Dare to make a difference

A number of years ago, I began recording the texts of my homilies.  Not only that; I also have been making available, podcast copies of these weekly offerings for the on-line crowd.  As it turns out, the website that I've been using for the past four years or so is not always (ehem) reliable, so my next thought is that I can possibly use this space to publish them.  Does that make sense?

Assuming that all will agree, here is the text of the homily from last weekend.  Since this would have been the first one of a new Liturgical Year, I thought it might be fitting to begin here.  In case you might also like to listen to the podcast version, I'll also make that available.  It would be interesting to hear from you about whether this is a suitable place to publish these texts and-or the recorded versions.  I'll look forward to your comments.  Here goes:


Dare to make a difference
This reflection was prepared for and proclaimed as part of the Sunday liturgies during the First Sunday of Advent, Year A (2010-2011).  The scripture texts upon which it is based are those proper to that day: Isaiah 2:1-5; Romans 13:11-14 and Matthew 24:37-44.

Listen to this homily


Advent is the season that marks the beginning of the liturgical year, and as we begin this new year, the first words that we hear from scripture, from the book of the prophet Isaiah, speak of a vision, a dream.  This is not the kind of dream that you have when you're sleeping, from which you wake with very little if any recollection of the details.  This is the kind of dream that you have while you're fully awake, the kind of dream that planners at the top echelons of business dream, the kind of dream that first-time homeowners have, the kind of dream that our new confirmandi had in their eyes as Bishop Simard spoke with them at the time of their Confirmation on Friday night.

Isaiah's dream speaks of peace, something that human beings have sought it seems throughout history, even from the time when we were put out of the Garden of Eden.  We all have our own visions of peace, but I'm not sure that we will find green plants and flowing water fountains in the biblical vision.  Instead, what we find is intentionality.  Isaiah dreams of a time when war will be replaced with a willingness to share the daily chores that make it possible for us to live and of a time when competition will be replaced with a common vision for mutual improvement.  Even today, there are some who would wonder whether such a vision is possible, or whether it is only a pipe dream.

Our world needs visionaries, the ones who dream big.  Otherwise, we would be condemned to an existence that would be confined to a very small scope indeed, but our world also needs committed individuals, willing to work hard so that the big visions can someday come to pass.  The letter to the Romans speaks to us today of some of the practical things that you and I need to do so that God's dream of peace can someday come about.  This Advent season, this new beginning is the time for us to wake from our sleep, to be conscious about laying aside the works of darkness: our willingness to wait and to let someone else worry about our salvation, our willingness to be passive about our faith.  This is the time for us to put on the armour of light: to courageously live our faith with conviction, to be ambassadors of peace, to boldly speak out against injustice, to make a difference in our world.

Jesus' disciples knew only too well that many facets of their lives were controlled by others, that many situations were beyond the scope of their own realm of possibility, but they were drawn to Jesus because he dared to dream about a different kind of world, a world in which his disciples could wake from their slumber and take charge of their lives, where they could allow themselves to be emboldened by faith and courageous enough to take concrete steps toward making peace possible.  We too need to continue this work, to determine the necessary steps, to discover the attitudes we need to adopt, to inform ourselves about the organizations who work for peace and who need our help, to dare to teach the lessons of peace to our friends, our colleagues and our family members.

The beginning of a new year is always a time for resolutions.  This Advent, set a resolution to be conscious about working for peace.  Find one concrete thing that you can do to bring about peace either within yourself or within your own circle of influence.  Jesus dreamed about bringing peace to the whole world, one person at a time.  This work of peacemaking continues today.  He needs us, he needs all of us to make a difference.