Nice weekend

Y'know sometimes things are really great, and you just have to enjoy them.

First off, my bride of (almost) 26 years got canned on Friday, for circumstances that were only minimally under her control. Oh, wait, that's supposed to be the bad news. But she'll now be available to watch the grandkids on a regular basis, which is going to be important as soon as our anticipated newest grandson is born. Meanwhile, she's free to help our daughter out in these last few days of her pregnancy and the first few weeks of having a new son to take care of along with her 16-month old daughter (who is cute and bright as can be). We took her mind off of the firing by watching a chick flick (How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days), which was small sacrifice compared to having her dwell on how her day had gone.

Saturday was plenty busy, with a great men's group meeting in the morning, a cycling team lunch (we've started early discussion of participating in the Race Across America in 2008; we may all be crazy, but we're also all excited about it!), and then a company Christmas party in the evening. It could have been hectic, and got a little anxious in the late afternoon, but by and large it was great. My wife gave me (us) my (our) joint anniversary/Christmas gift, a very nice new digital camera that we're going to use to take photos and video of our new grandson and of course the rest of the crew throughout the holidays. I've been wanting us to have a decent camera for at least 20 years!

Sunday, very nice Mass, with great Advent music. Then out to the tree farm where we've gotten our Christmas tree for over a dozen years. We saw several people we know, including one a riding buddy and his family (one of whom I called by the wrong name - sorry Zack!). We got our tree in record time. I told T. that I thought I'd found the secret of getting her to choose a tree efficiently -- which I think I have -- then told her it was to tease her mercilessly for about a day beforehand about how picky she is -- which isn't it. Honey, just in case you're reading this, I'm not going to tell you!!

After getting the tree up and in water, we picked up the older 4 grandkids and had them over for dinner. After evensong, the (currently) youngest granddaughter came over, too, so it was a great family evening to cap off a wonderful weekend.

Advent reflection 1

Veni Redemptor! Come, Redeemer!
Maranatha! Come, Lord!

I love the season of Advent, with its identification with the messianic longing of our forebears in faith. For what long ages they looked to God to deliver their redemption! When it came, how few of them recognized His coming. Among these, some yet maintain their trust in God's loving care for them while still awaiting the promised Messiah. Others, because of the incomprehensible horrors wrought upon them, have lost the capacity to believe that the God who proclaimed that David's kingship would never be destroyed could possibly exist. Some who still consider themselves Jewish have come to believe that Jesus is indeed the Promised One whom they've sought for so long. I relate to these feelings of hopeful longing, resigned disappointment, and jubilant celebration.

I love the season of Advent, with its recognition that none of us who walk this earth has fully embraced Christ's coming into our own lives. Some of us, like our Jewish brethren, don't recognize Christ's presence among us. Even for those who do, there is a transformation which God is working in each of us which no earthly person experiences in its fullness. The season of Advent reminds us that Jesus longs to come into our lives more fully, to heal our flaws and restore us to the perfect love for which we are created. I'm convinced there is no level of maturity in Christ at which we can feel that we've "arrived." Just the opposite! The more we grow, the more we recognize how great are our shortcomings. We see that we have no hope of ever reaching Perfection, yet we come to know that, in loving grace, our Redeemer never fails to reach us. He doesn't keep us apart from himself until we achieve the ideal to which we are called; rather, God brings us into His perfect presence to draw us more and more deeply into union with Him. By the Holy Spirit's movement in our lives, we are drawn ever further into our true being, in ways we could not hope to accomplish by our own efforts. As we are thus redeemed, becoming filled with Christ's love, it reaches through and beyond us to those around us who have also failed. Our longing becomes for them to be transformed with us!

I love the season of Advent, with its anticipation of the eternal divine kingdom to come. Of course, Christ has established a kingdom of love here on earth. Yet our world is still fallen, still afflicted by sin. Even we who strive to be His followers sometimes fail to fully dwell in the kingdom of God's love. We look for the day when we will no longer stumble, no longer cry, no longer feel the pain of living in a broken world. As people of faith, we recognize how our brokenness and pain yet serve to reveal the love of God, who works through all sorts of horrendous circumstances - those natural, those born of our own choices, those spiritual - to reach those with his love who would otherwise reject him. "The problem of pain," which causes so many to reject God's existence, abounds in our world, and yet through it God brings more and more precious children into the kingdom of light. Yet we eagerly look toward the day when there is no more pain, no more brokenness and failure, but only the eternal joy of dwelling in God's presence.

I love the season of Advent, with its timelessness, its small glimpse into eternity. Past, present, and future, all intertwined and experienced simultaneously. It has-always-been/is/always-will-be this way, as God has revealed to us in our past the Redeemer who comes to us now to lead us into the eternity which will be ours in our future. Having looked for Jesus, in this moment receiving Jesus, we eagerly await the fullness of Jesus.

Veni Redemptor! Maranatha! Come, Redeemer, Lord!

Family stuff

I'm boggled at how other people's brains work, especially when they're brains I had such an influential role in forming.

Our oldest daughter has been baffling for some time now, but it just keeps getting worse. Okay, so she's only in touch when she needs something. I suppose that's her prerogative. I'm glad when she calls anyway.

So about six weeks ago she asks us if we'll go ahead and pay for our oldest grandson's next swimming class and they'll pay us back on the weekend. No problem.

If you think this is going to be a tirade against never being paid back, you're only partly right.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, youngest daughter is expecting her second child in December, a little boy this time, so not much in the way of hand-me-downs from his big sister, or there'd be a greater likelihood of her dealing with her own baffling adult offspring in twenty years. So the wife is stuck planning the shower with no help from anyone, including the two sisters. Middle sister at least chipped in a little money, but no input from oldest at all.

Friday night is the last swim class of the aforementioned session. And for at least the third time in this class, wife shows up at grandson's lesson, only no grandson! Sunday afternoon, oldest calls her little sister with regrets for not being able to make the shower, because the kids are sick. Oh, and don't call,

A wonderful day

What a day of blessings. Sleeping in. Very nice Mass, with the Rite of Acceptance. Got home and was contemplating a bike ride when Teri reminded me I had a flight planned for this afternoon with a friend from prayer group. So I was able to combine the two, riding my bike about 10 miles to the municipal airport, flying with Jim for a couple hours, then riding home. What a great afternoon! Came home to discover "my" NFL team, or at least as close as I have to one I root for, had beaten the local team, on top of a surprising win for my college team yesterday. A nice evening with my wife, teaming up on getting dinner cooked and the dishes cleaned up.

Too many blessings to list all of, really. It's been the sort of day that some people chase after all the time, and become filled with angst if they don't have them regularly. But I don't really look for days like this. I just trust God to put me where I should be, and try to let Him make me the person I'm called to be there. Along the way, sometimes there are wondrous days like this. But the best day here is a passing shadow compared to the eternal joy God has waiting for those who will accept the gift of grace.

Reframing the discussion

This Sunday's Gospel reading:

"Good teacher, what must I do to enter the kingdom of heaven?"

His society had told the rich young man, his whole life, that he'd already found favor with God. His riches were the evidence of God's favor. Yet, he recognizes in Jesus an authority that can answer the uncertainty that remains within him. He doesn't recognize his fundamental assumption that assurance is found in meeting some minimum set of requirements; he has learned from scribes and Pharisees that it must surely be so, and that the trick is to figure out what those requirements are and then make sure he fulfills them.

Jesus changes the framework of the discussion. It isn't a matter of what we must do to enter the kingdom of heaven. It is a matter of how we will respond to the kingdom of heaven being given to us, through grace and mercy. As long as we view heaven as our reward for the kind of person we are, we will never respond wholeheartedly to the gift that is freely given. As soon as we truly see the sin in our lives as God sees it, then we know the depth of grace. As we live therein, our longing becomes to share it, without limit.

Grown children

As they were growing up, I often marvelled at how our children taught us so much about the love of God.

Now that they are grown, I find the lessons I learn through my relationships with them all the more pertinent. I wish it were usually because of the wisdom that comes forth from their lives, as it sometimes is.

More often it is from watching helplessly as they make decisions over which we have no control, decisions which we know are not truly in their own best interest. It is then that I'm most aware of how much God loves us. Our all powerful God has relinquished control over us so that we might choose to live as we think best, accepting or rejecting diving Love and guidance according to our own will. Yet God's love for us never wavers, regardless of the decisions we make. God waits for us to realize our true need, our actual best interest, and real love. When we finally reach out in the correct direction, though our reach is always short of being able to bridge the gap between humanity and Divinity, God reaches us.

A lesson in priorities

When taking on a sporting activity, I sometimes find it a challenge to keep my original goals in mind. At 46, it isn’t as if I’m ever going to become a competitive runner or cyclist, and that’s okay. But I still tend to push my performance rather than focusing on the camaraderie and fellowship that I set out for in each activity.

In running, the temptation isn’t as obvious a problem. All the team runners take the races at our own pace, and it’s just a matter of keeping my training in line with my minimum goal of keeping the pain in my legs to a minimum after a race. A weekly run should be all I need to accomplish that, and mostly short ones with an occasional longer on tossed in should get that mission accomplished. When a run, such as the one last night, results in less than a PR, I need to keep my disappointment in check and remember that I’m really just there to support the team.

But cycling is a little more problematic, especially since drafting makes it more of a group activity and we have such a variety of skill levels. Among our regular weekly riders, I’m probably the first or second slowest, but other group members who ride with us from time to time are slower, and I probable have the worst bike (the Hammer doesn’t count anymore; we miss you Larry!).

Most days, it’s just a matter of riding as well as we can, and that’s okay, but occasionally we have a ride planned that’s more of a group activity than a training ride. On those days, I’ve got to get myself out of "push it" mode, especially when I have more decision-making input. Some days, the fellowship is more important than the training.

It's another example of how a good thing can become a bit of a false god, if we're not careful.