ADVENT II [B]: (Is 40:1-5, 9-11; 2 Pt 3:8-14; Mk 1:1-8)

 

All three readings focus on the absolute necessity of our readying ourselves by repentance and reparation for Christ’s coming.  John the Baptist always plays a big role in Advent. He was the last and greatest of a long line of Old Testament prophets. God sent those prophets to prepare Israel for the arrival of the Messiah, the anointed Savior and Redeemer of the world. Isaiah's prophecy in today's First Reading was made more than 700 years before John the Baptist's prophecy, but their substance is very much the same: God has not forgotten his people, and in spite of their sufferings, sins, and failings, he will come and save them, shepherding them to happiness beyond what they can imagine.

As the first New Testament prophet, John the Baptist has three valuable lessons to teach us about how to be a prophet. First, John invited the people of his time to repent from their sins, so that they would be ready to welcome Jesus, the Savior. We too are called to invite others to leave behind the sinful patterns of life that our society encourages, so that God's grace can come into their lives. If we really care about other people, we will do our best to warn them against sin.

 

Second, He called for repentance, for people to turn away from their sins, but he also turned people's  attention towards something - the greatness, the beauty, and the transforming power of Christ: "One mightier than I is coming after me... He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." We too are called to turn people's attention to Christ, so that they can discover his love, goodness, and transforming power.

 

Third, Perhaps the most remarkable thing about St John the Baptist was that so many people actually listened to him. Why was that? Because how he lived was consistent with what he said. John’s ministry was effective primarily because his life was his message:  he lived what he preached. He was a man from the desert. In its solitude, he had heard the voice of God, and, hence, he had the courage of his convictions. His camel’s hair garment and leather belt resembled those of Elijah and other great prophets of Israel. His food, too, was very simple:  wild locusts and honey. The Israelites had not had a prophet for four hundred years, and the people were waiting expectantly for one. John’s message was effective also because he was completely humble.   His role was to serve Jesus and to serve the people. “He must increase, I must decrease,” he says elsewhere (Jn 3:30). He frankly admitted that he was the Messiah’s humble and obedient messenger, preparing a straight way for the Messiah in the hearts and lives of the Jews.

 

Everyone who knew John and heard him speak could see immediately that he was not living a self-centered life, and that opened their hearts. We too, as New Testament prophets, are called to live in such a way that the best argument supporting our words about Christ will be that we are living like Christ. This is the real power behind all the saints. As New Testament prophets, we must use words to invite repentance and to tell about God's goodness and Christ's truth, but our best argument will always be Christ-like lives.

According to the prophet Isaiah, there are two things we can do to get ready to receive those blessings: to fill in every valley and to make low every mountain.

The valleys stand for our sins of omission, the things we should be doing but aren't. For example, if we aren't spending quality time with our family, we need to fill in that valley. If we aren't spending at least a few minutes each day in prayer with God, we need to fill in that valley.

John’s message demands from us too, to level the mountains of ego and the selfish and sinful habits that we have built up; the sins of commission. If we like to gossip and spread criticism, we need to tear that mountain down. If we are leading a double life, indulging in hidden sins or lies that are poisoning our souls, we need to lay low that mountain.

If we are arrogantly treating our colleagues, teammates, or family members like lower class people, we need to get rid of that mountain. The mountains and valleys inhibit God's grace from traveling into our hearts; they are roadblocks that keep out God’s mercy, peace, and wisdom. Advent is the season to smooth out and clear up the roads to our hearts.

 

It was their stubborn pride and self-centeredness, which blinded the eyes of the Jews and kept them from recognizing Jesus as their long-awaited Messiah. The same stubborn pride, the same exaggerated sense of our own dignity, blinds the intellects of many of us today who not only fail to accept Christ and his good tidings, but also prevent others from accepting him.

Every Christian is called to be another John the Baptist, and that's why the Church always holds his example up for our consideration during Advent. Today Jesus will come onto the altar here in this church as truly as he came into the manger at Bethlehem. When he does, let's thank him for not forgetting about us, and let's promise him that this Advent we will do our best to fulfill our Advent mission, by striving to follow the example of St John the Baptist.