Renew Your Life This Advent
8 December 2024
The opening line of the Gospel passage for this second Sunday of Advent firmly situates us in historical time. The passage starts, “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea ... and then goes on to list all the significant political and religious figures of that time. Throughout his Gospel, St Luke makes historical references. With these historical introductions, not only are we grounded in the reality of human history, but there is a sense of story and expectation that draws us in. It is almost as if St Luke is saying, “Once upon a time ...” We are drawn in, waiting to hear what comes next.
Frequently, when the Gospel passages are arranged for use at Mass, we use an introduction which goes, “At that time ...” When we read these passages, we are meant to mentally make the connection between, ‘at that time’, and, ‘in this time now’, in those people’s lives, and, in our lives today. The Gospels and in fact, all Scripture, are rooted in a historical reality, but they speak into our present, into our time now. This is so true of today’s Gospel and the first reading from the prophet Baruch.
So, St Luke gives the historical background, mentioning all the men of power, influence, and wealth of the time, and then provocatively says that God did not come to any of them; rather he came to John in the wilderness. St Luke wants us to be surprised that God speaks his word to John, a relative nobody living as a hermit in the desert.
Our natural human inclination is to pay more attention to the important people in our world, the rulers, the politicians, the rich and powerful. And yet God seems to choose precisely those who are considered small, poor and weak to speak and act in our world. No matter how little we may think we are, God speaks to us. God is not impressed with human positions of power and status; he speaks to those with hearts that are humble and open. Today we are invited to listen to the prophet Baruch, St Paul, and St John the Baptist, as God speaks to us through them.
In the first reading, the prophet Baruch speaks to the people of Jerusalem, and he is very conscious of their present situation in exile. Into this time of suffering, he says to them: “Take off your garment of sorrow and affliction ... and put on for ever the beauty of the glory from God ... because God means to show your splendour everywhere under heaven.” Baruch speaks about the Israelites returning to Jerusalem along a highway. He says God has decreed the flattening of every high mountain, the filling of the valleys to make level ground so that Israel can walk in safety. He promises the people of Israel new life after a period of sorrow. The people of Israel had been taken into exile as captives and all hope had been battered out of them. Imagine the hope and comfort this prophetic message would have given the people.
Many of us can relate to the experience of Israel in captivity and exile. There have been times when we may have experienced physical pain, family and relationship difficulties, emotional slavery, or moral entrapment. Perhaps we were caught in a cycle of sin and felt alienated from God and from others, and it was beyond our power to escape. All of us can relate to being stuck in difficult situations in which we had no control and were powerless. This message of salvation and hope from Baruch is proclaimed into our lives at this time and into all the times of distress we face.
The Bible is full of calls to remember the deeds of God in the past, to remember and not take for granted where we have come from. This remembering of the works of God is what our responsorial psalm is about. “What great deeds the Lord has worked for us! Indeed we were glad.” All of us have a personal history, a history with its ups and downs. And we can remember too, and it is important that we do recall, the mercy that we have received from God. Remembering the mercies of God in the past, of how God has lifted us up out of painful and difficult times in the past, gives us hope in our present and for the future.
Human life, our life, is beautiful but also messy; it is full of joys but also failures. The need to be rescued is a reality for us. Into these situations of our lives, we can hear this comforting message of hope and salvation from Baruch. We have reason to hope, to be positive, to look forward with confidence.
In the second reading we hear that St Paul was of a similar mind. He wrote the letter we read from, from prison, but he wrote so positively and full of encouragement to us, saying: ‘I am sure that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.’
In the Gospel, St Luke describes John the Baptist as a prophet, the last and greatest of them. John the Baptist also preaches a message of hope. He says to the people of that time and us today: Let God's grace into your lives, repent. He proclaims forgiveness of sins. He calls us to look up, to seek salvation, to have hope. We are called to pick up the pieces of our lives and ask God to renew us and make our lives beautiful again.
St Luke shows how John the Baptist applied Isaiah’s nearly 600-year-old message to the people of his day. He challenged the people to prepare the way of the Lord; to make his paths straight. On this day, during this season of Advent, we consider what it means to prepare a way for the Lord in our own lives now.
In the quote from the prophet Isaiah, we hear that “Every valley shall be filled.” This refers to hope and encouragement for God’s people. Those who feel they have been forgotten by God or are not worthy of God’s attention will be lifted up. The reference to “Every mountain and hill shall be made low” means the humility and repentance that is needed to receive God’s salvation. The “crooked paths” and “rough ways” refer to the twists and turns of the human heart, wounded by sin. The human heart needs to be “simplified” or “straightened” by honest and truthful confession of sin.
John the Baptist preached a ‘baptism of repentance’ that signified a readiness to remove all obstacles to the coming of the Lord. Perhaps we need a ritual cleansing of this type, something like the Sacrament of Reconciliation, or a resolution prayerfully made.
It is true that sometimes we might feel tired and hopeless, that we cannot carry on. Sometimes we might become a little depressed about our slow progress. At those times it pays to listen to the promise of restoration that Baruch gives us in the first reading today, and then to hear John the Baptist’s call for renewal. And we can be touched by St Paul's confidence. God will not give up on us. He will complete his work of grace in us.
Last week we spoke about the meaning of Advent being a preparation for the coming of the Saviour. Christmas is about a celebration of salvation. Through this season of Advent, we need to get in touch with our need for salvation again; we need to cultivate a longing for the coming of the Saviour. Knowing or acknowledging our need for salvation is what Advent is all about. We need to recognise the need for Christ in our lives. He is the one who fills our emptiness. He is the one who completes our inadequacies. He forgives our sins.
Advent invites us to be reflective, and takes us on a journey that gets us ready for the birth of the Christ-child who is made of our stuff, and who gives meaning and sense to all that we are. The challenge of Advent is to take off the robe of misery, of sadness, of sinfulness, of being less than God wants for us, and replace it with joyful garments of repentance, of new life. We can hope for more, long for more, be more, because this is what God wants for us.
