MartiW
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Registered: 03-2006
Location: I
Posts: 208
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You better be good or . . .
:holiday20
For Christmas, my sweetheart decided to take me home. He booked the flights and made hotel reservations in September. Then he started packing. (Don't laugh -- for him it is never too early to get ready.) We took all the kids with us and the one who is not at home flew in to meet us. It was the 4 day whirlwind tour. We went through the largest gingerbread house ever built. Went to a holiday parade complete with Santa and generally felt pretty merry.
Sunday morning arrives and we head to Mass at the Basilica of St Mary. My children who have been raised in the Baptist belt have never been in such a wealth of Catholic culture. Their eyes are travelling everywhere and there are questions about all manner of things when Mass is concluded. So we walk through this wonderful Basilica and look at everything. When we reach the creche where the most awesome Nativity is set up, my 5 year old stops stares and in almost a panic asks "Where is Baby Jesus?" To which I explain that it is customary not to place the Baby Jesus in the Nativity until Christmas. I conclude with "Tonight at Mass Jesus will come." (Little did I know what a profound effect this had on my 19 year old.)
So, we run around like mad all day fitting everything possible into the day and return to the hotel to prepare for Christmas Eve dinner and Midnight Mass. The concert at the Cathedral of St. Paul began at 10:30. Now, the kids are rubbernecking at all the attributes of the Cathedral. Little Miss 5 falls asleep on the pew but I thought I could expect better from the other children. The two oldest whisper back and forth till I glare at them with my "Are we Baptists, today?" look. (Nothing against the Baptists, but when they qarrive they visit with one another in the pews -- Catholics do not, we must do our visiting outside the sanctuary.) Well my 12 year old son is fidgetting with this and that as he tries to figure out what all the doodads in the pew are. The 19 year old sister leans in and whispers something to him and suddenly they are laughing. That silent uncontrollable laugh that only gets worse as you try to stifle it from exploding into the church. I am mortified!!!
The Bishop is beginning Mass. 
People are praying. :pray
And my ill-brought up children are laughing uncontrollably (to their credit they kept it silent but it was obvious)!! 
Later, I found out what the deal was. It's Christmas Eve and I had told the children that Jesus would come at Mass. They are excited and gawking and then the 12 year old is fidgetting, so the 19 year old leans forward to say something to get him to correct his behavior. What popped out her mouth surprised her and her brother so much they both lost it:
"Scoot, settle down. You better be good or Jesus won't come."
Now that does not sound so incredibly funny, but the next time you kneel down to pray before Mass do not think about those words or you will start to laugh )I know because it happened to me on this Sunday. I am trying to pray and stifling laughter instead. "You better be good or Jesus won't come."
As it is with most silliness in my world, I contemplate it. There in the silliness was the truth. Every year countless parents tell their kids to be good or Santa will not come. Yet, the kids go along doing as they please and sure enough on Christmas morning Santa has visited and left all manner of toys to spoil those naughty children. Is it any wonder that children have grown up and created religions wherein as long as they say a quick prayer, Jesus will give them Heaven no matter how they behave?
Then there are the people who believe that it really won't matter. A loving God will not choose to send anyone to Hell so no worries everybody is good to go no matter how they behave.
The truth is that as Catholics we know that how we behave is indicative of our relationship with God. If we continue in sin we are turning from God and as He gave us free will He calls to us to stay but will indeed allow us to leave. So, is the truth that if we are not good Jesus will not come?
Jesus will come. We shall neither hurry Him nor dissuade Him. When it is His time, He will come. Some of us will die before that happens. Jesus will come to us at that point. Whether we have been good or bad, Jesus will come. He will come to judge the living and the dead. For the living, Jesus coming will be the Beatific Vision wherein we look into pure love as we look into the face of Christ. For the dead, Jesus will look at them in judgement and there will be no welcome as He identifies those who have chosen not to know Him.
Advent has come again with its message for each of us to prepare the way of the Lord. Now, we are in the season of Christmas. Jesus has come into the world. He has offered us life. How shall we choose this year? In the year of our Lord, 2007, let us choose Jesus every day. Let us be the channels of His love and His peace unto the world. Let us be good because Jesus Christ is coming! May He find each of us walking in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.
Merry Christmas and a most Blessed New Year!
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DEUS meus, ex toto corde amo Te super omnia, quia es infinite bonus et infinite amabilis; et ob amorem Tui proximum meum diligo sicut meipsum, eique, si quid in me offendit, ignosco.
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1/1/2007, 9:35 pm
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