4th Sunday of Advent 2015
Fr. Robert VerEecke, S.J.
“At the sound of your greeting, the babe in my womb leaped for joy!” That’s
quite a trick, a kick, yes. I’ve heard of a kick in the womb… but a leap? Is
this a leap of faith? If you’ve ever leaped for joy, you know that you need
lots of space. You stretch your limbs to the fullest extent. A leap is the
fullest, most expansive move that the body is capable of. You defy gravity,
stretching beyond limit until gravity pulls you down again, not to where
you’ve started but to some other place. So to imagine a babe in Elizabeth’s
womb “leaping” for joy is quite a stretch!
Those of you who have seen my “Christmas Reflections” will understand
why the “leap for joy” is crowding my consciousness today. Hopefully more
of you will see my homily on stage this afternoon for the final performance
not just of this year but after 35 years. Each year for the past 35 years, I’ve
been presenting the joy of the Christmas gospel through dance. You can see
it for yourself at www.blde.org, Christmas Reflections.
We have been defying gravity, resisting the temptation to give into the
darkness and sadness that so often dominates our world and everyday lives.
There is always something happening in our world, terror or tsunami, that
dares us to be filled with joyful hope, dares us to say that we have tidings of
comfort and joy.
This is why we need to visualize this beautiful image of two pregnant
women “visiting”, coming together in joyful embrace with the promise of
the future. They of course do not know what the future holds for each of
their sons. Both will be executed. Both will be pulled down into the vortex
of violence. But at this moment, Elizabeth and Mary can only be leaping for
joy as they feel the movement of new life, hope and promise within them.
I am doing my best today to leap for joy with a heart filled with overflowing
gratitude for 35 years of a creative process that has brought so much joy to
so many people. To tell the truth, today I’m just limping along. Limping for
loss, you might say. (I injured my leg the other night ). When people ask me,
what will you do after all these years? What’s your plan for the future? All I
can say is God only knows. All I can do is “wait in joyful hope”
Speaking of limping along, I’m hoping you’re following along in the
bulletin or on the app with the Ignatian Way in the year of mercy? I’m
hoping that I’m not just creating this for myself, although I certainly need it.
Let me end today with the reflection questions for this week.
--What does it mean for you to “wait in joyful hope”? Can you ask for the
grace to be with Mary and Elizabeth in this joy-filled moment of surrender
to God’s design for them? Can you imagine yourself in vigil with St.
Ignatius before Our Lady of Montserrat? Are you willing to divest
something of yourself so that you can love and serve God with more
freedom?
--Are you willing to take the leap of faith that defies the gravity of this world
and surrender yourself to the God who is Emmanuel- always with us?