<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cPrepare the way of the Lord-\u201d that\u2019s what we are all doing for the next 18 days- preparing for the coming of the Lord!\u00a0 There are cards to be written, gifts to be bought, cooking to be done; decorations to be put up, trees to be trimmed.\u00a0 And we are all engaged in preparing for the coming of the Lord when we do these things, right?\u00a0 Not really!\u00a0 Because as pressing and as important as those things seem to us, that\u2019s not what John meant in this morning\u2019s Gospel about being prepared.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n So, what does John say to do?\u00a0 He says: \u201cRepent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s John\u2019s real message for us this morning, a message advising us to be ready for the coming of the King.\u00a0 You see, there are two comings heralded by the season of Advent.\u00a0 There is the coming of the Christ Child.\u00a0 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.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n That second coming is the one that Isaiah prophesies as well.\u00a0 And what does Isaiah say?\u00a0 He says that \u201cwith 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\u201d.\u00a0 Are you ready for that?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Now many of you probably think about such a second coming as the Last Judgment.\u00a0 But you know what, there is going to be an encounter with Jesus just like this when you die.\u00a0 And that could come at any time.\u00a0 Our readings have been making that point at weekday Masses the last couple of weeks.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n So, just how can we be prepared for the two comings of Christ?\u00a0 John talks about what not to do, doesn\u2019t he?\u00a0 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.\u00a0 After all, people were coming out from all over Judea and Jerusalem to see John.\u00a0 These Pharisees and Sadducees were just doing what everyone else was doing.\u00a0 John implies that this is not what one should do.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s kind of like us putting up Christmas lights and a Christmas Tree; sending out the cards and buying all the gifts.\u00a0 These things are all part of the \u201choliday\u201d culture of our time.\u00a0 Everybody prepares in that way this time of the year.\u00a0 But that is not what being prepared for Christ means.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n So what does John say to these Pharisees and Sadducees?\u00a0 He calls them \u201ca brood of vipers\u201d, and says \u201cwho warned you to flee from the wrath to come\u201d?\u00a0 And then he says to them:\u00a0 \u201cBear fruit that befits repentance\u201d.\u00a0 There it is- the message for all of us as clear as a bell.\u00a0 Our preparation needs to be twofold:\u00a0 First, we have to confess our sins.\u00a0 Then, we have to bear fruit that befits repentance.\u00a0 This is the kind of preparation that we are called to do for both of the comings of Christ.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Every year, our parish has a Penance Service on a Monday night close to Christmas.\u00a0 That service is the ideal way to fulfill the first of the two requirements- to confess our sins.\u00a0 This year the Penance Service will be held on Monday December 16. \u00a0Not tomorrow night, but a week from tomorrow.\u00a0 So all of us have sufficient time to clear our calendars so we can attend.\u00a0 There are always more than a dozen priests there to hear confession at that service.\u00a0 Typically, there are only 150 to 200 people there.\u00a0 200 people in a parish of 3000 active families.\u00a0 So, there will be room for you.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Do you suppose that there are only 200 sinners in the parish, and the rest of you are sinless?\u00a0 In the words of our pop culture Pro-Football commentators:\u00a0 \u201cC\u2019mon man\u201d!\u00a0 All of us are sinners; all of us do something over and over again that we need to change.\u00a0 We all need to first confess that- and so, all of us should be here on Monday night the 16<\/span>th<\/span><\/sup>.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n But there is something else we need to do.\u00a0 We need to repent as well.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 So, John is calling us to bear fruits, that is, to show evidence that such a turning process is happening.\u00a0 That\u2019s 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.\u00a0 And we have such precious little time to do it.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n What kind of things can we do to show that we have turned things around?\u00a0 Paul gives the Romans some good advice this morning that might help.\u00a0 He says that we can derive hope \u201cby steadfastness and the encouragement of the scriptures\u201d.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Then he tells us that we are to welcome one another; and to live in harmony in accordance with the teachings of Jesus Christ.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Experience the real joy of Christmas this year.\u00a0 It is a joy that comes from knowing that you are ready, you are prepared for the coming of Jesus.\u00a0 Because you are right with God and ready to meet Him.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Second Sunday of Advent Is 11: 1-10; Romans 15: 4-9; Mt 3: 1-12 Dc. Larry Brockman \u00a0 \u201cPrepare the way of the Lord-\u201d that\u2019s what we are all doing for the next 18 days- preparing for the coming of the Lord!\u00a0 There are cards to be written, gifts to be bought, cooking to be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[155,4],"tags":[266],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=465"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":486,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465\/revisions\/486"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}