Homily
for December 10, 2017.
John the Baptist appeared in the
wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Mark
1:4.
Last Sunday, we began a new season in
the Church; the season of Advent; a time of vigilant preparation for the coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ. If you recall, last Sunday we heard Jesus saying: “Watch
therefore for you do not know when the Master of the house will come.”
As we noted last Sunday, to be
vigilant is to be alert in the spirit; alert to temptations, alert to spiritual
laziness. Today, being the Second Sunday of Advent, we are taking a step
further in our drive to prepare for the coming of our Lord Jesus. This time
around, our focus is not so much on vigilance but on REPENTANCE.
Today, we are called upon to look inwards
and carry out a proper sanitization exercise; to clean up our hearts and throw
out those things that are foul and smelling. Today we are called to prepare a
way for the Lord; that is, to remove anything that will act as an obstacle to
Jesus’ coming.
The prophet Isaiah says: “Every
valley shall be lifted up and every mountain and hill shall be made low, the
uneven ground shall become level and the rough places shall be made plain.”
Now, Isaiah is not asking us to get bulldozers and earth-moving vehicles for
road construction, he is talking about the roads of our heart.
The valleys to be lifted up represent
the good things we ought to do that we often fail, the valleys are those
opportunities are have to perform charity, to help the needy, to volunteer for
the sake of others and we refused. Today we are called to repent.
The mountains and hills to be made low
are those bad habits of ours, our sinful inclinations and evil deeds, even our
bad thoughts that have occupied so much space in our hearts thereby making it inhabitable
for God. Has sin become a mountain in my life? Am I sleeping with a person who
is not yet married to me or who is not my spouse? Do I feast on pornography as
a means of sexual gratification? Do I indulge in stealing, telling of lies and
so on in my business? These are mountains and hills that must be removed! Repentance
is the key.
The uneven ground and rough places
represent a kind of prayer life that is not consistent; a prayer life that is
there today and absent tomorrow; a prayer life that is only active when we are
in difficulty. Prayer should be constant; prayer is a relationship; prayer not
only brings us closer to God, it brings God closer to us. As St. Peter advises
us in our second reading: “what sort of persons ought you to be in lives of
holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God.”
2 Peter 3:11-12.
Coming down to our Gospel passage, we
are presented with the powerful figure of John the Baptist, the true icon of
the Advent Season; the voice which Isaiah prophesied about that would cry in
the wilderness; the no-nonsense person who not only spoke the raw truth but
lived out the life and died for the truth.
In the coming days, we shall be
hearing more about this great man John the Baptist and in our preparation for
Christmas, there are many lessons to learn from him.
One; John the Baptist teaches us to
repent and ask for forgiveness of sin. Mark tells us that all the country of
Judea and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him and were baptized by him
in the river Jordan confessing their sins. Indeed, the best preparation we can
have for Christmas is to go for confession; not for the sake of going but with
a genuine resolve never to go back to our sins again.
Two; John the Baptist lived a life of
asceticism. We are told that he was “clothed with camel’s hair and had a
leather girdle around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey.” The lifestyle
of John the Baptist clearly show how we should treat worldly things. No wonder
our opening prayer at mass this morning says: “may no earthly undertaking
hinder those who set out in haste to meet your son.” Dear friends, Christmas is
not a time for us to get engrossed in worldliness, it is a time to focus on
Jesus.
Thirdly; John the Baptist was quick
to draw attention away from himself. He said: “After me comes he who is
mightier than I, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” Dear
friends, everything we do during this season should point to Jesus Christ. Don’t
just hang decorations in your house, let the picture of Jesus be big and bold. What
is the essence of putting lights everywhere and buying expensive Christmas tree
if Jesus himself is nowhere to be found? This is a time to promote Jesus not
Santa Claus. This is a time worship God not decorations and lights!
Let us pray:
Lord Jesus, create in me a pure heart, renew my spirit. Amen.
*Happy
Sunday. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless
you. (Third Sunday of Advent. Bible Study: Isaiah 40:1-11, 2nd Peter
3:8-14 and Mark 1:1-8).*
Fr. Abu.
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