Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Fourth Sunday of Advent (Cars)

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I consider myself to be very blessed. If there was ever an example of God’s mercy and generosity, it would have to be me. I have a wonderful wife and four great kids, I’m not rich, but I certainly have more than enough to provide for my family. I’m in reasonably good health, but I’ve been blessed with enough health problems that I can appreciate what I have and relate to people who aren’t so fortunate.

One gift that I particularly appreciate is the faculty to preach. I’m not saying anything about skill or ability. I think the jury’s still out on that. I’m just talking about permission. God, in His infinite wisdom, through His Church and the local ordinary, has given me permission to stand up here and talk to you. Some of you may be thinking that God wasn’t having His best day when He made that call. I think that sometimes myself. But it’s been a great gift to me.

Father Gary and Deacon Mike have a wonderful ability to interpret scripture. Their experience and education, along with their skill as speakers is obvious. But, that’s not me. I’m more of a story teller. That’s where I see the gift. The pressure to come up with homilies on a regular basis forces me to look for God in places I would have never looked before. I see things that I would have missed. It really is a gift.


For example, have you seen the movie “Cars”? “Cars” is a Disney/Pixar cartoon movie where all the characters are cars. There are no human beings in it at all. The star of the movie is a race car named Lightning McQueen. He’s on his way to California for the most important race of his life when he gets lost and ends up in the town of Radiator Springs. Radiator Springs is a town on Route 66 that’s been pretty much abandoned since the interstate passed it by forty years ago.

Lightning gets caught speeding by the local sheriff and his sentence is to repave the old highway as it runs through town.

Like a lot of the best animated movies, “Cars” works on a lot of levels. For the kids, it’s a great cartoon. There are funny characters, lots of sight gags, great voices, and plenty of action. And, whether they realize it or not, there are some good life lessons in the movie.

The hot-shot race car has no friends because everything in his life is about him. He lost his last race because he fired his crew chief and wouldn’t listen when his pit crew told him he needed new tires. When he ends up in Radiator Springs, he sees the town’s people, or rather the town’s cars, as beneath him. All he wants to do is finish his community service and get out of there so he can make it to his big race.

Of course, in the end, he falls for the girl car, and makes friends with all the other cars. Lots of good lessons for the kids.

For the adults, there’s a lot of clever dialogue and references to things we recognize. The actors who play the race cars are almost all real-life race car drivers. The TV announcers, Bob Cutlass and Darrell Cartrip are played by Bob Costas and Darrell Waltrip. George Carlin plays the hippie VW mini bus and Paul Newman is the wise old retired race car, the Hudson Hornet.

All of the buildings and characters in Radiator Springs are based on real locations and people that the director met while traveling Route 66.

If you happened to grow up in this part of the country in the ‘50s and the ‘60s you can’t help but be a little sad for the cars and the town of Radiator Springs. _______________________________________________________________
So, you’re probably wondering what any of this has to do with the 4th Sunday of Advent. Bear with me for a couple of minutes and you’ll see.

In the first reading today, the prophet Micah tells the people of Israel that their time is coming. From the small town of Bethlehem will come a ruler, one who “shall stand firm and shepherd his flock by the strength of the LORD.” And so, they wait……and wait…….and wait some more. In fact, our Jewish brothers and sisters are still waiting.

Of course, we know what happened when he finally did come. Some recognized him. Some didn’t. Wasn’t He the carpenter’s son? How could he be the One? How could he be a king if he didn’t have a castle? This guy didn’t even have a house. His “army” was twelve guys and a few women. Some king!

Which brings me back to “Cars”. The residents of Radiator Springs have been waiting for nearly half a century. That’s a long time in car years. They’re convinced that someone or something is going to bring the tourists back and save their town.

Take a drive down old Highway 66 sometime and you’ll see the real-life evidence of what happened to a lot of towns in that 2,000 mile stretch of road between Chicago and Los Angeles. Drive past some of the abandoned filling stations and boarded-up motels in little towns like Villa Ridge and Gray Summit and you’ll know that it would take a miracle for the tourists to come back.

But Radiator Springs is waiting. They’ve been practicing their hospitality so they’ll be ready when the time comes. But surely Lightning McQueen the race car isn’t the one to save the town. It never even enters their minds. The only way he’s going to help the town is by repaving the highway. When he finishes, he’ll be gone and they’ll continue to wait.

Maybe it’s a bit of a stretch to read a Messianic message into a Disney cartoon, but as we finish this abbreviated Advent Season of preparation for the Lord’s coming I think we can learn something from the animated citizens of Radiator Springs.

First, they’re incredibly optimistic. Highway 66 is a memory. The visitors are gone. Any reasonable person (or car) would argue that they’re never coming back. But they have faith. Two weeks ago Mike Coppage wondered in his homily how many of us get up every morning and think that today might be the day that the Lord returns in glory. The answer is “not many”.

But the cars believe every day that today’s the day. We should have so much faith.

Second, they’re prepared. They keep their town neat and clean and they actually practice what they’re going to say and do when the visitors arrive.
[pause]
In just a matter of hours, we’ll begin our celebration of the birth of the Lord. Advent is short this year. Today is the first day of the fourth week. It’s also the last day of the fourth week. It really went by fast, didn’t it? But we’ve still had time to prepare for the Lord’s coming. Unlike the four-wheeled residents of Radiator Springs, we know for a fact that December 25 is the day. Hopefully we’re all ready.

When I say I hope we’re ready, I’m not talking about shopping, or wrapping presents. I’m not talking about baking cookies or cleaning the house. I’m talking about being prepared to celebrate the single most significant day in history. The day the Almighty God chose to be born in a stable, to become one of us, so we could be saved from ourselves and have the chance to spend eternity in paradise.

Advent and Christmas celebrate Christ’s first coming. We also know He’ll come again. We know it because He said so. It's our profession of faith. "Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again." He also said that we won’t know when to expect Him. Our preparation during Advent for the celebration of Christ’s birth shouldn’t really be any different from our preparation every day of our lives for His return. Like the cars in the movie, we’d better be on our best behavior every single day.