Jan 7, 2024 Homily: Fr Vigoa — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:02today's Gospel account is about
2. 0:05seeing about
3. 0:07Vision about what holds our attention
4. 0:11and captures our
5. 0:15concerns we've all heard expressions
6. 0:18like well in the light of what you've
7. 0:20just said I see things differently now
8. 0:24or seeing in that light I think this or
9. 0:28that or or now that I now oh now I see
10. 0:33the light you've heard these Expressions
11. 0:37before all of these Express a change in
12. 0:42perspective a change in which we see and
13. 0:45underthink understand things it isn't so
14. 0:49much a matter of just
15. 0:51seeing it's a matter of seeing and then
16. 0:54changing one's
17. 0:56Outlook that changed Outlook results in
18. 0:59changing ing one's attitude and ways of
19. 1:03knowing in ways of
20. 1:06comprehending The Christmas Story the
21. 1:08infancy Narrative of Jesus Christ isn't
22. 1:11just a story for
23. 1:13children it's a challenge for us
24. 1:17adults when we see our world covered in
25. 1:20darkness we're tempted to
26. 1:24despair a world that's full of war and
27. 1:28division we need to change our
28. 1:32perspective instead of seeing only with
29. 1:35human eyes eyes that only see what is
30. 1:38apparent obvious and objectively
31. 1:41probable we need to see ourselves in a
32. 1:43world as God sees
33. 1:46them and how does God see these things
34. 1:50well he sees them the way Jesus
35. 1:53does the father and I are one he told
36. 1:57us the first reading that that we heard
37. 2:00from the book of
38. 2:02Isaiah is about how the ancient
39. 2:04Israelites were seeing
40. 2:07life they have been living in terrible
41. 2:10times times of forced migration into
42. 2:13misery in
43. 2:14Babylon their Homeland had been pillaged
44. 2:17and plundered their beloved Jerusalem
45. 2:20was laying in
46. 2:22ruins the prophet Isaiah was speaking to
47. 2:26them upon their return back
48. 2:30they had returned to
49. 2:32Jerusalem they were back home but they
50. 2:34were living in
51. 2:37ruins it was a time to
52. 2:39rebuild and Isaiah was giving them a new
53. 2:43perspective on
54. 2:44life Isaiah is giving them words of
55. 2:47God's promise giving them a reason to
56. 2:50Hope giving them a reason to see beyond
57. 2:54the dirt and the piles of
58. 2:58ruin
59. 3:01Hope was something they desperately
60. 3:06needed they were in darkness from death
61. 3:09and
62. 3:10destruction they needed to see things
63. 3:14differently they needed to see
64. 3:16themselves and their lives in a new
65. 3:18light in a new
66. 3:21possibility the same was true centuries
67. 3:24upon centuries later when Jesus Christ
68. 3:27was
69. 3:28born but at Christ birth it was not only
70. 3:31the Jews who needed to see things
71. 3:33differently it was all the people as
72. 3:36well non-jews and Gentiles people all
73. 3:40over the world who were living in times
74. 3:42of terrible
75. 3:44Darkness they were living in despair as
76. 3:48well it was into such a world that God
77. 3:51sends his only begotten son Jesus Christ
78. 3:55and he did
79. 3:57so as he does now in our own own
80. 4:01time on December 25th we celebrated the
81. 4:04birth of the Jewish
82. 4:06Messiah the one born in fulfillment of
83. 4:09what the Jewish prophets had
84. 4:12proclaimed what they had proclaimed to
85. 4:14be God's promise to
86. 4:16us born of the Virgin and born in into
87. 4:19David's lineage Jesus fulfilled all that
88. 4:21was promised throughout all of the
89. 4:26centuries but that perspective was too
90. 4:28narrow
91. 4:30God went Way Beyond the hoped for vision
92. 4:33of the Jewish prophets and he sends his
93. 4:35only
94. 4:37son to light to be a light into our
95. 4:41souls Matthew who directed his gospel to
96. 4:45a Jewish Community Jewish
97. 4:49converts gave them a much broader Vision
98. 4:53a vision that brought them Enlightenment
99. 4:55hope and vision for everyone everywhere
100. 5:00thus we find Mystics from other parts of
101. 5:02the world coming to Bethlehem to see
102. 5:05something
103. 5:07new something fresh something that was
104. 5:10offering them
105. 5:12hope Redemption for everyone
106. 5:16everywhere these Mystics astrologer Seer
107. 5:19these Magi or wise men came not only to
108. 5:23worship and adore offering him gifts but
109. 5:27they came as well to learn
110. 5:30they were called to see something to
111. 5:33take their message of Hope into out into
112. 5:36the whole world to the broader World
113. 5:38from where they
114. 5:41came that message of hope both then and
115. 5:43now is not something based on mere
116. 5:46wishful
117. 5:47thinking it isn't a hope based simply
118. 5:50upon renewed human
119. 5:53energies it's a hope grounded upon what
120. 5:55God is
121. 5:57doing the message is a vision of what
122. 5:59God is in fact doing it is God who is at
123. 6:03work not just us but do we see
124. 6:07that or does the
125. 6:11negativity not allow us to see God's
126. 6:16work our world is filled with images
127. 6:19negative images of war and hostages and
128. 6:22terrorism suicide bombers abuse of
129. 6:25children corruption in high places and
130. 6:28politics of hate and
131. 6:30Division secularist and culture
132. 6:33despisers of religion are aggressively
133. 6:36attempting to squash and to quiet down
134. 6:41Christians people of Faith these days
135. 6:44are labeled as religious
136. 6:47Fanatics television programs do nothing
137. 6:50to build us up all they do is degrade
138. 6:55Humanity most of the time they simply
139. 6:58entertain us thus diverting our
140. 7:00attention away from the highest and best
141. 7:04of what is within
142. 7:07us who can claim we do not need a change
143. 7:10in
144. 7:12perspective we're too attached to our
145. 7:15devices to our
146. 7:17machines we give more importance to our
147. 7:20machines than we do to human
148. 7:24interaction who can claim that the light
149. 7:26in which we see things is more than dark
150. 7:29dark Ness more than a dark image of
151. 7:31ourselves and the world in which we
152. 7:34live attending mass is a good
153. 7:37thing attending Mass on Sundays is a
154. 7:40very good thing hearing God's word being
155. 7:43proclaimed during mass is something we
156. 7:45all
157. 7:46need but to be truthful that's only 50
158. 7:4960 Minutes of our
159. 7:53week a mystical star a Heavenly Guiding
160. 7:56Light LED Gentile astrologers people who
161. 8:00were seers and Mystics to search out and
162. 8:02to find and to pay homage to the Christ
163. 8:06child gold frankincense and myrr were
164. 8:09there gifts to
165. 8:10him gifts usually given to
166. 8:14Kings Enlightenment vision and a changed
167. 8:17perspective were his gifts to them they
168. 8:20came with gifts he gave them
169. 8:24gifts and there are gifts to us too not
170. 8:28only just today but each and every day
171. 8:31of Our
172. 8:32Lives we must remember that gift giving
173. 8:34is an
174. 8:36exchange one gives one receives and the
175. 8:40giving one receives something in
176. 8:43return but in order to receive fully we
177. 8:46must have eyes to see what it is that's
178. 8:49being given to
179. 8:50us and the purpose for that gift that we
180. 8:53are
181. 8:55receiving what then is the exchange of
182. 8:57your all of the the
183. 9:00overstimulation that we we live
184. 9:06in we need to see Epiphany Star as that
185. 9:10which leads us to a greater
186. 9:15Awakening a greater
187. 9:20understanding May the light of the world
188. 9:22God's Incarnate Word in Jesus Christ
189. 9:24fill our hearts and Minds with God's
190. 9:28vision
191. 9:29may we hunger to see things differently
192. 9:32that because of this Christ child we can
193. 9:34see the world with hope we can be
194. 9:37renewed with joy and not allow all of
195. 9:40the negativity and all that influences
196. 9:44us take us away from the vision God's
197. 9:48vision for the world and for our
198. 9:53lives so may Epiphany star lead us
199. 9:56throughout these days and weeks now in
200. 9:59in this new year of
201. 10:012024 May the light of the world God's
202. 10:05incarnate son Jesus Christ fill our
203. 10:08hearts and Minds with God's vision and
204. 10:10purpose for our living here in this
205. 10:13beautiful world that is so filled with
206. 10:15his glory we need to see this Glory we
207. 10:19need to be open to this glory and not
208. 10:21allow all the distractions to not help
209. 10:25not allow us to see a glorious endowing
210. 10:28gift gift he has placed in each and
211. 10:31every one of
212. 10:32us that's my prayer for you this year
213. 10:36may the Lord open our eyes and our
214. 10:38hearts and our minds to see his glory
215. 10:42amen