CHRIST’S ‘UNFINISHED’ SYMPHONY … ???

The stage has been set; the sound system is in its peak performance, lights are fixed, the stage is shipshape. The audience all seated with their eyes fixed on the podium from where they can welcome the super guest. The day has arrived when the news, they have been dreaming about, and expecting for years on end, is imminent, any minute he will appear in front of them. Their dreams will soon materialize, they will become a reality. Too good to be true! They pitied their parents, and all their ancestors who only dreamt of this moment, but, NOW, is the time… ACTION.

A shifting movement on the stage and a great hush, ominous silence fell in the audience. The curtains start moving, opening slowly till they are completely open. On the stage walks a young man holding a book. He takes his place in front of a lectern, opens the book and starts reading. In the theatre there was the silence of a tomb, you could hear only the nervous breathing of people eagerly awaiting the news.
Thus was the atmosphere on that day in the Synagogue when Christ went up, unrolled the scroll, and read the sixty-first chapter of Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to heal the contrite of heart.” The building of the ‘climax’ starts; He stopped reading, closed the scroll, gave it to the attendant and, sat down. He was quiet, calm and self-possessed. His personality was magnetic, all eyes were fixed upon Him. Then, firmly as a master of Israel, He opened His mouth and His voice rang shattering the silence of the Synagogue: “Today this scripture is fulfilled.”

This text was one of the most hopeful of prophecies of the Messiah. He spoke about the meekness of a contrite heart and of captives. The audience felt that they were the subject of His address. He spoke as if He was one of them who lived with them in bondage, He knew the weight of chains and beatings. He was very sympathetic, spoke encouragingly to those who were on the verge of despair, He was hopeful of a new horizon. He restored their strength and promised a bright future. Gracefully, He won them over, He told them that he was there to lead them, to teach them, to heal them, to set them free. He won them over, entirely.
Christ’s eloquence was built on crystal clear sincerity, and truth, that managed to strike deep into every heart. He conquered every man of goodwill. That was the message of the perfect silence that reigned everywhere, in every nook and corner of the synagogue. That was the Climax. They all gave testimony of Him, and wondered at the words of grace that proceeded from His mouth. But, unfortunately, it was short-lived. Heads started moving, others started looking at each other, mouths opened, doubts emerged. Criticism was sharp.

Reality slipped back to a dream, their memory was slippery, and very soon they were able to forget it. But was this Christ’s ‘Unfinished Symphony’? It all depends on me, on you, on every person who calls himself a Christian. We have to play our part, a personal part, which can’t be played by anyone else, because it is tailor-made for each of us. The score is ‘mine’ and mine alone. If I fail, I will be the missing note in the Universal Symphony, which was penned by the super composer.

Incidentally this same Composer is He Who took that errant note skipped by our first parents in the Garden of Eden, and which travelled through space, until the time had come (Sheen). The Master Composer took that errant note and from it built the Symphony of Love. Under the expert baton of Mary this symphony was played by all who were faithful to His score and participated in the performance. Again we are the musicians. But are we playing our score correctly? Food for thought … it depends on me and you.

THE DIALOGUE OF THE HEARTS … WHERE LOVE IS

Have you ever noticed or watched two young lovers, just holding hands, sitting at the park, without uttering a single word … for long minutes on end? Their mouths are shut; not uttering a single word, the lips don’t move; but a silent dialogue is going on … their hearts are in dialogue, because both hearts are on the same frequency. When hearts are synchronized, the message is clearer and louder than when it is spoken. This is just what happened in that famous Wedding Feast in Cana of Galilee, between Mary and her Son, Jesus.
Well, you are right, Mary did say something, but she simply expressed her concern about the fact that she must have noticed, there was not enough wine to go round. She did not actually ask her Son to perform a miracle; she must have been very prudent in dealing with her boy, when it came to Divine Powers. As we read in the Gospel: ‘She kept everything in her heart.’ A request had not been made, so Christ was not refusing anything His mother asked for or wished for. But, the loving hearts had a silent dialogue. We do not know what passed between their hearts, but we do know the result, because Mary told the wine servants those four, now famous words: “Do as He says.” This was the result of the silent dialogue of the hearts.

Let’s move out of the reception hall, now that we have sipped that marvellous wine which no man has ever produced, and can never produce, and reflect on this event. Many of the Church Fathers believe that the miracle at Cana is linked with the Sacrifice of Golgotha. In one we have water and wine, and in the other we have water and blood. In both instances Mary was present. At Cana, Mary was a powerful intercessor for the bride and groom, and for both families concerned. But what’s worth remarking is the fact that nobody informed or asked Mary to intercede, and this has a profound meaning. So Mary is still watching over us and interceding for us before we do feel the need, and before even ask her. What a mother we have in Mary!
And on Calvary, Christ gave us officially His mother, as our loving mother. Just think of it, that before she was declared as our mother, she used to help and intercede for us. And now that she is declared with the official stamp, from on high, by the Most High as the mother of humanity … what is expected of her! Though we cannot not compare and mention the contrast on both occasions; at Cana there was joy all round, there was a festive atmosphere. On Calvary there was sadness, sorrow and anguish, and Mary gave birth in that dark atmosphere, in pain, to all humanity.

In Cana of Galilee we find a celebration, a feast of love. The bride and the groom gave their all, to each other. The two families must have rejoiced at this celebration of love. So there must have been an atmosphere of love and joy, throughout the seven day celebration of this Jewish couple.

On Calvary we find hatred, swearing and anger against the crucified Christ, whilst He in turn was performing an act of love towards his persecutors, towards the Jewish nation, towards all humanity. We have a climax of love by the promised Messiah, He gave all, His own life, for all. His persecutors, including the Scribes, the Pharisees, the priests, the Sadducees, the leaders of the Synagogue and the rest have vented their anger and created an atmosphere of guilt … as History has recorded.

One last remark; it is worth noting that Christ started off His Public Ministry, unofficially, in a Wedding Feast, due to the silent message passed on through His Mother. What a happy couple that must have been to have in their presence the living Son of God, Who even provided special wine for the occasion, and must certainly have left His blessing on the new family.

HE IDENTIFIED HIMSELF WITH SINNERS … FROM THE START

Christ does not deny that John had need to be baptized by him, yet declares He will now be baptized by John. Christ is now in a state of humiliation. In and through Christ, the heavens are opened to the children of men. This descent of the Spirit upon Christ, showed that he was endued with his sacred influences without measure. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. At Christ's baptism there was a manifestation of the three Persons in the sacred Trinity.

The Father confirming the Son to be Mediator; the Son solemnly entering upon the work; the Holy Spirit descending on him, to be through his mediation communicated to his people. In Him our spiritual sacrifices are acceptable, for He is the altar that sanctifies every gift, (1Pt. 2:5). Out of Christ, God is a consuming fire, but in Christ, a reconciled Father. This is the sum of the gospel, which we must by faith cheerfully embrace.

Why, you might ask, Jesus wanted to be baptized, considering that Jesus was the Son of God? First, it would give approval to John’s ministry. Secondly, He identified Himself with publicans and sinners, the very people He came to save.

But most important of all His water baptism was a pre-figurement of His future baptism on the cross (Matthew 20:22). It is for certain that Jesus was not baptized because He was a repentant sinner because He had never sinned (II Cor. 5:21).

On three special occasions the Father spoke from heaven. Here at Christ’s baptism, at the transfiguration, (Matthew 17:3) and as Christ went to the cross (John 12:27-30). As Jesus went out of the water (which indicates immersion) the spirit of God came down on him in the form of a dove and said; “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (vv. 16-17). There can be no doubt that all three persons of the Trinity were present and actively involved in this event. The Father speaks, the Spirit descends and the Son is baptized. This is a fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophesy where it says that the Spirit would rest on the Messiah (Isaiah 11:2)

TO KNOW, KNOW, KNOW HER, IS TO LOVE, LOVE, LOVE HER …

So runs an old song we used to sing many years ago. I suppose the author must have been either a descendant of Thomas the Apostle, or one of his followers. I am certain that it was not one of the Three Magi, whom I rather call the Three Wise Men. Without ever meeting Him personally, without having ever heard Him teach, without ever seeing Him one day perform miracles, it was unknown to them that one day He will be walking on the sea; yet, they believed in the new-born king, the Babe in swaddling bands of Betlehem.

The professional thief who managed to steal Heaven whilst dying has to his merits the fact that he had heard about Jesus. He must have listened to Him teaching, and heard people talk about His miracles. Whatever the case he realized who the man crucified next to him was, and that is why he ventured to ask for a final favour. But it was a different matter for the keen-sighted faith of the Wise Men who had no idea about His wisdom.

And yet amid circumstances of extreme privation and lowliness they recognized the majesty of God, and worshipped Him. What strong spiritual discernment they must have experienced to pierce the veil of the Babe’s flesh and declare Him as the King of the glory. Their only known GPS was the knowledge of the stars sustained with great Faith.

The thief recognized Him hanging on the cross, the Wise Men knew Him feeding at His Mother’s breast; the one knew Him groaning, the others knew Him when He was crying. One knew Him when He was fastened with nails, the others when He was wound in swaddling bands; the thief acknowledged Him, as both departed this life. For as the Good Book says: “In His own good time.”

Let us go dear brothers and sisters and seek the newborn in the company of men. Let us no longer seek Him lying in the manger in swaddling bands, we seek Christ in our brothers and sisters, in our neighbours, in our self-same family, in the unfortunate immigrants escaping death from their country … the list is endless. One grave mistake many commit is when they believe that Christ is found only in the church, in Cathedrals and in Prayer Groups. Christ is found in the alleys, in the lazy corners, in the corners of the street, in the hospital wards, in prison cells, in old people’s homes and in the market.

We are sure that the three Wise Men did not appear before their Lord ‘empty handed’. They merited heaven even as a result of their search for Baby Jesus, let enough their mission in their later years. We must not appear in the Lord’s presence empty-handed. And what are we doing about it?  Oh yes! We have sung a hundred times over the Carol, ‘We three Kings of Orient are’ since childhood. We might have even dreamt that we formed part of their retinue. O what fun!

But we do not need to ‘traverse afar’ (quote), we can do it from the comfort of our homes.

‘O Star of wonder’ (quote), our star today is the Teaching of the Catholic Church.

How can I offer Melchior’s ‘Gold to crown Him’ (quote), or Casper’s ‘Frankincense to worship Him’ (quote)? Many are offering only Balthasar’s Myrrh; the bitter perfume, symbol of sorrowing, sighing, bleeding and dying to their neighbor.

St. Basil, whose feast we are celebrating today, gives us the answer: “The bread which is left to rot, or thrown away because ‘it is left over’ … is not your bread, it is unjustly taken away from the mouth of the hungry.

The extra dresses hanging in your wardrobe belong to the naked all round the world.

The shoes, part of a ‘collection’ are not yours, by right they should be given to the bare-footed poor; children, women and men of all ages. How can you rest your head on the pillow and sleep peacefully when so many are crying out their eyes?

The extra food thrown away, especially during these festive days can feed millions. You are responsible for their death.

How can you justify your hoarding up of money in so many bank accounts when many are dying, including Babes, like the one of Betlehem. Are we going to take the Savings with us when they dump us six feet down?

Then we can sing the Carol and pray to God: ‘Guide us to Thy perfect Light’ (quote).