Pizza Man Moments

Advent 4B

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

I read a story about an alleged FBI raid on a psychiatric hospital in San Diego that occurred some time ago. Whether it is true or not is unknown, but it was apparently included in a report on Global Organized Crime prepared by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

According to the report, this particular psychiatric hospital was under investigation for medical insurance fraud, so the FBI raided the place. After hours and hours of reviewing thousands of medical records, the several dozen agents had worked up quite an appetite. The agent in charge of the investigation called a nearby pizza place with delivery service to order a quick dinner for his colleagues. The following telephone conversation took place and was recorded by the FBI because they were taping all conversations at the hospital:

Agent: Hello. I would like to order 20 large pizzas and 70 cans of soda.

Pizza Man: Wow… Okay. Now, where would you like them delivered?

Agent: We're over at the psychiatric hospital.

Pizza Man: The psychiatric hospital?

Agent: That's right. I'm an FBI agent.

Pizza Man: You're an FBI agent?

Agent: That's correct. Just about everybody here is.

Pizza Man: And you're at the psychiatric hospital?

Agent: That's correct. And make sure you don't go to the front doors. We have them locked. You will have to go around to the back to the service entrance to deliver the pizzas.

Pizza Man: And you say you're all FBI agents?

Agent: That's right. How soon can you have them here?

Pizza Man: And everyone at the psychiatric hospital is an FBI agent?

Agent: That's right. We've been here all day and we're starving.

Pizza Man: How are you going to pay for all of this?

Agent: I have my checkbook right here.

Pizza Man: And you're all FBI agents?

Agent: That's right. Everyone here is an FBI agent. Remember to bring the pizzas and sodas to the service entrance in the rear? We have the front doors locked.

Pizza Man: Um… I don't think so. Click. Bzzz.

The feeling that the Pizza Man had as he participated in that conversation must have been something like the feeling that a teenage girl named Mary felt 2000 years ago when the angel Gabriel came to her and said, "Hail Mary! The Lord is with you!"

Was this a dream? Was she hallucinating? Or was this really an angel that was standing in front of her, talking to her, and telling her that SHE would conceive and bear a son… God’s Son? Mary’s initial reaction must have been very similar to the Pizza Man’s… and “You’re an angel?”

I say this because as the conversation between Mary and the Angel develops, Mary asks “How can this be, seeing that I am a virgin?” Her question was reasonable, and reflects a degree of doubt about what she was seeing and hearing. It’s a natural reaction; one that no doubt each of us would have if an angel appeared to us and told us something so seemingly impossible. We, like the Pizza Man, would probably just say something like – “Yeah, right! You’re an angel…. Okay… anything you say, bud!”

But Mary’s response in the end displays a level of trust in God and faith in God that is indeed the model for each and every one of us. The Angel tells her that “Nothing is impossible for God…” to which Mary says, “I will do whatever the Lord wants me to do…”

Mary gives herself completely to God’s Will, and we know that nine months later, she gave birth to her firstborn Son – Jesus. However, during those nine months, there were undoubtedly a number of “Pizza Man Moments” for Mary as she tried to explain her sudden pregnancy to her parents, her friends, her fiancé, her rabbi. Imagine the “Pizza Man” reaction that each of these folks had as Mary tries to tell them that she’s pregnant because an angel came and told her that she would conceive God’s own Son.

Many have rightly understood that angel’s message that “Nothing is impossible for God” extended to the conception of Jesus by a Virgin. If God, who is the author of all life, can create the universe with a single word, then he most certainly could cause a virgin to suddenly conceive and bear His Son into the world. In reality, that’s the easy part.

However, for me, those words “Nothing is impossible for God” goes further than the simple conception part. I think these words extend to all the “Pizza Man” moments that Mary would encounter as she carried this baby, and later, for the rest of her life as she explained his miraculous birth. These words convey the promise that so long as Mary was willing to say “Yes” to God, then HE would be with her, and provide for her all the grace and strength she would need as she faced the unimaginable stress and worry and fear and isolation and even being ostracized by her family and friends. She risked everything – from losing her fiancé to even being stoned to death. Yet – those words – “Nothing is impossible for God” must have brought great comfort and courage the heart of this teenage girl who changed the course of human history when she said to simple words, “I will do whatever the Lord asks me to do…”

Since the Reformation, many have misunderstood our Catholic Faith, particularly in the area of our devotion and veneration of Mary. Many see it as a form of pagan idolatry, accusing us of placing Mary above Jesus. But this is misguided, and misses the point of why I – and so many other Catholics throughout history – have placed Mary on that special pedestal… not above Christ, or even equal to Christ, but as the one person whom God used to change the world and bring to us the salvation we so desperately needed. Mary, as the Mother of Jesus Christ is indeed the Mother of the Church; and her loving, unselfish, humble, obedient, self-sacrificing life is precisely the example that we – and the entire Church – need to follow as disciples of this same Jesus, as the beneficiaries of his birth. We do not worship Mary… but we do honor her, venerate her, and call her blessed as we seek to emulate her example of devotion and obedience to God.

Mary, with God’s help through those simple words – “Nothing is impossible for God,” indeed completed this Mission Impossible, when she wrapped that little baby in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger. She gives us proof that nothing is impossible for God!

Let me ask you… what Impossible Mission is God asking YOU to do? What has God asked you to do that you still have not done because it all seems too incredible, too impossible. Do you say things like - “I can’t do that!” “What will my friends think?” What will my wife or husband say?” “I can’t afford to do that, how will I live?” “I can’t do that because I don’t know how?” “I’m not qualified to be or do what God has asked me to do!”

What fears and stresses and excuses keep you from begin all and doing all that God has called you to be and do? It doesn’t have to be something as spectacular as giving birth to God’s Son, but it remains something that God wants you to do. Do you really believe that “Nothing is impossible for God!”? Do you believe, like Mary, that God can indeed do the impossible? Or is your God so small and puny, that you remain paralyzed by fear, doubts, and what others might think or say?

The same question could be, and needs to be asked of our Church. What Impossible Mission has God placed before us? What more can we do to impact this neighborhood and beyond with the Good News of God’s love? What seemingly impossible goals and projects has God placed before us, that on the surface appear to be impossible, crazy, or nuts… and appear to be full of “Pizza Man moments”?

When one considers the very existence of a Free Catholic Church smack-dab in the middle Dinwiddie County, Virginia, we find ourselves already in the realm of the impossible. When one considers that we are operating a Food Bank that has fed more than 500 people this year, we find ourselves in the realm of the impossible. When one considers that we are trying to raise up a Free Catholic Diocese in Virginia, we again find ourselves in the realm of the impossible. When one considers that we are raising up a global Free Catholic expression from right here in Central Virginia, we have already entered the realm of the impossible! And believe me… there have been lots of “Pizza Man Moments” throughout!

But God has raised us up… and placed us here to do the impossible! I know we still face lots of obstacles. It’s impossible for us to buy this or any other building. It’s impossible for us to expand our Food Bank. It’s impossible for us to establish more missions. It’s impossible for us to maintain a choir. It’s impossible for us to keep doing KidzClub or to have a Sunday School or to start other programs to benefit the community. It’s impossible for us to do more, give more, be more! And you know what – You’re dead right when you say that… it IS impossible.

But God – our GOD – is the God who turns the impossible into reality; and He uses US – the unimportant, obscure, unqualified people who, just like Mary say, “I will do whatever the Lord wants me to do…” If we retreat from what appears to be impossible; and we allow the “Pizza Man Moments” to paralyze us with fear and doubt; then indeed all that we are and need to do remains impossible and undone! However, when we allow the God of the Impossible to empower us and fill us with his Grace, then all the obstacles become opportunities. All the doubts become deeds. All the fears become finished projects. And all the “Pizza Man Moments” are transformed to “Praising God Moments” because we believe that NOTHING is impossible for God. Amen!

As we draw closer the impossible events of Christmas, that all became possible 2000 years ago because an obscure, unimportant, teenage girl believed in the God of the Impossible, let us identify what Mission Impossible God is waiting to make possible in our lives and in our Church. During this last week of Advent and the upcoming Christmas season, let each of us, like Mary, be willing to say “I will do – WE will do - whatever the Lord wants us to do…”

If we can embrace that, then we unlock and unleash all the power of Almighty God in our lives and in our Church, and HE transforms the impossible into reality. Let us follow Mary’s example, and that of so many throughout the history of the Church, by learning to Trust God, Obey God, and to let God BE God in our lives. And when we are confronted by the “Pizza Man Moments” in our lives – then all we have to do is remember – “Nothing is impossible for God…”

Rejoice!
Advent 3B - 2011

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Today is the Third Sunday of Advent; and you will notice that the candle for today in the Advent Wreath is pink instead of purple. That is because today is the Sunday of Joy. Advent is often referred to as a “mini-Lent” because it is a penitential season; a season of reflection, repentance, and preparation for the coming of Christ. Unlike regular Lent, however, there is a spirit of joy and anticipation that is part of our Advent observances. Each of the candles have a name – Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love – which capture this idea of anticipation. Today we celebrate Joy; but what is “Joy” and how do we have it in our lives?

People look for happiness in this life; and this is particularly true during this time of year. That is why we spend so much money on presents and decorations and preparations for Christmas. We are looking to be happy and perhaps make others happy as well. I like to be happy, as I’m sure you do; but happiness is not the same as joy. Happiness is an emotion, and is dependent upon circumstances and events at the moment.

If I win the lottery, I’m happy. If I break my arm, I not happy. If I eat a delicious meal, then I’m happy. If I get food poisoning from that meal, then I’m not happy. If I get what I was hoping for Christmas, then I’m happy; but if it doesn’t fit, or it breaks, then I’m not happy. Happiness, as an emotion, comes and goes based on based on the immediate, the circumstances that we all face in life – and usually, when good things happen to us, then we are happy. When bad things happen, then we are not happy.

The world is looking for happiness; and the entire economic system of the world – especially in America – is based on that pursuit of happiness. We want our children to be happy, so we give in to their crying and pestering, and we buy them things. This then creates a monster whereby we convince ourselves that we can buy happiness, and that we can make others happy by buying them things. We also then condition our kids to think that they can be happy because of things. It starts off innocently enough – a new doll, a new hat, a new pair of cowboy boots; but then it grows into demands for more and more…

Then, because we’ve conditioned ourselves and our kids, who then grow up with this idea that “things” can make them happy, we just go shopping when we’re depressed and unhappy. We think that all we need is a new pair of shoes, a new hat, a new shotgun, a new truck, a new cell phone, a new computer. We may not actually need any of these new things, but we convince ourselves that we DO need them. So, in order to chase away the blues, we just go shopping; and we do so even when we’ve no money with which to shop. Thank God for Credit Cards!!! Now we can be happy all the time… because instead of buying happiness, we can just CHARGE IT!

This dependence upon “things” to make us happy and keep us happy is called “consumerism” – and it is a cancer on the soul of mankind that is caustic and corrosive. It keeps us deluded and unable to deal with our reality. And it causes us to overspend and overextend ourselves, to the extent that today, we see the offspring of this – just look at how broke our economy is! And what is the solution that the Government keeps foisting upon us? Shop till you drop… it’s your patriotic duty, it will boost our economy, and it will make you feel better! You’ll be happy that you did!

This mindset of “happiness” and trying to buy it has at its root, a level of unthankful discontentment with nearly everything that we have, eat, and use.
This dissatisfaction and discontentment extends even to Christmas, and all that we buy, give and share. Just think about how many children will be crying and angry because they didn’t get what they wanted! Look at the level of depression that sets in after Christmas when the lights and trees are gone, and the bills for everything we bought start coming due. The cold, long, dark days of January come, and people are depressed. Suicide rates jump. Domestic violence increases. People are unhappy because the happiness they experienced on Christmas Day with all the new and wonderful things has passed; and what do we do? We go shopping again… and the stores are more than accommodating with after-Christmas sales, Martin Luther King Jr Sales, Presidents Day sales, Valentines Day sales, etc. etc. We are essentially a selfish, greedy, unthankful society that is not content with anything.

To me, the ultimate irony of this is the fact that Thanksgiving Day comes and goes without a whimper, all in anticipation of the first Official Christmas Shopping Day – called Black Friday. If indeed, we were content and thankful, then Black Friday would indeed be aptly named, because on Thanksgiving Day we would all sit around and see all the things we have, we would be grateful for them, and recognize – “Hey, we’re doing pretty well, and we don’t really need another thing!” So the stores and malls would be empty on the day after Thanksgiving, and it would be a bleak, black day for consumerism – because we as a people would have expressed our thanks to God for all that we have, and been content for it all.

That, my friends is the difference between Happiness and Joy. Joy is not an emotion, but rather is a state of mind, a state of existence that is not dependent upon things; nor does it rise and fall based on how we are feeling or what we are experiencing. Quite the contrary! One can be joyful even in the midst of difficult and trying circumstances. One can be joyful in the midst of poverty or plenty. One can be joyful in the midst of health or illness. One can be joyful whether one lives in a shack or a mansion. Joy, unlike happiness, is based on Contentment.
In the Second Lesson, the Apostle Paul gives us the prescription for joy, when he says, “Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

Joy can indeed be ours if we first recognize that God is God; and that all we could ever need comes to us by His almighty and gracious hand. If we embrace that as the foundation of our lives, then we indeed will “rejoice.” This word Rejoice is, in reality, another word for Praise. A life of praise to God, a life centered on worship, on adoration, on praise to God is a life of contentment and gratitude. One of my seminary professors used to always say, “Gentlemen, the cure for care is worship.” He said this to us because he knew that we would be leading worship, and that in leading that worship, we would unlock to secret to joy for those who worship with us. They would come to us burdened by the cares of the world, and we – through leading spirit-filled, truthful worship – could help folks discover the path to real joy… the “joy unspeakable, and full of glory” that Paul talks about.

Once we have made worship the centering force of our life, then we can do what Paul suggests next – “Pray without ceasing”. Prayer is the soul’s respiration. Our spirit inhales and exhales, is re-oxygenated, by prayer. Prayer and meditation are empowering; and just like breathing fresh air invigorates the body, so too prayer reinvigorates the soul. We sense God’s presence in our lives, and joy – not happiness – JOY fills our spirit. We are communing with the God who spoke the universe into existence… and HE is walking WITH us. So, no matter what circumstances may arise – poverty, wealth, illness, health, good times or bad, through prayer – unceasing prayer – we remain invigorated and empowered and full of Joy because God is dwelling in and through us.

Then… with worship and prayer filling our lives, we can indeed do what Paul says next – “In EVERYTHING give thanks!” Notice that Paul doesn’t say “FOR” EVERYTHING give thanks, but rather, “IN”.

It’s hard to be thankful for a broken arm; but we can be thanking IN that unhappy circumstance, because we know God is still with us, He will bring healing to us; and we can be thankful that at least we didn’t break BOTH arms… or both legs for that matter. It’s hard to be thankful for poverty… but we can be thankful IN our poverty because God is with us, we are rejoicing, we are worshiping, we can be grateful for all that we do have even if it is precious little. It’s hard to be thankful FOR cancer; but we can still be thankful IN that very unhappy condition. How? By our continuing worship and prayer, we unlock the Grace of God in our lives to help us cope and deal with it… whether for health or even if it means death. And even IN death, we can still be joyful… because we have the promise of the Resurrection and of Eternal Life.

Jesus came to us to give us life, abundant life. He came to make complete our joy. Some of the most joyful and full-of-life people I know and have ever met, are those who have the least of what this world insists we need in order to be happy. Paul writes these words in today’s lesson… not from a comfortable office in some college or church somewhere, but rather, while in a Roman Prison – deprived of all comforts and all company. Yet, he is, despite his circumstances, joyful… and is trying to teach others how they too can be joyful.

If you want to be happy, then I suppose you could go on over to the Mall and spend money you don’t have on things you don’t need in the headlong pursuit of Christmas happiness. You could buy all kinds of things that eventually will end up in a landfill somewhere. You could that, and be happy for few moments or even perhaps a few day.
But, if you want to experience real Christmas JOY, the JOY that Christ came to bring us… the JOY unspeakable and full of glory… then turn your attention from yourself and point it towards GOD. Turn on your praise and worship spirit, sing songs to God, read the psalms, and just tell God how great and wonderful he is and that you truly do LOVE him. Then, empower your spirit with prayer. Then, being invigorated in your spirit, be thankful and learn the lesson of contentment. When you do these things, then you unlock the secret of JOY.

And then, instead of spending money on Christmas, you may learn how to spend TIME with your family at Christmas. Instead of reaching out with hands of greed for more and more and more, reach out a hand of tolerance and understanding, and touch the lives of those close to you and those who may have forgotten how healing the touch of a hand can be. Instead of scrunching your face up grimacing over the prices, the traffic, the noise, let the JOY of Christ radiate through your smile and patient eyes, and share this true Christmas JOY with others who may desperately need it.

And when January comes, and world is depressed and discouraged, YOU will still be full of JOY… Joy unspeakable and full of glory. YOU will still be rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks… you will be content and have a peace of mind that could never be bought at the Mall or wrapped up under a Christmas tree.

BE JOYFUL this Christmas Season!

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Getting Ready for Christmas

Mark 1:1-8

Advent 2B - 2011

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Life today, especially during this time of year, seems much more hectic, faster-paced, and sometimes crazier, doesn’t it? Each day, there seems to be less and less time to get done all that needs doing, especially as we prepare for Christmas. There’s the shopping, the wrapping, the baking, the Christmas Cards, the parties, and the decorations. We look at the calendar and we panic as we realize that we’re running out of time… December 25^th will be here before we know it! It’s hard to believe, but Christmas is only three short weeks away! Seems like we just had the Halloween Party, and already Christmas is nearly upon us! So much to do, and so little time to do it!

All this stress and anxiety over getting ready for Christmas seems a little ridiculous, doesn’t it? We rush around, filled with anxiety and stress, trying to get everything done in time for Christmas… as if the world will end if we don’t get it all done by midnight on 24 December! We rush from store to store, stressing about the parking, the lines, and the fact that they don’t have the right size or color.

Then add to this a good dose of what I call that good, old-fashioned, “Christmas Spirit” – you know what I mean… the specter of other stressed out shoppers – all racing and rushing from one sale to the other; fussing at their spouses to hurry-it-up; arguing with the store clerks over the prices; yelling at their tired, hungry, crying children; and all spending money they don’t have on things that they don’t need, for people who don’t really care… impatient, cranky, hateful, selfish, greedy, pushy, stressed-out folks all trying to get ready for Christmas –proudly wearing their “Keep Christ in Christmas” sweatshirts, and all presented to us to the crackling sound of Christmas music blaring over the store’s sound system. If an alien visited us from another world, and saw all this, they’d think we were all crazy; but we, as a society, do this year after year after year… racing, rushing, panicking, stressing out over one day of the year… a day on which we are supposed to celebrate the birth of the Savior of the World – Jesus Christ!

How and why have we, as a world – even as Christians – allowed this to happen? We have taken the most sacred and probably the singularly most important event in all of human history – the actual Incarnation of God in the person of Jesus Christ – and turned it into a vulgar display of our own greed, selfishness, gluttony, and consumption! We have taken this event of God visiting mankind to bring salvation to the world, and twisted into a hideous occasion whereby we spend all our time, energy and money getting ready – not for the arrival of the Christ, but to get ready for Santa Claus. The selfless act of God in coming to us, and the peace and goodwill of which the angels spoke on the night of Christ’s birth have been replaced by insane and the inane pursuit of self – all bought and wrapped and placed under the Christmas tree… and the only peace and goodwill that we see is the occasional, miniscule glimpse of generosity displayed amidst the tidal-wave of self-indulgence.

My friends, the event which we will celebrate in just three-short weeks is not about trees and lights; not about packages and presents; not about sales and shopping; not about rushing from one place to another; not about stress and anxiety and panic; but rather it is about God coming to us and offering us some peace, and some hope in the midst of a world gone mad over itself.

Christ came to bring peace and goodwill and hope and joy to a world enslaved by its own passions, prejudices, pride, and pettiness. Christ came to bring deliverance from what the world says is important, and show us that the Kingdom of God awaits us if we will set aside ourselves and seek after God through this same Christ. This was essentially the message that John the Baptist preached while standing in the Jordan River – “Prepare the way of the Lord – make straight his path.”

If we as a Church, as those who profess a profound faith in this same Christ, would spend less time preparing for Christmas, and more time preparing for Christ – image the changes it could bring, first to yourself, then to your family, then perhaps to your friends and even your neighbors. If we would embrace the ideals of the Kingdom of God rather than pursue the expectations of the society of men, image the peace and goodwill, the hope and joy, that we could share.

If we would shift our focus from the worldly to the heavenly, from the selfish to the self-less, from the efforts at perfection at Christmas to the promise of perfection in Christ, from the exhausting efforts to buy a little joy to the refreshing realities of experiencing real joy and real hope through this same Christ, image the change that could take place in us and in others. All the time, energy, and money spent over Christmas would then all be redirected to preparing ourselves and others for this Christ to rule in our lives and in our world, and to then baptize us with his spirit.

Imagine a Christmas celebration at your house, where Christ is ALL that celebrated. Image a Christmas where the only gifts we gave to each other were joy, forgiveness, tolerance, patience, and a little goodwill. If we would embrace THAT model for Christmas, then we, like John the Baptist and those who came to him to be baptized, would be able to say that we indeed have prepared the way of the Lord in our lives, and that we have made straight a path for the Kingdom of God to be real in the world around us.

So instead of rushing, and stressing, and panicking, and spending, in order to prepare for Christmas as the world expects us to do, let us embrace this ideal of preparing for Christ in our hearts and in our homes and in our world, and thereby experience all the joy and wonder and hope that this Season of the Year promised when Christ first came. This year, let me encourage to prepare the way of the Lord, and let all the Christmas preparations just hang. Because in the end, it won’t matter that you got an ipad or an ipod for Christmas; it won’t matter that you got a new shirt or new shoes for Christmas; it won’t matter if you have a real or artificial tree for Christmas; and it won’t matter that you had turkey or ham for Christmas.

All that will matter – all that really ever does matter – Is that you got Christ for Christmas – that you listened to the words of John the Baptist, prepared a way for Christ, and that you shared with others this Christ and all that he taught us and all that he promised. That you heeded the advice of the Scriptures, and Prepared the way of the Lord… that you make a straight path in your life, and the lives of your children, for our God to be GOD over all and in all. So instead of keeping Christ in Christmas… let us keep Christ AS Christmas and keep in the center, the entire focus of our celebrations. I think you’ll be glad you did.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son,

and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.