposed to be working on this paper about religious freedom. The problem is that I don't have the right materials to do it. I know, I know. Another excuse. But, I'm not giving up. I'm hoping to get a couple of good books via interlibrary loan and have it done by Christmas. I've kind of become fascinated because, in many ways, this topic has changed a great deal in the last few decades, at least in the church. For several popes the idea of religious freedom was rediculous. For John Paul II, it was the cornerstone of his papacy. I think, in many ways, it is the future of the church and a necessary aspect at that.

Watch

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to listen to my favorite radio show, Car Talk on National Public Radio. If you’ve never heard it before, Car talk is hosted by these two very Boston/Italian sounding guys named Tom and Ray. Both know so much about cars that they seem like they’ve been working on them forever. Yet, Tom and Ray are also graduates of the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology so they are very knowledgeable about a whole range of things. For instance, they’ll get questions about the electrical system that seem almost like a foreign language to me and I think to myself that I don’t know why I’m laughing since I really don’t understand what they’re saying. Then, the next person will call in and say, “Every once in a while, when I shift into drive, the car doesn’t move for a while” and I think to myself, “Transmission! I know it’s the transmission. See, I’m just as smart as Tom and Ray!” The other day, they got a question that was a little different than either of those. A person called up and asked about the country of Italy. They said that, in Italy, there are as many cars per capita as the U.S and as many drivers who drive as fast and as badly as most Americans. Yet, according to the caller, there is no road rage. The caller wondered why that was. So, Tom and Ray gave one for their listeners to come up with the answer. One of my favorites was the response of an Italian Cab driver who said, “Today, he cuts me off. Tomorrow, I cut him off.” However, the one that I think was the most honest, was that when Italians drive, they drive from one place to another, from home to the store. When Americans drive, we drive from one time to another, from 11:50 until Noon and anything that gets in my way of getting there on time is evil and it must be destroyed! So, instead, I get angry.

There is, obviously, something negative about this lifestyle. I saw it on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving when retailers put all their bargains out. On CNN, they showed a security camera of one such retail store that opened their doors early to a mob of people. As the mob poured in, one man slipped and fell sprawl out on the floor. And would you believe that no one stopped to help this man up? They were all too busy trying to make sure that they got their cheap DVD players and other deals to notice someone in need of help.

I think this is part of our American culture; being incredibly busy. Part of this is good. It’s good to use your gifts and talents to build up the body of Christ on earth. We are good at instilling this into the next generation. After spending the last few days with my family, I’m amazed to hear all the events that my brothers and sisters go with their children. They’re all in school and, of course, they come to church. But, they’re also involved in sports and music and other organizations. It’s seems like all we do is continue to add more and more clubs and organizations that students can be involved in all the way to college when, as a woman named Susan Lammers, one of the hall directors here at Iowa State, showed the campus ministers and peer ministers, there are four pages of them Iowa State students can join. They can be part of anything from the cigar club to a fraternity to the catholic student club to an athletic club. More and more stuff that gives us life and helps us to meet people, which isn’t all bad. But, it doesn’t get better when you graduate and go into the “real world.” Suddenly, you have to go to work and maybe get your kids to their different events and you have to pay bills and maintain a house. Life just seems to get more and more complicated

For me, that’s the wisdom that our earth and our church offers us at this time of year. Our earth gives us this great winter weather that almost forces us to slow down. I mean, let’s face it, who would want to sit and watch a football game when it’s near freezing temperatures? And, in the next few days, we may get those same freezing temperatures and snow and sleet that just make you want to stay home under a warm blanket with a nice book. The weather even encourages us to rest and take some time for ourselves.

And, as the weather is encouraging this change of pace, our church invites us to slow down as we begin the church’s new year this Advent season. We hear in the first reading that it’s important to stop our hectic lives and remind ourselves that, in the end, everything we do is the work of the Lord. We may think that we are doing great things but, ultimately, we are using simply God’s creation and the gifts and talents that God gave to us in order to do it all. And we hear in the second reading and gospel that, as Christians, we must slow down in order to wait for the coming of the Lord. Part of that means putting our life in order and remembering the obligations we have toward our neighbor. We must remember that we are always to be prepared to see Jesus come again and not succumb to the temptations that draw us away. This may be a good time to use the sacrament of reconciliation to be rid of those busy parts of our life that draw us away from being prepared for the coming of Jesus. So, take some time this Advent to watch and be prepared for his coming.