SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT
Cycle “C”: Luke 3, 1- 6.
If we look closely at the ministry of John in today’s Gospel, we could understand that he was calling the people to pilgrimage: “he went through the whole Jordan district,” inviting them to leave the normal confines of their lives and go on pilgrimage to the river Jordan, and there discover repentance. John was drawing the crowds away from the Jewish Temple and the animal sacrifices. That was good news to those who flocked to him, namely, that God would forgive their sins by a simple decision to return to him and be baptised. There was no need of all those blood and fire sacrifices and long recital of psalms; just turn to God and welcome him into your lives.
“Make straight the paths.” St. Luke quotes a passage from the prophet Isaiah. In ancient Middle East, the roads were like those of Calcutta today. So when John the Baptist announced, “make straight the paths,” the people would have recognized the image of a king sending messengers ahead of his travels to improve the roads for him before his journey. During the actual tour, there was a large group of people just ahead of the king’s entourage sprinkling flowers and perfumes – something like the flower girls for a solemn Eucharistic procession. This was the role that John played for Jesus: he called people to repent so that they would be ready for the Lord when he came.
This Advent is yet another chance for us to prepare for the Lord’s coming. We recall his Incarnation, praying that he will enter more deeply into our hearts, and we look forward to his coming again in his glory. We want to remove habitual sins, straighten out what is crooked in us, smooth the harshness of our judgement in mind and word, and positively to spend more time with God. The process may be painful, but it is the only way to renewal, freedom and rejoicing.
The call of John is patterned on that of the Old Testament prophets (see Jer. 1,2). He is the last of the old dispensation, serving as a bridge to the new. He prepares the way of God that leads through Jesus in the messianic age. John the Baptist was certainly no man to mess around with. He is decidedly our unamused coach for this season when he commands: “prove your repentance by the fruit it bears.”
It takes real courage to admit that you are in the wrong. It’s an admission which everyone hates to make, and many of us avoid it at all costs. Such reluctance is the cause of untold conflict, resentment and suffering. Friends and families may become estranged from each other simply because they cannot acknowledge or confront the fact that they have done, or said, something which they regret. And estrangement can fester, and become mutated into hostility. The original fault may be trivial, but the consequences can be permanent, and quite out of proportion. It’s silly, really, because the root of the problem is pride, and a mistaken belief that if we admit we are wrong, others will see us as weak or imperfect. The truth is the exact opposite - most people can already see our weaknesses all too clearly; and to admit them is a sign of integrity and balance, if not actually of strength. C.S. Lewis said, “Joy is never in our power; but pleasure is.” So often, we opt for the shallow, short-term pleasure of having our own way, whereas we could experience the lasting joy of living in conformity with God’s plan for us. To opt for long-term joy rather than short-term pleasure. And we know we can rely on God’s help. God is not threatened by our sinfulness, but always responds with forgiveness and love.
Let me tell you the true story of Marianne. Marianne believed that her life was inferior, so her life bore the fruit of that belief. She had grown up on the wrong side of the tracks. All her life she was warned not to expect too much, because life was hard and unfair. For years she bore the fruit of that belief. She became a prostitute and drug addict, in and out of jail regularly. One day, while walking through a mall, she stole the wallet from another woman’s purse. It contained a few dollars, some credit cards and, among, other things, a small pamphlet. A sentence from the pamphlet caught her attention: “As a child of God, you are worthy of the best that life can offer.” Something strange began to happen to Marianne. All her cold, bitter attitude towards life and people began to melt. Those words had long been forgotten but not lost. She was surprised to feel the desperate need to return the wallet. Getting the number from the blank cheque in the wallet, she phoned the woman, explaining her fault and wanting to bring the wallet home to her immediately. To Marianne’s surprise, there was no anger in the woman’s voice, only understanding. When they met, the lady listened to her story with tender sympathy. She offered Marianne a job and helped her to believe in herself, and to trust and see good in others. Her tree of life was bearing another sweet kind of fruit.
My dear friends, pay close attention to what your heart tells. If you are working towards prosperity and harmony in life, make sure you truly believe you are worthy of having them. This inner conviction, coupled with action, may produce the fruit in life you so deeply desire.
PRAYER
Lord, help me to open my ears to your call, and to open my heart to your love, and show me how to remove the obstacles which I place between us.
God, our deliverer, whose approaching birth still shakes the foundations of our world, may we so wait for your coming with eagerness and hope that we embrace without terror the labour pangs of a new age. Amen.
St. Thomas’ Church
Sunday 6 December 2009
Cycle “C”: Luke 3, 1- 6.
If we look closely at the ministry of John in today’s Gospel, we could understand that he was calling the people to pilgrimage: “he went through the whole Jordan district,” inviting them to leave the normal confines of their lives and go on pilgrimage to the river Jordan, and there discover repentance. John was drawing the crowds away from the Jewish Temple and the animal sacrifices. That was good news to those who flocked to him, namely, that God would forgive their sins by a simple decision to return to him and be baptised. There was no need of all those blood and fire sacrifices and long recital of psalms; just turn to God and welcome him into your lives.
“Make straight the paths.” St. Luke quotes a passage from the prophet Isaiah. In ancient Middle East, the roads were like those of Calcutta today. So when John the Baptist announced, “make straight the paths,” the people would have recognized the image of a king sending messengers ahead of his travels to improve the roads for him before his journey. During the actual tour, there was a large group of people just ahead of the king’s entourage sprinkling flowers and perfumes – something like the flower girls for a solemn Eucharistic procession. This was the role that John played for Jesus: he called people to repent so that they would be ready for the Lord when he came.
This Advent is yet another chance for us to prepare for the Lord’s coming. We recall his Incarnation, praying that he will enter more deeply into our hearts, and we look forward to his coming again in his glory. We want to remove habitual sins, straighten out what is crooked in us, smooth the harshness of our judgement in mind and word, and positively to spend more time with God. The process may be painful, but it is the only way to renewal, freedom and rejoicing.
The call of John is patterned on that of the Old Testament prophets (see Jer. 1,2). He is the last of the old dispensation, serving as a bridge to the new. He prepares the way of God that leads through Jesus in the messianic age. John the Baptist was certainly no man to mess around with. He is decidedly our unamused coach for this season when he commands: “prove your repentance by the fruit it bears.”
It takes real courage to admit that you are in the wrong. It’s an admission which everyone hates to make, and many of us avoid it at all costs. Such reluctance is the cause of untold conflict, resentment and suffering. Friends and families may become estranged from each other simply because they cannot acknowledge or confront the fact that they have done, or said, something which they regret. And estrangement can fester, and become mutated into hostility. The original fault may be trivial, but the consequences can be permanent, and quite out of proportion. It’s silly, really, because the root of the problem is pride, and a mistaken belief that if we admit we are wrong, others will see us as weak or imperfect. The truth is the exact opposite - most people can already see our weaknesses all too clearly; and to admit them is a sign of integrity and balance, if not actually of strength. C.S. Lewis said, “Joy is never in our power; but pleasure is.” So often, we opt for the shallow, short-term pleasure of having our own way, whereas we could experience the lasting joy of living in conformity with God’s plan for us. To opt for long-term joy rather than short-term pleasure. And we know we can rely on God’s help. God is not threatened by our sinfulness, but always responds with forgiveness and love.
Let me tell you the true story of Marianne. Marianne believed that her life was inferior, so her life bore the fruit of that belief. She had grown up on the wrong side of the tracks. All her life she was warned not to expect too much, because life was hard and unfair. For years she bore the fruit of that belief. She became a prostitute and drug addict, in and out of jail regularly. One day, while walking through a mall, she stole the wallet from another woman’s purse. It contained a few dollars, some credit cards and, among, other things, a small pamphlet. A sentence from the pamphlet caught her attention: “As a child of God, you are worthy of the best that life can offer.” Something strange began to happen to Marianne. All her cold, bitter attitude towards life and people began to melt. Those words had long been forgotten but not lost. She was surprised to feel the desperate need to return the wallet. Getting the number from the blank cheque in the wallet, she phoned the woman, explaining her fault and wanting to bring the wallet home to her immediately. To Marianne’s surprise, there was no anger in the woman’s voice, only understanding. When they met, the lady listened to her story with tender sympathy. She offered Marianne a job and helped her to believe in herself, and to trust and see good in others. Her tree of life was bearing another sweet kind of fruit.
My dear friends, pay close attention to what your heart tells. If you are working towards prosperity and harmony in life, make sure you truly believe you are worthy of having them. This inner conviction, coupled with action, may produce the fruit in life you so deeply desire.
PRAYER
Lord, help me to open my ears to your call, and to open my heart to your love, and show me how to remove the obstacles which I place between us.
God, our deliverer, whose approaching birth still shakes the foundations of our world, may we so wait for your coming with eagerness and hope that we embrace without terror the labour pangs of a new age. Amen.
St. Thomas’ Church
Sunday 6 December 2009
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