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Steppingstones to a Life of Hope
As the feast of Christmas draws near and after recovering from the busy time of Thanksgiving, we might be tempted to swing into more action. In the process we might miss the fact that Advent is a fascinating and beautiful season of the Liturgical Year. In it, we experience transforming newness. Through the liturgy of the 2nd Sunday of Advent, we are invited to tread the path of repentance and conversion – the just path that leads to hope and the heavenly kingdom that is the goal of Advent expectation. We, therefore, listen attentively to the word of God 'that we might have hope' and that 'the divine reign of justice and peace' might come upon us. Living in ‘hope’ is an invitation that we need to adhere to as we live in challenging times. If we are conscious of our stress filled lifestyle, then this spiritual encouragement for our soul is pertinent.Today the Church chooses John the Baptist as the personification of the Advent theme as he preaches repentance, the transformation of the heart and reform of our lives and invites us to reflect on his prophecy as a preparation for the celebration of the birth of the Savior. John the Baptist calls people to reform their lives. There were a group of monks by the name, Essenes, who had their monastery around the Dead Sea, who practiced preaching and baptism with water to encourage people to await the coming of the Messiah. In similar fashion, John the Baptist wants them, the people, to free themselves from those things that turn them away from God. However, if we look at this as a static process, then we miss the point. John is not only announcing the coming of the Messiah, but he is also announcing the coming of the next stage of the salvation process. Humility is the starting point where the process can begin. It is like coming to a crossroad on a journey and we must choose one. The less travelled one is of ‘hope’ that God alone can bring and the other, more frequented, leads to a dead-end of frustration.
The counter cultural appearance of John the Baptist, dressed in camel hair is a walking homily. The long line of
prophets of the Old Testament had disappeared. After a gap of about four hundred years from the last prophet Malachi, there appears John the Baptist. He reminds the people of their ancestors who wandered in the wilderness for forty years. Those years were notably years of purification from their pagan rituals and worship that they learned in Egypt and a lesson in total dependance on God who alone would provide them food and security in the hostile wilderness. The core message of this second Sunday of Advent, is that we must rid ourselves of everything that will present a stumbling block to being with Christ when he comes. Hence, we are encouraged to retrace our steps and make amend for the wrongs we have done. In this season we must expressly take advantage of the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the purification of our souls. It is a time of making amends and seeking peace with all people. It is a time of repenting of the wrongs we have done them. What are we to repent of? A lot if we pause and think! We must repent for not loving ourselves enough, of the sins against our neighbors, and our Creator. We must repent of the sins against our environment, other creatures of God and the entire creation. Most importantly, we must repent of our sins against charity and our lack of humility. Repentance needs humility and from this stable ground our soul can move to Hope that God alone brings.
Fr Tom Kunnel, C.O.