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2nd Sunday of Advent homily

Fr. Michael MachacekNativity of Our LordDecember 5, 2021
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today's readings are Baruch 5: 19; Psalm 126; Phil. 1: 3-6, 8-11; and Lk. 3: 1-6

Every year, on the 2nd Sunday of Advent, we are reintroduced to one of my favourite Biblical figures – John the Baptist – the wild man of the desert – the last in the line of the prophets in the Bible.

Now St. Luke, being the good historian that he was, begins our gospel by situating the Baptist amongst both the civil and religious leaders of those days. With all the clues provided by St. Luke, historians have determined that the Baptist began his ministry in the year 28 A.D., give or take a year. The one thing that we are not sure of is how long John carried out his ministry before he was imprisoned by King Herod. However, St. Luke is very clear about the purpose of John's ministry.

For St. Luke, and for that matter, for the three other gospel writers, John the Baptist was the one, who, in fulfillment of the words of the Prophet Isaiah, was to make a straight path for the coming Saviour. And how would he do so? Through his preaching, and his invitation to all to receive a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sin. But that wasn’t it – for if you continue reading through chapter 3 of St. Luke’s gospel, you will see that he was calling people to something much more – he was calling them to metanoia, a word that in English literally means changing one’s mind, changing one’s ways. The Baptist’s call to repentance wasn’t just a call to confess one’s sins, but to commit oneself to do things differently from that time forward. That’s why his message is so relevant to hear each Advent. 

For Advent is that season that calls us to be mindful and prepare ourselves for the 2 comings of Jesus Christ into our world – the first, with His birth 2000 years ago, and His second, at the end of time, the end of the world.  Advent is the expectant waiting, the hopeful anticipation and cheerful preparation of God breaking into our lives in all moments, all places, and all times, past, present, and future. Now hearing all that might make you ask, just like the people in next Sunday’s gospel asked of John, “So what exactly should we do?”  Which is an excellent question!

To answer that question, let me start by telling you what John would not have said. He definitely would not have said, “Go shopping, whether in person or online, and max out your credit card”. No way. Rather, John would say this: Live out your faith every day. Reach out to the poor. Don’t cheat or extort or threaten people. Be fair, kind, compassionate. Take a good hard look at your life, and then be willing to embrace some metanoia, change your ways, if they need changing! And maybe even change your thinking about this time of year. If John was here right now, he would tell each one of us to watch a short video from the Catholic media resource Busted Halo. The video is found on Youtube and is called Advent in 2 minutes. It is an entertaining, fast-paced video that really challenges us to consider how we should approach this time of year. You can find the video at Advent in 2 Minutes (NEW!) - YouTube

Advent is about expecting – waiting – hoping – praying – and changing. It is not about shopping, stressing, and planning. My dear people, if you found in the past that by the middle of December you had it up to here with Christmas, you know what the problem was? The problem wasn’t Christmas – the problem was you didn’t do Advent properly. And if that’s been your case, fortunately, there’s almost 3 weeks to heed the call of John the Baptist. Jesus is standing at the door of your heart, knocking. Let him in. And let’s make this year’s Advent, a real Advent.