Homily for the First Sunday of Advent (B)
St. Joseph's Neier November 26-27, 2011
Rev. Kevin Schmittgens
Central Idea: Amidst all the hubbub of the season, we need to simply concentrate on what truly matters in our lives.
"Be awake! Be alert!"
I have seen the end of Western Civilization. It was broadcasted. It lasted all of 47 seconds. It happened Friday morning. At Wal-Mart.
It is 47 seconds of pure, unadulterated mayhem. People pushing, shoving, clawing and scraping at small boxes. One woman, ungraciously with her back to the camera is almost losing her slacks. It is not a pretty sight. There is screaming, yelling. It looks like a feeding frenzy of sharks. At the end of the 47 seconds, you see the woman who almost lost her pants, walking away from the scene with four small boxes. There is nothing left to pounce on.
And for what precious item were they in mortal combat? For what cherished article sent these crazed shoppers into a fit of apoplexy? $2 Waffle Makers. A week ago, who would imagine that a stupid little useless appliance, would suddenly become the most important thing in all of the world. I wonder how many people in that Wal-Mart Friday morning, years from now on their death beds will look up, and with tears streaming down their faces, ask with their last breath, “WAFFLE!”
Stampedes, pepper spray attacks, shootings. Some of you may like the excitement of Black Friday, but the unadulterated greed and now the cutthroat nature of the event is becoming a bit of an embarrassment. I wouldn't doubt that Al-Qaida uses the $2 Waffle Maker Frenzy Video as a recruitment tool to show how shallow and empty Western culture has become. The celebration of the Birth of our Savior bought and sold at low, everyday Wal-Mart prices.
Maybe I am being too harsh on the Black Friday crowd. It is almost too easy to criticize. Perhaps, it is just an event that kick-starts people into the Holiday Season. But I would like to think that Advent calls us to something more, something deeper, something better, yes, even better than even a precious $2 Waffle Maker. Our liturgy and our prayer calls us to see that in each and every moment of our lives there is an incredible richness and vibrancy, the overwhelming grace of God through the coming of Christ that nourishes and enhances everything in our world, everything in our lives.
Victor Frankl, the author of Man’s Search for Meaning was lucky. He had been clinically dead for a few minutes and then revived by doctors. When he returned to his ordinary life after this, everything suddenly became very rich. He wrote: “One very important aspect of post-mortem life is that everything gets precious, gets piercingly important. You get stabbed by things, by flowers and by babies and by beautiful things-just the very act of living, of walking and breathing and eating and having friends and chatting. Everything seems to look more beautiful rather than less, and one gets the much-intensified sense of miracles.”
It is that depth, that richness, that miracle we seek in this blessed season. In our bulletin this weekend, there are some quick simple suggestions about how to make this Advent a rich one. They are somewhat basic and unsophisticated, but I find that in our ever more complex world, getting back to simple is a good and holy thing. This season can be so nerve wracking and stressful, so it behooves us to take a step back and really begin to appreciate the small, yet powerful things all around us.
We forget that. We forget that our lives, our loved ones, even our struggles and difficulties are amazing. The great Catholic theologian, Karl Rahner, was asked once if he believed in miracles. He responded: "Believe in miracles? I rely upon them to get me through the day!"
And he never ventured into a Wal-Mart on Black Friday looking for an awesome deal on a Waffle Iron...