Bible
Study: Baruch 5, 1 to 9. Philippians 1,
4 to 11. And Luke 3, 1 to 6.
Today is
the Second Sunday of Advent, Christmas is nearer to us now than ever before.
Preparations are now in full gear, everything is on the way. I can see some
Christmas decorations already coming up and extra lights even in our streets. As
you would agree with me, if all we do to prepare for Christmas are merely
physical and material, Christmas may come and go like any other day with no
extra hour but that we may have the very best Christmas ever, the church today
presents us with character of John the Baptist and his great voice crying out
in the desert: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every
valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low, and
the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; and
all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” Luke 3, 4 to 6.
The words
of John the Baptist today not only come as a fulfilment to the words of Baruch
which we find in the first reading, they also highlight the steps we must take
to have a spiritually fulfilling Christmas where the baby Jesus himself is born
again in our hearts and lives.
STEP ONE: Prepare the way of the
Lord, make his paths straight.
Is there a
way to invite Jesus into your heart? What can you do to make Jesus a permanent
guest in your home? Are there certain books, movies, pictures or magazines in
your house that would be unwholesome for Jesus? Why not take them out today and
replace them with those that would draw your mind and attention solely to
Jesus!
Remember,
Jesus himself said in Matthew 18, verse 20: “For where two or three are
gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” How often do you gather
your family around to pray? What has happened to joint and community prayer in
our homes, and neighbourhoods? Do you really want to prepare a way for Jesus to
come, then this is the time to intensify your prayer life. You cannot be
keeping malice with someone and still expect the person to come and visit you
and stay with you. It doesn’t work that way. If you really want to have the
best Christmas ever, then this is a time to withdraw like John the Baptist to a
desert for prayers. This is a time to renew our commitment to a deeper
relationship with God.
Preparing
a way for the baby Jesus entails that we strengthen our Love for one another.
Nothing attracts God as much as love. Where there is true love, there is God.
And God never stops working great wonders in and environment of love. This is
why St. Paul prays for us in the second reading saying: “And it is my prayer
that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so
that you may approve what is excellent, and may be pure and blameless for the
day of Christ, Philippians 1, 9 to 10.
The
opposite of Love is hatred and when there is hate, bitterness, anger and
sadness in our hearts, we literally drive God away from our presence or let me
put it this way, when there is hate, bitterness and animosity in our hearts, we
literally drive ourselves way from God and right into the devil’s arms. The
difference between hell and heaven is that those in hell have been hurt and
they allowed the pain in their hearts stay for so long that it has become a
flame burning their whole bodies while those in heaven have been hurt but
because they forgave, they no longer remember the pain in their hearts and are
forever in a state of blissfulness.
As we
celebrate the Jubilee year of mercy, this is a time for us to practice the
works of mercy, chief amongst which is FORGIVENESS. Christ cannot live in a
heart that is merciless. Christ cannot be born into a heart that never
forgives, a heart that continues to recant the past misdeeds of others, a heart
that seeks for revenge, a heart that cannot let go. Unforgiveness is like
holding certain people as captives in your heart and by so doing turning your
heart into a prison where you yourself as the jailer is also forced to live
according to prison conditions. Christ cannot enter into a prison-heart. Free
the prisoners today and I bet you, this would be your best Christmas ever.
STEP TWO: Every Valley shall be filled.
A valley
is as symbol of lack. It is space that needs to be covered. The valleys in our
lives are those virtues that we ought to have developed but are still lacking.
Our valleys represent our dark sides, our secret thoughts and emotions which
are always hidden under the shadows of the surrounding hills. These are those
things that people are not aware about us, our bad habits, our hidden faults
and vices. Our valleys are those dangerous pot-holes in our character that
people do not see immediately until they drive into it and end up damaging
their cars.
We know
where our valleys are located. We know those things we like to do in secret
away from the view and knowledge of others, we know that these are the very things
that get exposed if Christ who is himself light should come into our hearts.
Jesus himself pointed out to Nicodemus: “And this is the judgment, that the
light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because
their deeds were evil. For every one who does evil hates the light, and does
not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does what
is true comes to the light, that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have
been wrought in God.” John 3, 19 to 21.
Do you
have a valley in your life? A secret sinful relationship you are keeping? Are
there things you are aware of which you know you would not like to be said
about you on National Television? Why not fill up that valley today. Why not
drop that vice, that bad habit, that evil deed known to you alone and just
allow the light of Christ shine through?
STEP THREE: Every Mountain and Hill
Shall be Brought Low.
While
valleys may represent those hidden secrets we keep, mountains and hills
represent those that we like to show. The sin of Pride readily come in here as
a primary example of mountains in our lives. When we carry ourselves like gods
and refuse to stoop down to the needs of people suffering around us, we become
mountains (that is, stumbling blocks), even to ourselves and we are unable to welcome
Christ into our lives. When we consider certain human beings as less than
nothing in our sight simply because they do not have as much as we do or
because we stand to gain nothing from them, we are turning ourselves into
mountains.
True
worship of God requires humility. To worship God is to acknowledge that one
cannot survive on his or her own. To worship God entails that we understand our
dependency on God. It is not for us to give God instructions in the name of
prayer and get angry with him when he refuses to run our errands or when we do
not see immediate results. According to book of proverbs: “Pride goes before
destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. It is better to be of a lowly
spirit with the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud.” Proverbs 16, 18
to 19.
STEP FOUR: And the Crooked Shall Be
Made Straight, and the Rough Ways Shall Be Made Smooth.
The cooked
ways and rough ways in our lives are our acts of deception and lies. Our refusal
to be straightforward and sincere. The best preparation for Christmas my dear
friends is to resolve right here and right now that never more will you ever
tell a lie! The best preparation for Christmas my dear friends is to resolve
right here and right now that never more will you ever tell a lie! The best
preparation for Christmas my dear friends is to resolve right here and right
now that never more will you ever tell a lie!
As a
result of telling lies, some of us have become so cooked that we have made our
hearts totally inhabitable to Jesus who is himself the prince of truth. Do you
know that God hates lies? With every lie we tell, we actually reject him and
align with Satan, the prince of liars. In John 8, 44 Jesus drives home a very
strong point that should serve as an antidote to telling of lies. He said: “You
are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He
was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth,
because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own
nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
FINALLY: Rejoice and Be Happy.
The
natural outcome of a proper preparation for Christmas following these four
steps above is joy. Try it out and see. Prepare a way for Jesus in your heart,
cover up the valleys, bring down the mountains, straighten he crooked lines and
there is no way you will not be happy. Only a heart that truly receives Christ
understands what it means to be happy. The happiness that the world offers is
fake, short lived and very expensive but that of Christ is real, free and
always available.
Let us
Pray:
Lord
Jesus, may I truly and fully prepare for your coming that this Christmas may be
the very best I have ever had. May your incarnation become real in my life and
like Mary, may I become pregnant of you and deliver you to the world by my
exemplary character. Amen.
Good morning.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. Happy Sunday.
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