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Homily:
2nd Sunday of Advent – Cycle B
On the surface, Alma and Riley seem to be like many other
young couples who are preparing to get married.
They happen to be of the high school sweetheart kind. They met in high school and weren’t really
interested in each other at first, but when they got to know each other a
little better found that there was a spark between them. Five years later and that spark has grown
into a warm fire of love, so much so that they feel called to go “all in” and
make their love permanent in the bond of marriage.
This is where the “normal” in their relationship ends,
though. After high school, Riley joined
the Coast Guard and so, for a little over a year and a half now, Riley and Alma
have spent most of their time separated from one another (and we’re not talking
just a couple of states here: currently he’s stationed in Alaska). Thus Alma has spent a lot of time waiting for
Riley’s return. They have a wedding
date, though, and they will be married soon; and because of this, Alma has been
working hard at making preparations for that day. She’s focused and this has made her waiting
purposeful, even joyful, in spite of the fact that, when Riley returns, her
whole world will dramatically change.
What Alma is experiencing in anticipation of her wedding
day is exactly what the Church is inviting us to experience during the season
of Advent. Our Lord Jesus, when he
ascended into heaven, promised that he would one day return to bring us to be
where he is. And so, we are now
separated from him for a time and must wait for his return. This waiting is not a “doctor’s office” kind
of waiting, however, in which there is nothing to do, but rather it’s a
purposeful waiting: a waiting in which we are constantly preparing for his
return; a joyful waiting, in spite of the fact that when he returns our whole
world will dramatically change. Advent
is the time of year in which we re-focus ourselves on that reality.
But what kind of preparations should we be making? Well, like Alma preparing for her wedding
day, we need to be about putting everything in order for the day of his return;
and John the Baptist shows us where we are to begin: repent, acknowledge your
sins, and have your sins forgiven. Then, as Saint Peter tells us, we must
“conduct ourselves in holiness and devotion … awaiting a new heavens and a new
earth in which righteousness dwells.” In other words, we must live lives of
holiness in which we strive to bring forth justice so as to hasten the coming
of the new heavens and the new earth in which righteousness, that is, justice, will
dwell. Yet, we struggle to do this. Why? I
think that it’s because, for too many of us, we’ve put “the cart before the
horse”, so to speak.
You see, Alma anxiously awaits Riley’s return because she’s
deeply in love with him (and he with her).
In other words, they have a deep, personal relationship which thus
inspires them to go to great lengths to end any separation between them. Alma is not making all of these preparations
for any personal reward that she expects to gain for herself, save that of
being united—permanently united—to this person that she is in love with; and
she knows that every hour spent making preparations for their wedding day is an
hour closer to that moment when Riley will return—that, in fact, each hour thus
hastens his return—and thus they will
be separated no longer.
We, however, are apathetic about—perhaps even afraid
of—Jesus’ return to us. And this is
precisely because we don’t have a
personal relationship with him. I mean,
you don’t get excited to celebrate the coming of your garbage collector every
week, do you? No. Why?
Well, probably because you don’t even know who he or she is and so you
don’t have a personal relationship with him or her. Thus, your separation throughout the week
causes you no great concern and his or her return each week you could equally
take or leave. In fact, the return of
your garbage collector each week is only important to you because of what he or
she provides to you when he or she comes: the fact that he or she is present
there with you once again doesn’t really matter to you at all. This, I would venture to say, is how we view
Jesus: the garbage collector who one day is going to come and clean up our
trash, but then leave us to go about our business.
My brothers and sisters, if our attitude towards Jesus’
second coming is anything like what I’ve just described—or if we just feel a
general malaise about his coming—then Advent for us is about waking up to the
possibility of entering personally into a relationship with him: because it is
only in a personal relationship with him that we will discover a sense of
excitement and anticipation for his return.
If we already have it, then we’re inspired, like Alma, to wait
expectantly for his return; and we make preparations for it by being cleansed
from sin and by enacting works of justice as if we both welcomed his coming and
were sure that it was going to happen soon.
If we don’t have that personal relationship, however, then our lives
lose focus and, instead of preparing for something, we begin to chase after
anything that seems to generate excitement for us.
If you find yourself in this latter category (and the
statistics say that most of us here do), then I want to invite you to ask
yourself this question: “Is my life really so good that Jesus can’t offer me
anything better?” My guess is that the
answer for all of us is “no”, and that we do wish for more out of life. If so, then this time of Advent is our time
to begin to seek (or to renew) a relationship with Jesus that will give focus
and purpose to our waiting for his return.
My brothers and sisters, in the second letter of Saint
Peter we heard good news: that the delay of the Lord’s return is not a delay in
the fulfillment of his promises, but rather it is a merciful delay, allowing
time for each of us to repent and to prepare for his coming. But he won’t wait forever! Therefore, let us turn to Jesus now and seek
to know him more deeply and more personally—most especially by carving out time
each day to spend with him in quiet reflection on the Scriptures—so that the
best present that you receive this Christmas will be the joy of knowing the
Lord, deep in your heart.
Given at All Saints Parish:
Logansport, IN – December 6th & 7th, 2014
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