Posts Tagged ‘Joy of Christmas; Preparing for Christmas’

Preparing For Christ

Sunday, December 8th, 2013

 

Second Sunday of Advent

Is 11: 1-10; Romans 15: 4-9; Mt 3: 1-12

Dc. Larry Brockman

 

“Prepare the way of the Lord-” that’s what we are all doing for the next 18 days- preparing for the coming of the Lord!  There are cards to be written, gifts to be bought, cooking to be done; decorations to be put up, trees to be trimmed.  And we are all engaged in preparing for the coming of the Lord when we do these things, right?  Not really!  Because as pressing and as important as those things seem to us, that’s not what John meant in this morning’s Gospel about being prepared.   

So, what does John say to do?  He says: “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!”  That’s John’s real message for us this morning, a message advising us to be ready for the coming of the King.  You see, there are two comings heralded by the season of Advent.  There is the coming of the Christ Child.  But there is also the second coming of Christ, and in these first two weeks of Advent there is a strong hint on the second coming of Christ as well as the coming of the Christ Child.   

That second coming is the one that Isaiah prophesies as well.  And what does Isaiah say?  He says that “with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips, he shall slay the wicked”.  Are you ready for that?   

Now many of you probably think about such a second coming as the Last Judgment.  But you know what, there is going to be an encounter with Jesus just like this when you die.  And that could come at any time.  Our readings have been making that point at weekday Masses the last couple of weeks.   

So, just how can we be prepared for the two comings of Christ?  John talks about what not to do, doesn’t he?  He scolds the Pharisees who come forward for Baptism because they were paying lip service to the whole process; they were just there to see what was going on and to be part of the popular activity of the time.  After all, people were coming out from all over Judea and Jerusalem to see John.  These Pharisees and Sadducees were just doing what everyone else was doing.  John implies that this is not what one should do.   

It’s kind of like us putting up Christmas lights and a Christmas Tree; sending out the cards and buying all the gifts.  These things are all part of the “holiday” culture of our time.  Everybody prepares in that way this time of the year.  But that is not what being prepared for Christ means.   

So what does John say to these Pharisees and Sadducees?  He calls them “a brood of vipers”, and says “who warned you to flee from the wrath to come”?  And then he says to them:  “Bear fruit that befits repentance”.  There it is- the message for all of us as clear as a bell.  Our preparation needs to be twofold:  First, we have to confess our sins.  Then, we have to bear fruit that befits repentance.  This is the kind of preparation that we are called to do for both of the comings of Christ.   

Every year, our parish has a Penance Service on a Monday night close to Christmas.  That service is the ideal way to fulfill the first of the two requirements- to confess our sins.  This year the Penance Service will be held on Monday December 16.  Not tomorrow night, but a week from tomorrow.  So all of us have sufficient time to clear our calendars so we can attend.  There are always more than a dozen priests there to hear confession at that service.  Typically, there are only 150 to 200 people there.  200 people in a parish of 3000 active families.  So, there will be room for you.   

Do you suppose that there are only 200 sinners in the parish, and the rest of you are sinless?  In the words of our pop culture Pro-Football commentators:  “C’mon man”!  All of us are sinners; all of us do something over and over again that we need to change.  We all need to first confess that- and so, all of us should be here on Monday night the 16th.   

But there is something else we need to do.  We need to repent as well.  Repentance means a sincere turning away, in both the mind and heart, from the sins of our past and from our self-centeredness, and then to focus on God.  So, John is calling us to bear fruits, that is, to show evidence that such a turning process is happening.  That’s a far cry from cards and decorations, and gifts and a lot of other things we do this time of year to prepare for Christmas.  And we have such precious little time to do it.   

What kind of things can we do to show that we have turned things around?  Paul gives the Romans some good advice this morning that might help.  He says that we can derive hope “by steadfastness and the encouragement of the scriptures”.  Yes, we need to exercise self-control; be steadfast against the temptations of the devil; and to read and practice what we read in the scriptures.  Then he tells us that we are to welcome one another; and to live in harmony in accordance with the teachings of Jesus Christ.   

Experience the real joy of Christmas this year.  It is a joy that comes from knowing that you are ready, you are prepared for the coming of Jesus.  Because you are right with God and ready to meet Him.