Hardly a Snack

Seeing the God of small things

Matthew 2:1-6

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod,  behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,  “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled,  and all Jerusalem with him. Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, He inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea,  for thus it has been written through the prophet: And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel.”

            Let me ask you: is “bigger always better”?  We certainly hear that slogan touted a lot, especially by us Americans.  For instance, men love big trucks with HEMI engines because bigger and faster is obviously better.  Women love 8-inch heeled shoes because being taller is much better.  And we enjoy watching T.V. shows that boast, “Go big or go home!”  Someone sent me this riddle recently: Who's bigger: Mr. Bigger or Mr. Bigger's baby?  The answer is Mr. Bigger's baby.  Why?  Because he's just a little Bigger!  (Aw, come on, you know you'll tweet that after Mass!)  Have you seen the rectory, the house where the priests live, lately? Talk about big!  I was giving a group of people a tour of the rectory, and showed them the spacious bathroom and enormous shower of the pastor.  One person commented, “Don’t you think it’s a little strange that you don’t have a door on your shower?”  I replied, “You know, the day I need a door on my shower is the day I ask to be transferred out of I.C.!”  So, even American priests believe bigger is better.

            Scott Hahn tells the story of Cardinal John Wright who worked at the Vatican for 10 years.  Hahn writes this, “[Cardinal Wright] was a theologian of great subtlety and wit.  An outsized and corpulent man – in other words, he was a big guy – he knew how to use his size to make a rhetorical point.  Once while talking to a group of seminarians  he observed, ‘Why do so many people insist on calling the Mass a banquet?’  He paused and rested his hands on his belly, [and said] ‘It hardly seems a snack to me,’” (Consuming the Word, 146).  I wonder if Cardinal Wright ever drove through Amarillo, TX and took a turn at the 72 oz. t-bone steak.  Everything is bigger in Texas, they say, because clearly, bigger is better.  Right?

            In the gospel today, however, God displays a decisive predilection for the diminutive, for what’s small and seemingly insignificant.  That is, God believes that smaller is better.  Here are 3 examples just from today’s gospel.  First, God leads 3 Magi from the East by the light of a small star, a star most everyone else missed, especially King Herod, who should have been watching for it.  Second, the scribes tell Herod that the Messiah will be born in a small, backwater town called Bethlehem, which no one thought about.  Listen to the prophesy, “And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah (apparently, everyone thought they were the least!); since from you shall come a ruler to shepherd my people Israel.”  By the way, do you know what the word “Bethlehem” literally means?  It means “house of bread,” which is perfect, because that’s where Jesus, the Bread of Life, would be born, where he who is “hardly a snack” would become the main course of the heavenly Banquet.  And here’s the third example from the gospel: Jesus comes as a tiny Baby, humble, vulnerable, insignificant and ignored, which is exactly how he would died.  You see, to us Americans all this would seem absurd, where's the red carpet, where's the glamor and glitz?  But that’s exactly how God prefers to act, and a careful reading of the Bible will show this is how he operates throughout the entire Scriptures.  For God, less is more, smaller is better and the weakest will rule the world.  Unlike us Americans, God doesn’t charge in with “shock and awe” but uses instruments that seem banal and boring, which most people miss: welcome to the Catholic Mass!  You see, that's why the Catholic Mass is banal and boring, and something most people miss!  Remember how full the church was at Christmas?  “Why do so many people insist on calling the Mass a banquet?  It hardly seems a snack to me!”

            Do you know what is the single greatest gripe that people have against God?  It’s that he doesn’t answer our prayers.  I bet you have complained about that; and so have I.  We ask for signs to know what to do, we ask for healing for cancer, we ask to pass a test or to get a job.  I ask for people to give more money in the collection!  And what do we hear from heaven?  Holy crickets chirping, in other words, nothing!  But is it because God ignores us or is too busy to bother, or worse, because he’s punishing us?  No, not at all.  He’s always answering our prayers – I believe he answers them even before we utter them – but we miss his answers.  Why?  Because we’re looking for shock and awe answers, but God give us a little Baby in Bethlehem.  We want a 9 course meal with a 72-ounce T-bone steak, but God sends us something that’s hardly a snack.  You see, our problem is we believe bigger is always better, but that’s not what God believes and that’s not how God behaves.  We have to recalibrate our Catholic sensibilities and see God working in small and subtle ways.  That’s the lesson the Feast of the Epiphany tries teaches us every year by directing our attention to a small star; that's how God works.  It’s a lesson we Americans have a long way to go to master.

            Several years before I arrived at Immaculate Conception, there was a parishioner here named Jack Shields.  Like several other faithful parishioners, Jack and his wife Jean attended daily Mass at 7 a.m. daily and devoutly, never missing daily Mass, rain or shine, sleet or snow.  He was so zealous about attending Mass every day that one day Msgr. Galvin, the former pastor, asked him, “Jack, why do you go so faithfully to daily Mass?”  Jack answered Msgr. Galvin, “Monsignor, I’m afraid to miss Mass.  I can’t live without the Eucharist, without receiving Jesus in Holy Communion every day.  Communion is everything to me.”  For some people the Bread of Communion is more important that life itself; because it is the Banquet of eternal life.  For other people the Bread of Communion is hardly a snack.  What is it for you?

            Praised be Jesus Christ!