CHRISTMAS I-A, December 30, 2007

The old Roman Catholic Mass, when it was said in Latin, used to end with the reading of the beginning of St. John’s Gospel -- the passage we just heard. It was called "The Last Gospel" as opposed to the Gospel that was read during the first part of the Mass. When the liturgy was redone and the Mass was allowed to be said in the vernacular, in English in this country, they dropped the Last Gospel. To be honest, I don’t remember why the Last Gospel was in the Mass in the first place and I don’t remember the reasons for dropping it, in the second place.

I think the last Gospel was incorporated into the Mass centuries ago because it was and is a constant reminder that God comes among us daily, that God did not come among us just at that first Christmas and stay among us until Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension. No, it was a reminder that Jesus comes among us every day of our lives in no less a way as he came among us at that first Christmas.

And I think the important word in all this is the word "coming." Jesus is coming among us. When we left Mass way back then, the Last Gospel was sort of a reminder that when we went out the door of the church, we should be prepared to meet Jesus. He would be coming among us sometime that day. So be prepared. We would not know how he would come among us, or where, or when, but we could be sure that he would.

Now, I will be honest. This is simply my interpretation of why the Last Gospel was put in at the end of the Mass. Take it for what it’s worth. But let me press my point. I think this Gospel reading, whether it is the Last Gospel or simply John Chapter one, versus one to fourteen, is a reminder that God is always coming among us, sometimes when we least expect it. And what we are supposed to do is be prepared to be surprised by God’s appearance.

I heard a cute story not too long ago that, in its own way, speaks to what I am talking about. It’s called "The Fork" and it goes like this. There was a woman who had been given three months to live. Her doctor told her to start making preparations to die (something we all should be doing all of the time.)

So she contacted her pastor and had him come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes. She told him which songs she wanted sung at the service, what scriptures she would like read, and what she wanted to be wearing. The woman also told her pastor that she wanted to be buried with her favorite bible. Everything was in order and the pastor was preparing to leave when the woman suddenly remembered something very important to her.

"Oh, there's one more thing" she said excitedly. "What's that?" came the pastor's reply. "This is very important" The woman continued. "I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand." The pastor stood looking at the woman not knowing quite what to say. "That shocks you doesn't it?" The woman asked. "Well to be honest, I'm puzzled by the request," said the pastor.

The woman explained. "In all my years of attending church socials and functions where food was involved my favorite part was when whoever was clearing away the dishes of the main course would lean over and say 'you can keep your fork.' It was my favorite part because I knew that something better was coming. When they told me to keep my fork I knew that something great was about to be given to me. It wasn't Jell-O or pudding. It was cake or pie. Something with substance. So I just want people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my hand and I want them to wonder 'What's with the fork?' Then I want you to tell them, ‘Something better is coming, so keep your fork, too.'"

The pastor's eyes were welled up with tears of joy as he hugged the woman good-bye. He knew this would be one of the last times he would see her before her death. But he also knew that that woman had a better grasp of heaven than he did. She KNEW that something better was coming.

At the funeral people were walking by the woman's casket and they saw the pretty dress she was wearing and her favorite bible and the fork placed in her right hand. Over and over the pastor heard the question "What's with the fork?" And over and over he smiled. During his message the pastor told the people of the conversation he had with the woman shortly before she died. He also told them about the fork and about what it symbolized to her.

The pastor told the people how he could not stop thinking about the fork and told them that they probably would not be able to stop thinking about it either. He was right. So the next time you reach down for your fork, let it remind you oh so gently that there is something better coming.

I love the story. But to me it is a reminder not just that something better is coming when we die. It is also a reminder, as is the Last Gospel, that something better is coming while we are very much alive. Our reward will not only be great in heaven. We will not only encounter Jesus in heaven. We will meet him and greet him here on earth, in this life. The Last Gospel is a reminder, like that fork, that dessert is coming.

It is more than that, of course. There is more to the Last Gospel than the reminder that we will find heaven on earth as well as heaven in heaven. It is more than a reminder that we will encounter Jesus whenever and wherever we least expect to. But it is all that, too.

Since we don’t hear this Gospel but once every three years rather than every Sunday or even every day, let that story of the fork be our reminder. Every time we pick up a fork, perhaps we can remember that something good is coming, that God is coming into our lives, that God comes into our lives everyday, some how in some way. And then let us be thankful.