Waiting for Christmas

Second Sunday of Advent Year A
December 9, 2007
“Prepare the Way”
Isaiah 11:1-10

Psalm 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17

Romans 15:4-9

Matthew 3:1-12

We are now in the second week of Advent season. It’s been two weeks now since we have entered the liturgical season of advent and since then we've been paying special attention to the mystery of waiting. As we reflected last week, we said, waiting is part of daily life; waiting can excite us but it can be boring, waiting can test our patience and sometimes it can irritate us. But during this time of Advent waiting for Christmas is a wonderful opportunity for spiritual renewal of our lives.

Today the words of John the Baptist echoes in all churches around the globe “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” This is a powerful message given to million of Christians around the world and to each one of us here present this Sunday to help us and instruct us how to wait and prepare spiritually at Christ’s coming.

I’m we are all familiar with this message of repentance, we hear again and again, but sometimes we take this call for granted, we don’t act about it or most probably we don’t get the exactly message.

Story “Memento mori”
Once there is a radio program that made an interesting gimmick or publicity stunt. This radio program made a series of anonymous phone calls to people with this frightening message: “Remember you must die, remember you must die.” They scare people about their own mortality.

The first to receive a call is a very rich, very self-centered old woman. When her call comes, she’d never even considered that her perfect little self-contained world might come to an end. She’s utterly shocked, her arrogant social life crumbles, fear eats her up, and she dies.

The next in line or the second victim is an elderly gentleman. After receiving his call, he begins to panic how he would enjoy his remaining life. He divorces his third wife, marries a young woman and goes on a cruise with her around the world. Unfortunately, it's more than his heart can take and he dies of a cardiac arrest.

Many other people received the same anonymous call and they reacted thoughtlessly, they cursed the caller, they hanged the phone, etc.

Finally the last old woman is called. When this lady was told on the phone “remember you must die” she thought for a while and said, "I'm so glad you called sir, you know, at my age one forgets so many things. It is good of you to remind me of this most important fact." And with that she sets about rebuilding her life, healing old wounds, ask forgiveness from her loved ones and friends, went to church regularly, appreciate the beauty of life and putting aside all that doesn't really matter. She got the message!

Repentance
Every second week of Advent, God is giving us this same kind of wake-up call through John through Baptist: Repent and renew your life and prepare for the rebirth of Jesus in your life.

John the Baptist is Christ’s herald, the one who prepares the way of his coming with a radical message of repentance. This message is not at all soothing. John’s pronouncement doesn’t sound very friendly at all. We all heard it; if we indeed take it seriously into our hearts we find it very confronting and very uncomfortable. See how he confronted the Pharisees and Sadducees John addressed them “brood of vipers.”

Brood of vipers. It’s a very strong image but I don’t exactly know what it meant until I “googled” it from the internet: “According to a widespread tradition in the ancient Mediterranean world (attested in Herodotus, Aelian, Pliny and other writers), vipers killed their mother during their birth, hence were associated with parent-murder. Ancient writers sometimes used parent-murder as an example of one of the worst conceivable crimes, one that invited divine vengeance. Matthew’s gospel applies this image to the Pharisees as they claimed to be the true heirs of the patriarch and prophets but they refused to believe in the coming Messiah. He probably used this image to challenged them to be humble, to reform their lives, to repent and believe that the promised Messiah is about to come.

Metanioa
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near" are words which Jesus will later use to begin his preaching (4:17) and similar to what the disciples were to proclaim (10:7), and the same message we hear in the Church again and again.

Do we really get the message?

Literally the Greek word for repentance (metanoia) means, "a change of mind." It’s a radical revision and transformation of our whole mental process. That change of mind is something whereby God takes center place in our consciousness, in our awareness, and in our minds.

Metanoia is the idea of the need for conversion. And this is then recognizing that we don't know, truthfully don't know, God and truthfully don't feel ourselves as God intends us to. The second week of Advent wakens us up that we really need metanoia, to allow the grace of God to enter into our lives and teach us how to see ourselves and how to come to the true self.

True repentance metanoia involves a complete turn around -- facing in a new direction, a change of heart, a new commitment. It’s a daily experience that renews our baptism. “The repentant person pray to God saying, "I can't do it myself, God. Help to start afresh a reform life. I want to die from my old self so that you can raise me to a new life."

Repentance for us is not a one-time action, but must take place daily, because preparing for the Lord is a perpetual task.

Let us remember that the Holy Mass is the most powerful of prayers that can change our hearts and minds because it transforms us into a Eucharistic people, providing the living presence of Jesus. Repentance and conversion is only possible through Jesus whom we encounter in the Sacraments especially in the Eucharist and the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Regular confession makes us strong and enables us to receive more grace of God and to enliven our spiritual wellbeing.

Repentance not scary at all
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven at hand.” These words of John the Baptist can be scary and confronting. But if we understand its real message to repent is another way of saying, “waken up and see the wonder and beauty all around you.” The main ways to repent is stop and begin to appreciate the goodness and beauty of in your life. The first place to look for this is in our home and among our family. To count our blessing each day. Secondly to look at the community of faith we all belong and acknowledge all the gifts and graces we receive there.

Let us be thankful and hopeful knowing that amidst the wilderness of troubles and suffering in our lives there is a voice within us, crying out that things will turn out right.

Prayer
We pray for Lord, that even in the midst of desolation
and sinfulness
we prepare a way for your coming
and made the paths straight
so that we would be there to welcome you.
We know for sure that we would experience your salvation.
So help us Lord to prepare your way inside ourself,
as we wait with joyful hope for your coming.

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source Fr Tony's homily