Feast of St. Francis Xavier, S.J.

Last Thursday here in the United States, we celebrated the national holiday known as Thanksgiving Day. There is a quite traditional meal centered around a baked or roasted turkey. People travel great distances to be home with family, memories and pumpkin pie for dessert.

My first Thanksgiving Day as a Novice in the Jesuits, we had, no! we had roast beef!!! And no pumpkin pie either. It did not seem natural; it was un-American. What an outfit. I have had turkey-Thanksgtiving, with Turkey, for the last sixty-three Thanksgivings, all of which I have forgotten, but that first one, memorable!

Now we are beginning another season preparing us for the international day of giving thanks for something also memorable and yet new, a birth! The First Reading has many phrases we might see and read on Greeting cards. We are hopeful as we hear about “In those days” such and such will happen. There will be un-natural things happening. Enemy-animals will be friends and it will then be natural for harmony. We are encouraged to wait for that day, an also be attentive to our entering into the harmony process of making friends with now-persons and long-ago then persons and those disappointing experiences of our own turkeiless days.

Today’s Gospel-Reading can be a comfort or a challenge. The picture has two sections. The first is Jesus’ prayer of Thanksgiving to His Father. Jesus is grateful for revealing deep things to the receptiveness of the child-like. God’s way of revealing is completed by Jesus’ revealing Himself and His true identity in His ways of relating and depth of His teachings.

The second section is Jesus’ turning to the receivers who have seen and heard what Jesus has been revealing and others did hear and see, but did not swallow the whole of God’s historical meal.

I have been pondering how our north American culture wants to have many little Christmases so to void waiting, wondering, longing, being receptive. We then can arrive at the Christmas Day, quite exhausted and rather glad Christmas has arrived so it will be over quickly.

No, I am not “humbugging Advent or Christmas. I am all for it of course, but it takes time and longing-space” to be as receptive as the disciples are in today’s little picturing. The revelation of Who Jesus is to them is not complete nor is their understanding of all that has been presented; for them it will take time and space.

Now here’s what we get for all our Adventing and Christmasing. While we wish for answers as the ultimate Christmas-gift, what is given, lovingly, is wonder and treasuring the invitations to our truest reality of our being disciple-like humans. This simple, yet deep, gift-exchange is culturally non-celebrational. For this deep embrace by God of us, we surrender it all to surrendering the meaning of Christ’s birth to colored lights, colored gifts and the delight of children’s receiving wonders and delights and letting it all go and enjoyed.

Advent, ex-spect, that is watch-for time is with us and we just might want a this and receive a that and be left wondering, longing, reaching and wouldn’t that be a wonderful human blessed “non-turkey" thanksgiving Christmas!