I’ve been looking for a way to help people who have some vague notion of “God”. It’s usually a concept of some big, far away “Power” that really has nothing to do with our life. Well, I found it!
It’s very simple, (and many humble people have found it long ago.) It’s called “creatureliness”. It means that you were created. You exist as a creature. And guess what? You had nothing to do with it. You were given your life.
To the question “From Whom do we receive our existence?” Some philosophers point to the blind course of nature, the senselessness of chance or some cosmic trick. Many others say, “Of course, my parents (grandparents, ancestors, etc.) gave me life.”
But all these responses ultimately beg the question, for no creature can make itself exist. Some “ONE”, who preexists all other being, and is itself uncreated, seems to be the answer.
Next we discover that human beings are unlike any other creature in the known universe. We are a different kind of creature.
Think for a moment. All other beings are complete in themselves. They fit into the place that nature accords it. It is exactly as it must be according to its nature and surrounding conditions. It “blends in” and is “absorbed into its surroundings”. That’s what makes a tree growing in a meadow so “natural”.
Human creatures are different. We are not absorbed into our environment. A human being can step out of himself and think about himself – – – “Why did I do that?” “I wonder why I’m feeling so happy/sad/bored etc.”
Finally this creature man (if he’s honest with himself) must ask the question, “Who am I? And, “Where did I come from?” No turtle or tree ever asked that question!
And this brings us back to “The ONE” who has always been there and caused everything else to exist . . . God. You see, God made humans to be like that; a creature that asks, that seeks. He made us PERSONS.
And here’s the mind blowing part – – – God made us with an innate ability to receive His life! To be like God!
How can this be? It was revealed to us when God became a human being. Humanity is now forever part of God. God can never say “I used to be human but that was 2,000 yrs. ago.” No. Humanity is forever part of who God is.
And, who is it that brought this earth shattering and eternal change in God? God Himself. The Second Person of the Blessed Trinity (“Through whom all things were created” Colossians 1:16) willed to receive a created human nature.
Whew!
That’s what happened 2,000 yrs. ago as the sheep and the shepherds looked on.
Soon, He comes at Christmas.
God bless you.
Fr. Tim
So what do we “do” in the final week of Advent?
A few suggestions:
- Be patient in whatever line you find yourself in (Hegedorns, Wegmans, post office.)
- Be kind to whoever is attending your checkout line.
- Drive friendly.
- Ignore incidents of rudeness or frustration . . . we just don’t know what people are going through that causes them to act that way.
- Think of someone who’s having a hard time right now. Say a prayer for them.
- Give some money away.
- Reflect on a particular bad habit of yours. Use it to remind yourself to be patient with others.
- Take a ride in the country.
- Pray for loved ones lost.
- Help a young person believe in themself.
- Trust God to bring goodness out of these difficult times.
- Remember a time you “really got away with something”. Give thanks God let you recover from it.
God loves you. You are His child. A Blessed 4th Sunday of Advent.
Fr. Tim
