it may be nonsensical but we do it anyway: 4th sunday of advent C

With all its appeal to reason and logic there are actually many things unreasonable, and should I say, even nonsensical in our relationship with God, don’t you think?  I mean we are a practical people here but why do we have to get up early in the morning to attend the aguinaldo mass at 4:30 in the morning when there are other masses conveniently timed during the day.  Why get up at 4 then and then feel drowsy and yawn the whole day?  And except for the songs, it’s practically the same mass.

And to top it all bisan gutok sigi sa gihapon, bisan wala pulongkoan, bisan kabudlay, bisan ka paang, hala dasok.   I suppose ang pagdugok naton indi gid man kanta ang ginalagas ta, indi gid man guro ang homily kay most often kadamo sang nagakatulog.  Pamatyag ko, pamatyag ko lang na, mauna gid kita agod may pulongkoan kita, para sa ano, para makatulog-tulog pa kita bisan gamay lang.  If you are a reasonable person, then why attend this kind of mass.  If you are a logical and practical person, you would avoid this kind of mass, indi bala? 

I think I have told you that there was one Roman Cardinal who could not for the heck of it understand why we have aguinaldo masses in the Philippines.  He kept protesting saying “but your are celebrating Christmas 9 days early.”  If it was up to that cardinal it would have been the end of aguinaldo masses.  And come to think of it matyag ko malipong gid sia kon nabati-an pa gid niya nga imbes nga aga lang ang aguinaldo, may gab-i pa gid kita subong.  Kag wala lang sia kabalo that we have been celebrating Christmas not 9 days earlier but since September - ang aton krismas tree may lawa na kag ang aton krismas lights napunder na ang iban. We have the longest Christmas celebration in the world.  It is not reasonable but we do it anyway.  That is why in the Gallup polls, again the Philippines ranked 7^th or one who scored highest for exhibiting positive emotions among 148 nations.  Bisan imol lang kita, bisan ginbagyohan na kita, bisan pirme lang kita tayan na lang nagdaog, masinadyahon man kita sa gihapon.  Logic would have told us that money equals well-being and happiness.  But again that’s not the way it is. 

And so look, it may be unreasonable and yet we go, we come every morning, many of us do and many of us even complete the nine aguinaldo masses.

Not everything that works is normal, and not everything normal works.  Today I would like to propose that we learn to accept, embrace and even appreciate the illogical, the unreasonable and even the nonsensical in our lives, in our relationships, in our friendships, in our vocation even, in our work and profession, and most especially in our faith.  I am taking my cue from our gospel today.  During the first Christmas nobody was normal except Herod.  Have you noticed that?  Examine all the Christmas stories.  Nobody was normal except Herod who logically sent troops to kill possible usurpers to his throne - that was the most normal thing a king would do during that time.  Aside from this everything else would no longer be normal.  The magi were not normal, even the whole of Jerusalem was disturbed by their presence.  Even their gifts except for the gold were not standard gifts.  You also have a betrothal so unbelievably and intricately problematically complex that was solved by, what else, a dream. Then you have angels calling on shepherds, the king of the world in a lowly manger - sometimes you get shocked and begin to ask, is this real?  Is this true?

Our gospel today is yet another instance of this illogical, unreasonable, nonsensical encounter with God, this time in the encounter of two pregnant woman.  One is very young, supposedly around 14 years old, and a virgin at that, and another was very old around 60 years old and pregnant.  And the baby, 6 month old in a 60 year old womb, sensing the growing zygote in the younger woman’s virgin womb just across him, leapt for joy.  Even my imagination would not allow such encounter in such circumstances without flashing anime, anime, cartoons, fiction.  It may be strange, but it is true

Our journey with God almost always starts with something illogical, something unreasonable, nonsensical and even unbelievable.  Our transitions in this journey with God almost always start with something illogical, something unreasonable, something nonsensical and even unbelievable that happens in our lives. 

I have interviewed young men who wanted to become priests against the wishes of their parents.  With only a son, with only two children, it would be logical for a parent to oppose the vocation for who would take care of them when they both grow old?  This son is a bright fellow, intelligent, a way out of poverty.  Then came the vocation of the son.  It hit them as something illogical, unreasonable, something contrary to the logic of our plans.

I have heard many stories of encounters of this kind - a sickness, a death, a break-up, a lost, a difficulty, a chance encounter.  Then these were almost always new beginnings.  The incarnation started like that too, salvation started like that too, anything new in our encounter and journey with God will be like that too.

It is my prayer and hope that we would be more welcoming of this strange meeting that invites us to a deeper encounter with God and with each other.