While in some parts of the world, Christmas is just starting (cf Orthodox Christians), we of the Roman Catholic tradition have started putting away our decors and have returned to life’s normal pace. In itself, our liturgical calendar says that Christmas season ends with the Baptism of the Lord (13th of January this year). But the truth is that with the celebration of the Epiphany, all feasts go away with it. Here in Italy, Epiphany is associated not so much with the Three Kings as in most parts of the world, but with the “befana” (= the good witch who distributes gifts to good children, a feminine counterpart of Santa Claus, actually). So yesterday, when the “befana” passed by, she took away with her all the feasts of the season!
In the Gospel today, we already read the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. From Nazareth, he has moved to and settled in Capernaum where he began teaching, preaching, healing and forming new disciples. I asked myself: if I’d like to associate myself to the mission of Jesus my Teacher, how do I face this “new year” of my life? From where do I want to move and to where? Our priest celebrant gave me an insight, which was also reinforced by an article which I read briefly this morning.
I’d like to move away from my “settled ways of thinking and my prejudices” and move towards more “risk-taking” for the cause of the Kingdom. The deeper I reflect on the mystery of the Incarnation, the more I marvel at the “risk” God has taken in becoming human! He has actually taken the risk of loving – loving to the end.
Timothy Radcliffe, commenting on Runaway World, a book by A. Giddens regarding Globalization and how it is reshaping our lives, affirms that the common view about religion is that it is a refuge from risk! Perhaps it is true to some extent. But our experience also says that religious people (like us) live in constant risk. Come to think of it, at least in this society where I am in and where the existence of God is continuously being questioned, we “risk” everything to proclaim our faith. In concrete terms, this means, we risk to love as Christ loves. Radcliffe describes it thus: the risk to live for others who, perhaps, don’t even want to have anything to do with me; the risk to live the fullness of truth which I would actually never comprehend completely; the risk to leave myself totally emptied by my thirst for God so that I could allow God’s Reign to fill me up. This is the greatest risk and nonetheless the greatest certainty that we could ever have.
May God help me live up to this challenge; may this new year's resolution be blessed by our Lord!
Who knows what really happened to St. Paul on the way to Damascus? Ages ago, I read a commentary which hypothesized that Paul was overwhelmed by his anger with the “Christian sect” and with Jesus, for that matter. It was this obsession that fired him inside out. Hence the “missionary journey” to Damascus to seek out and imprison the followers of “the way” (cf Acts 9:1-20). But ironically, this anger also became the fertile ground for his “conversion” or what we call now, his “Christian calling.” Paul was obsessed with Jesus, and this determined all his thoughts, actions, plans, dreams, etc.
