Have you ever had a change of heart about what you believe in?
• I’m talking you use to be a die heart Penguins Fan and now you cheer on the Bruins
• I’m talking you use to be a fried chicken, fast food, cup cake for Breakfast (after all it’s a pastry) type of guy and now you are watching every calorie and reading the ingredients
• I'm talking you use to a part of a political party - and now you have switched sides
Have you ever had a change of heart about a person?
A dad - when their daughter brings that boyfriend home - and all you say to your self “over my dead body you are going to date my daughter”...but as you got to know him - now you can’t wait for the day you walk her down the isle.
A employee - you meet your boss - all he cares about is the bottom line, profit, profit, profit and you say to yourself - I can’t wait til retirement - and now, as you have seen him in action - you know compassion is really his bottom line and understanding rates on his balance sheet
If you ever have had that type of change of heart - you know how difficult it. Our heart goes into defense mode when someone tells us something we are not ready for - don’t tell me how to parent, how to work, how to change - don’t tell me who I need to love, be generous to, help out, talk to - let my heart do its thing ! Its tough to change your heart !
Have you ever had a change of heart about what you believe about God? Sometimes we have an idea of God -what He considers a sin & even how He thinks we should act; how we should worship God; how we should pray and how we should this or do that. Yet sometimes we need a change of heart - so how do we do that ?
During Advent - I would like us to look at that - why ? Because Christmas was a time of changing hearts - the baby in the manger - changed the hearts of Shepherds, the baby in that crib changed the hearts of Innkeeper, the babe of Bethlehem born in a way that surprised even the heart of Mary and Joseph about where the child would be born - changed the heart of a wise men and every Christmas - Christ wants to change your heart just a little bit - about a certain family member, about a friend, about society and even about ourselves and him. So be patient with me during Advent - because heart work is delict but its life saving - and in this case maybe even soul saving.
This past week our Holy Father – Pope Francis - wrote an Apostolic Exhortation “Evangelii Gaudium”, In it the Pope invites the reader to “recover the original freshness of the Gospel”, finding “new avenues” and “new paths of creativity”. He warns against “defeatism”, urging Christians to be signs of hope, bringing about a “revolution of tenderness”.
Change of Heart comes first as our Gospel (Matthew 24-37-44) reminds us by ‘Staying Awake”. By not falling asleep to need, by not falling asleep to caring, by not falling asleep to hurt, sadness, loneliness. As Pope Francis - wrote It is necessary to seek refuge from the “spirituality of well-being … detached from responsibility for our brothers and sisters”
How many of us as December begins - are getting ready for hectic lines, faster pace, busier schedules, tough times - I bet we have even set our hearts on it ! - yet ! - how many of us also know
someone close to home who could use some extra support, some extra love this time of year. There are people in our lives (coworkers, neighbors, extended family) who are tired, overwhelmed, stressed out, and lonely. How many lives and heart could we touch this Advent?
The first step to changing a heart - remember that Kindness Counts - three ways:
First, this Advent, If you know someone who’s lonely, take him out for coffee. If you know someone who’s stressed out, help them with a project or watch the kids for a few hours. If you know someone who’s down, bake him some cookies, send her a note, or invite him to church with you! As you do; fill in your act of kindness on the Kindness Counts Card - and hang it on our tree.
Second, back in September - remember the back packs we collected - 106 back packs of supplies. This Advent we wish to assemble “Heart Packs” - a simple set of small gifts which we invite you to bring (e.g. a toy, trinket, puzzle) and place in the large gift box in the Narthex of the Parish Centre and we will distribute to one of these 106 children in our parish schools and also some with Family and Children’s Services of Waterloo Region.
Third, Red Stocking Campaign. By taking and filling a Red Stocking with school supplies, we will ensure these are, with the help of Canadian Food fro Children, distributed to school in Africa and provide the school supplies they need for the full school year.
During this Advent - let’s make a difference in a new way! By changing Hearts - and lets’ begin with our own!