St. Mychal Judge Church (Dallas, TX)
The Liberal Catholic Church

Deus erat Verbum

A homily delivered December, 2003
St Clement, Frisco TX
Rev. Wynn Wagner

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. A man named John was sent from God. He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came to be through him, but the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, but his own people 7 did not accept him. But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by a man's decision but of God. And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth.

-- John 1:1-14 [NAB]

in principio erat verbum, et verbum erat apud deum, et deus erat verbum. hoc erat in principio apud deum. omnia per ipsum facta sunt: et sine ipso factum est nihil, quod factum est: in ipso vita erat, et vita erat lux hominum: et lux in tenebris lucet, et tenebrae eam non comprehenderunt. fuit homo missus a deo, cui nomen erat loannes. hic venit in testimonium, ut testimonium perhiberet de lumine, ut omnes crederent per illum. non erat ille lux, sed ut testimonium perhiberet de lumine. erat lux vera, quae illuminat omnem hominem venientem in hunc mundum. in mundo erat, et mundus per ipsum factus est, et mundus eum non cognovit. in propria venit, et sui eum non receperunt. quotquot autem receperunt eum, dedit eis potestatem filios dei fieri, his, qui credunt in nomine eius: qui non ex sanguinibus, neque ex voluntate carnis, neque ex voluntate viri, sed ex deo nati sunt. et verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in nobis: et vidimus gloriam eius, gloriam quasi unigeniti a patre, plenum gratiae et veritatis.

-- iohannem 1, 1-14 [Vulgate]

December 25. Jesus was a Capricorn. So am I.

Bumper sticker: God loves calories. She made so many of them.

Christmas has always been a dicy feast for Christians. Even today, I sometimes hear things like "We have to remember the original meaning of Christmas." And I always think: "Oh, the feast of the god Mithras? Or, the Winter Solstice?" Celebrating something religious at this time of year has been done for a lot longer than 2000 years.

I can tell you that the things we call Nativity items with a crib. Those were first done by St. Francis of Assisi. He got some of his brothers to build the first Nativity figures three years before he died. It was the Friars that carried Nativity images throughout the world.

It was St. Francis who gave life to Christmas songs. Before him, all the songs about Christmas were slow and solemn. I can just see St. Francis: "Cheer up, people. Go tell it on the mountain."

Around the reformation, CHristmas was suppressed. Some Protestants -- especially the Pilgrims -- thought we should remember the crucifixion, not the nativity. In Scotland and England, celebrating Christmas was against the law. It was so bad for Catholics that they all memorized a song with church teachings in code. You may know the words:

did you know a partridge will feign injury to lure predators away from the young?
2 turtle doves: the 2 halves of the Bible.
3 French hens are what we're supposed to do: faith, hope, and charity.
4 calling birds are the calling writers of the 4 gospels.
5 golden rings are the first books of the old testament.
6 geese a-laying, the eggs of the world: the 6 days of creation.
7 swans a swimming: the 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit.
8 maids a milking: the 8 beatitudes.
9 ladies dancing are the 9 choirs of angels.
10 lords are the 10 commandments.
11 pipers are the apostles, minus Judas
12 drummers are the 12 main points in the Creed.

My deepest wish is that nobody in this room will ever do anything or say anything that will make another person go to such lengths to be faithful to their beliefs.

Okay, the gospel: John 1:1-14. The Roman church likes this passage so much that it was included as the Second Gospel at the end of every Mass said in Latin, except during Lent. The practice started a long time ago. It became the rule in the mid-1500s, and it was repeated at the end of each Mass said until the 1960s.

The Last Gospel is also said at Liberal Catholic Masses when it is said in Latin.

Those who went before us and strung all these passages together felt it is important enough to repeat over and over and over. I think we have to take this passage seriously...

In principio erat Verbum.	In the beginning was the Word.
et Verbum erat apud Deum,	And the Word was with God,
et Deus erat Verbum.	And God was the Word.

Latin from the church, by the way, isn't formal. The Latin Bible is called The Vulgate, meaning it uses vulgar Latin -- common Latin -- the language of the people. This is not Latin full of "thee" or "thou" or "wouldst" -- it is plain and simple.

This first part of the Gospel of John does't say God spoke the Word. It doesn't say that anyone spoke the word.

This could be a passage from a Zen Buddhist master: do, don't say...

et Deus erat Verbum.

And God was the Word.

And in reply, we respond with the prayer of the Eucharist. We have done this as our reply for 2-thousand years, and that's about 150-thousand Sundays. Week after week, sometimes daily (which is about 750-thousand days) of doing this.

In reply, we do the Eucharist. We make Mass. We...

What word do you use about Mass? Many say they hear Mass or go to Mass. Some say they say Mass. In the early days of the Church, the common word was make or do Mass. The idea isn't speech: not words nor hearing. It isn't passive. It is active: it's something we do.

We pray this prayer of the holy Mass when a king is crowned or a president takes office. We pray this prayer for a criminal to be executed... we pray it in joy when two lovers become a couple and in sadness when one of those two dies. We offer up this Eucharistic prayer in thanks for getting something special... and in anguish as we struggle to cope with a loss.

It is a kind of liturgical Swiss Army Knife. No other single liturgy fits so many purposes: we pray the Eucharist to celebrate a son for a barren woman... in the Colosseum hearing the roar of lions for the forgiveness those about to kill us... for Columbus about to set sail from Portugal for the first time... and for astronauts when the space shuttle named after Columbus exploded over Dallas.

We make the Eucharist to remember the Nativity of Jesus. Today, we pray it remembering this past year... and we pray in hope for the next.

We pray this prayer to ask for help... to say thanks. Everywhere on earth and for every reason you can think of.

What's more: it fit, whether the words are Latin or English or Spanish or Tagalog. This Word is the word done, not spoken.

We pray Mass for all our occasions: joyous and sad... wondrous and plaintive... by every race and on every continent... for every reason from infancy and before to old age and afterwards.

In principio erat Verbum.	In the beginning was the Word.
et Verbum erat apud Deum,	And the Word was with God,
et Deus erat Verbum.	And God was the Word.

And by this Blessed Sacrament, we are the response.