Just as God the Father claimed His Son as “His Beloved,” so too, does God claim each of us as His beloved daughters and sons. In the waters of baptism, we have become a new creation.
They symbolize the noblest human effort. They are the wise ones, star gazers, men of philosophy, science and treasure. They go trekking for the truth. Finding it, see it revealed, manifested, in Jesus.
Sirach offers a plan of family behavior good for any generation. Good behavior is grounded on honor, respect, prayer, reverence, obedience, care, kindness and consideration of others. These are virtues meant to establish a loving, united household of peace and joy.
Joseph the carpenter is at work here, trying to build a response of love in a world of law.
We know God is with us by the signs: healing, openness, conversion, freedom, the outcast and the forgotten are welcomed home, people dead in despair and misery are given life, and the good news is preached to the poor of the world.
This is the time to purify and simplify, to come back to what is essential. To re-think where we have been, to re-think where we are going.
Let us be aware of this divine activity. Let God’s redeeming presence enter into our thinking and planning. Let us stay awake through the night.
Our King is the Good Shepherd who gathers and holds us together. Our King is the image of the Invisible God who made us to live in the light.
Physical death is not to be equated with loss of life. Indeed, it is the door to fuller life.
A proclamation that is received anew in your hearing this morning. Not so much about a church in Rome, but about the Church, our Church, your Church, and the proclamation and witness to the Kingdom of God to this very day.