4th Sunday of Advent

 Fr James McTavish FMVD

“Mary went in haste to the hill country”

This week we were invited by some religious sisters to go carolling with some young children in their school. The mini-bus was full on the way to the shanty town where we would be singing – full of kids and full of joy. Their faces lit up the darkness of the evening. How eager they were to bring the joy and excitement of Christmas to the poor families we would visit. This eagerness to bring a joyful message to the world is seen in the life of the young Mary, as she travels through the hill country to be with her cousin Elizabeth. Luke the evangelist states that “Mary set out and travelled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of her Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth” (See Luke 1, 39-45).

The journey made by Mary is one of four days but she made it “in haste”. The greek text gives us the word “spoude” which means zeal, enthusiasm, bubbling over and fervour. Mother Theresa of Calcutta commented that joy gave Mary haste. She was full of joy because she was full of Christ. Not only did Mary carry Christ in her womb but also in her heart. How great if we too had this motivation, to go into the hill country of challenging situations and not stop in our efforts to bring Jesus to this world of today. What things stop us moving with haste? What factors tend to slow us down? There are three things or attachments which tend to make us lose our joy and enthusiasm – attachments to false pleasures, honours and riches.

False pleasures includes the desire for an easy life, to relax too much and take things easy. As St John of the Cross noted it only takes a little thread tied to the leg of a bird to stop it flying. Attachments can stop us loving. I like chocolate. One day a person was sharing their problems with me at the dinner table when the chocolate mousse arrived. As the problems became more serious so did the look on my face as the choco-mousse was vanishing fast! Many things can enchain us. The statue of Blessed Matthew Talbot, the Irish labourer who overcame his alcoholism shows him with chains around his body and empty bottles at his feet begging the intercession of Mary. For those tee-total, non-smoking, chocolate haters there are many interior chains that bind us. The false pleasure of judgments, of not forgiving, not taking the first step to reconcile all stop us living others. What chains of pleasure bind you?

False honours can enchain us. The desire for all our titles to be recognized can be like a huge ball and chain around us. A man introduced himself to me here in Manila. He gave me so many credentials and titles that at the end he forgot to tell me his name. We can forget that beneath all our honours and awards we are dust and held together by the glue of God’s mercy! Mary would have been considered a nobody in her society. As a young virgin coming from the town of Nazareth with perhaps 150 inhabitants she had no family name to rely on. Our world of today worries so much about what people will say. A friend of ours had an older second hand hire car while his executive car from work was being repaired. His boss told him “I understand if you want to park that old hire car a bit away from the office as I am sure you are embarrassed to be seen in it”! Many times we will not speak about Jesus because we are too worried about what people will say to us. It is hard work being a people pleaser. Like the man walking with his son who was riding a donkey. The townsfolk said it was awful that the old man was walking. He changed places with his son and others frowned that he was making the young boy walk. He invited his son on the donkey with him until the people complained that the donkey was overburdened with the two of them on its back. The story ends with the father and son walking off into the sunset, carrying the donkey! Are you a people pleaser?

The last great slavery is false riches. The treasure for Mary was to bring Jesus to the world. What is my treasure? A man I saw once in the emergency room after a motorbike accident went crazy when we told him we had to cut off his leather jacket. He was seriously injured and the standard procedure is to examine the body fully to see the extent of the injuries. He threatened to kill the staff! He was putting his life in danger. His riches was in his image. Perhaps the jacket cost some money but his life and health was surely more precious. Sometimes our richness can be our self-image and how we look. I remember going to help give a retreat in England. Just before leaving, I was wrapping a gift and bit off a piece of sticky tape. In my haste I bit too hard and my front tooth fell out. I had to preach with a tooth missing. For 2 days I was so self-conscious that I could hardly open my mouth. At the end of the retreat, after 5 days, I had gotten quite used to it. Sometimes our richness can be all in appearances and how we look. Lord Jesus, come this Christmas and free us from our slaveries. Out of the attachments mentioned, for you, which one enchains you the most and stops you loving? The chains of false pleasures, honours or riches?

May the example of Mother Mary help us. Her pleasure was to bring Jesus to the world, her honour was doing the will of the Father, her true riches was to be filled the Holy Spirit. For us what we need to grow in freedom is not to acquire more things but to get rid! To get rid of many useless attachments that clog us up on the journey. As we hear in the movie Braveheart “Your heart is free. Have the courage to follow it!” Mary, refuge of sinners, may the coming of Christ free us to love others, may his birth in our hearts break the chains that stop us reaching out to love others. Amen