Saturday, January 07, 2017

Daily HOMILY for January 3, 2017: Christmas Weekday, Cycle A


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Retreat for SMSU 1st Theologians
January 3, 2107
Jesuit Retreat Center
T-Shirts and Marketing +++++++++++++++++++++
Ø  I am a casual reader of T-shirts and I’m amazed and amused at what people are willing to promote on their clothing
Ø  Be it a brand name like Nike or a product like Tony’s Pizza, such images mean to telegraph our uniqueness
Ø  Ironically, however, they merely demonstrate an individuality that we share with millions
Ø  In purchasing them, we actually become the marketable item!
WHO ARE WE REALLY? ++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ø  I’m not entirely sure why we so willing cede our personal identity to marketing departments around the world, but we do
Ø  Still, there’s no denying that such imagery is superficial and says little about who we really are
Ø  We wear it on our sleeves, but in no way is it personally transformative
CEDING WHO WE ARE: THE MISSION OF JOHN +++++
Ø  In one sense, a much better sense, ceding personal identity reflects the mission of John the Baptist
Ø  His message was neither self-derived nor egocentric
Ø  It said little about him, & when at last he saw J he pointed to someone totally beyond himself
Ø  John pointed to someone who became anything but superficial to his own life
Ø  His encounter with Jesus was life changing
Ø  From that day forward John’s life was both transformed and complete
AND WHO ARE WE? ++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ø  As Christians we put on Jesus as our identity
Ø  In that respect, like John, we play the prophet when we pose 2 selves a fundamental question
Ø  Do our lives advertise a range of goods and services?
Ø  Or do our lives, like John’s, point to the inner fulfillment that comes becz we’ve met the Lord?
CONCLUSION ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ø  Let the T-shirt we wear be the baptismal robe we received at baptism
Ø  Let us always remember that is it Christ whom we have put on
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


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