December 2, 2011
The Second Half
Delivering the message
BY DEACON JIM AND ANN CAVERA
We prepared for Advent by doing something different this year. While hordes of people pounded the pavement looking for sales, Jim installed a new mailbox by the curb in front of our house. When we moved in, we inherited a mailbox that had peeling black paint and thin wrought iron support posts that were permanently bent at a 45 degree angle. Our postman has been delivering mail in this neighborhood for 30 years. He said because of the curve of our lot, the mailbox has often been hit by cars and snowplows. “I just reach down and pull it up,” he said. By the end of the weekend we had a new, upright, sturdy box with a post supported in a concrete base. It is important that bills arrive safely, but it is the precious cards and letters from family and friends we most want to protect.
Isaiah and John both delivered messages in spite of danger to their lives. Isaiah’s image of the gentle shepherd carrying lambs and feeding flocks was far removed from the precarious lives of God’s people who were often conquered and beaten. By the grace of God, Isaiah’s message survived and was followed by John the Baptist calling people to prepare for the coming of Christ. Today, John is still urging us to change the way we live and make room in our hearts for Jesus.
Over the weekend, we watched the news of shoppers bursting through doors to be the first to get great deals on TVs, games, cameras and other electronic gadgets. One woman even used pepper spray against other shoppers to make sure she walked away with the prize. If the Internet is a reflection of what humanity is thinking, things get even more out of hand. “You Tube” has 1,050,000 videos available under the word “Christmas.” Of the first 26 presented, only four have anything to do with Christ. Under the listing for “prophecy” You Tube offers 279,000 videos. Mostly, the titles are devoted to dire predictions for the end of the world with little hope for any of us.
Both Isaiah and John brought messages of hope in hopeless times. They were bearers of the news that how we respond to God’s message makes a difference. This Advent we must stand our ground, refuse to join the stampede at the mall and ignore the multitude of voices leading us away from Christ. This season, regardless of what goes on around us, we must choose to continue to bear the message of hope in Christ.
For us, this season is both an ending and a new beginning. We began writing “The Second Half” during the years we were taking care of elderly parents. Through our children leaving home, getting married and the birth of our grandchildren, you have allowed us to share our hearts and our lives. For more than 14 years our readers have been our friends and companions. Now, we have decided that our Christmas column this year will be our final column. The best reason we can offer is that we are being called to work in new fields. Meanwhile, this Advent, through “The Second Half” we continue to travel with you. Together we will continue to protect and deliver God’s message of peace and hope.
Deacon Jim and Ann Cavera are former residents of Evansville; their award-winning column is a regular feature of the Message. Contact them at www.catholicseniorspirit.com.