Homily for 2nd Sunday of Advent Year C 2016-2017
Isaiah 11:1-10; Romans 15:4-9; Matthew 3:1-12
Introduction
Getting ready for a guest often requires
serious preparation. Just think of all
the slaving you had to when you hosted the family for Thanksgiving Dinner. There is the tidying up, getting fresh linens
and towels, and of course preparing a good meal. And the more important the guest, the more
involved is our preparation.
Scripture and Theology
No wonder then that the First Coming of
God's Son into the world required serious preparations. God sent John the Baptist as that voice
crying out in the desert, "Prepare
the way of the Lord, make straight his paths." John's whole ministry was to prepare the
people for the arrival of the Messiah.
But how would they prepare the way for the
Lord? How would they make straight his
paths? St. John tells them: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
Repenting means turning around, like the
military or boy scout command "about-turn" or "about-face." It is a 180 degree change of direction, a
complete reversal of orientation. John
is asking people to turn from sin back to God.
For them repenting means returning to the ten commandments of God, putting
God first above all else, treating each other with love. That is how to prepare for the coming of the
Messiah.
In addition, because human beings always need
signs to show what is happening inside them, John invited those who were
repenting, to come to him for baptism.
This ritual of immersion in water would serve as a visible sign that
they had repented, had turned from a life of sin back to God. And as we heard in the gospel, many people
"were going out to him and were
being baptized."
But when the Pharisees and Sadducees came
for John's baptism, for this sign of repentance, he turned them away. He said: “You
brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee
from the coming wrath?” Why is John
denying them a chance to prepare themselves for the Messiah? It seems that they came to be baptised, only because
they wanted to be seen doing something righteous by the people, but inside
there was no real conversion, no real about-turn. They came to be cleaned externally with the
water; but their hearts internally were still very dirty.
But the kind of preparation for the Messiah
that John wants involves real changes in one's life. That is why he challenges the Pharisees and
Sadducees saying: “Produce good fruit as
evidence of your repentance! . . . [for] every tree that does not bear good
fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” In other words, before you come to this
religious ritual called baptism, there must be a change in your heart. And after you live this ritual of baptism,
there must be a change in the way you live your life, living it in virtue and
charity. And so, preparing for the Lord requires
two services: the religious service of baptism but also service to one another
in our daily lives. By coming to John
for baptism, the Pharisees and Scribes had done first, but had nothing to show
for the second.
Moreover, John the Baptist tells the people
that what he is asking for is rather low hanging fruit; when the Messiah comes
much more will be expected. We can think
of John’s baptism as being the hors d'oeuvres, the anti-pasti, the appetizers,
preparing for the main course, which is being served by Jesus himself, when he
sets the Kingdom of God in motion. That
is why John says: “I am baptizing you
with water, for repentance. But the one who is coming after me is mightier
than I. I am not worthy to carry his
sandals."
And then John goes on to say:
·
"He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." The Holy Spirit will bring you forgiveness
and the fire will burn away any sins that remain, a painful experience you would
want to avoid by being ready now.
·
John goes on to say of the
Messiah: "His winnowing fan is in
his hand." For those who did
not grow up in the country, a winnowing fan is an implement used to separate
the grain from the chaff. John says that
when the Messiah comes, that is exactly what he will do, separate the good from
the evil, the virtuous from the sinful.
·
And John concludes: "He will clear his threshing floor and gather
his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” In other words, he will gather those who have
repented and turned towards him into his Kingdom and will dispatch those who
refuse to hell.
And so, seen in this light, we can
understand why John the Baptist is not mincing his words at all when he says: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
Christian Life
John's words were meant to prepare for the
people of Israel for the First Coming of the Messiah. That same message also helps us during this
season of Advent to prepare us for the Second Coming. For us it is no longer: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” For us the message
is: “[Repent], for the kingdom the
kingdom of God is among you” (Lk. 17:21). Jesus Christ by his life,
death and resurrection has already set the Kingdom in motion and is bringing it
to fruition through the Church. We had
better be ready, be already turned around from sin to God, from vice to virtue
when the Kingdom is finally fulfilled. Although
we do this preparation throughout the year, Advent is a special dress rehearsal
of preparation for the Second and final coming of the Lord.
Let me offer three steps we can take to help
us repent as we wait for the Lord's Second coming: interior conversion, the
sacraments, a life of virtue.
First, we must repent interiorly within our
hearts and minds. After making an examination
of conscience and taking stock of our relationship with God we might say to
ourselves, "I really must get rid of this habit; why I am doing this? There are many resources that can help us to
reach this point, but reading the Word of God often convicts us into turning
around towards him; so does listening to our ministers, our friends, our family. When with God's help we have searched our
lives and reached the decision to change, we are ready for the second step.
For the people of Israel that second step
was the ritual of John's baptism; for us
it is the all the sacraments, but especially the Sacrament of Penance and the
Eucharist. These religious services or
rituals are not empty signs. They are
the means through which God gives us his divine help, his forgiveness, his
mercy. They are also the means through
which we tell God that we are committed to being faithful to him. And because we shall come to the sacraments,
after making that interior change in our hearts, we can be sure that we will
not be driven away like John did to the Pharisees.
The third step in repenting is returning
from the sacraments ready to produce good fruit in our daily lives, something
that the Pharisees and Sadducees failed to do.
After confession the priest often gives us a penance: a prayer to say, a
bible passage to read, or an action to perform.
These penances are meant to help us remain on the straight and narrow
path, producing good fruit. Even at the
end of Mass, the priest sends us forth saying: “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.” This too is an invitation to continue showing
our repentance by living a life worthy of the Word and the sacraments we have
celebrated.
Conclusion
Advent might not be as glamorous as
Christmas or Easter, since it is essentially a time of waiting. But Advent should not be a wasted or boring
waiting, a complacent or lazy waiting.
Let this Advent be for all of us a busy time of putting our house in
order, tidying up a little for the arrival of the greatest guest ever: not only
the newborn Jesus we celebrate at Christmas, but also the Risen Lord when he
finally comes to us claim us for God.
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