Homily: 2nd Sunday of Advent – Cycle B
Brothers and sisters, as we
continue on our Advent journey and enter into this second week of Advent, our
readings point us to the image of the Parousia.
“Parousia” is a Greek word describing a triumphant entry of a king into
a city where he will ascend his throne and rule over his people. This triumphal entry of the king is something
for which the people wait with great expectation. Watchmen keep vigil for any sign of the
king’s coming while the people all prepare fervently to receive their
king. Not only is the city adorned with
festive decorations, but the people themselves put on their finest clothes. They even go out and prepare the road on
which the king will approach: striving to make it flat, wide, and level so that
nothing will hinder the king on his way.
This is something akin to
Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on (what we now know as) Palm Sunday. Many people recognized Jesus as the Messiah,
the one who was to ascend to the throne of David and rule over God’s chosen
people forever. And so, as Jesus makes
his final approach to Jerusalem, these people go out to meet him and accompany
him into the city with great celebration and rejoicing, laying palm branches in
front of him as a sign of honor to him whom they acknowledge as king. This is a Parousia (although it didn’t quite
end up the way that the people expected) and it is the image to which the
writers of today’s readings are pointing as they call for preparations.
In the reading from the
prophet Isaiah, we heard a message of great comfort from God to his chosen
people. After years of oppression on the
southern kingdom of Judah and its capital city, Jerusalem, the Assyrian army
relented and retreated to Assyria.
Relieved, the Jewish people nonetheless felt like they had been
abandoned by God. Thus, the message in
today’s reading would have been one of true comfort. Not only did God assure them that he had not
abandoned them, but he declared that he was coming to them again. Judah’s God and King was returning to them:
not in some abstract way, but in a very real and tangible way—on a road! Thus in the reading we hear declared: “A
voice cries out: In the desert prepare the way of the Lord! Make straight in
the wasteland a highway for our God!”
The Parousia of God is imminent and the people are called to prepare.
In the Gospel reading, we hear
of another call for preparation. Here it
is John the Baptist and he calls for a different type of preparation. John calls people out into the wilderness to
prepare themselves for the coming of the Messiah: the great savior that God was
to send to redeem humanity. Instead of
preparing a highway on which the Messiah would triumphantly enter, John seeks
to prepare a people who will be ready to receive him when he comes. Thus, he calls them to repentance: that is,
to turn away from all sin, to be baptized as a sign of their repentance, and to
live in righteousness so that the Messiah will find a righteous people when he
comes. John himself did not know the day
on which the Messiah would appear, but he knew that the day was close and so he
called the people to prepare themselves for his Parousia.
Brothers and sisters, the
liturgy is reminding us of this image of the Parousia today because preparing
for Jesus’ second coming is exactly the thing to which Advent calls us. In Advent, we are called to examine our lives
and to determine whether we are ready for his coming. In other words, we are called to ask
ourselves, “Am I truly living as a disciple of Jesus: that is, as one who
expects his return and so lives as to prepare for his coming?” If we find that the answer to that question
is “no”, then we are called to repent, to seek forgiveness from God for our
negligence, and then commit ourselves once again to living as Jesus’ disciples.
The thing is, though, this
needs to be very tangible. In other words,
it can’t be an abstract idea like, “I need to be a better disciple of
Jesus.” Rather, it must be something
concrete. For example, we should ask
ourselves questions like these: “When I pray, do I pray as if Jesus has come,
is here, and is coming again?” “In my
relationships with others, do I seek to find Jesus and to make him
present?” “In my work, do I give my best
effort and strive to bear frustrations patiently, knowing that when Jesus
returns it will be my efforts and not my successes by which I will be judged?” When we ask and strive to answer these
questions with concrete actions in our lives, we are seeking to live as
disciples of Jesus: as those who look for and expect his coming.
My brothers and sisters, let
me be clear on something: this is faith!
The letter to the Hebrews reminds us that, “Faith is the assurance of
things hoped for, and evidence of things unseen.” That Jesus will return in the future is
something that we cannot know for certain by natural means. Yet by faith, we can be certain of it. It takes faith, therefore, to look at our
lives and to live today in such a way that demonstrates that we believe that
Jesus will return in the future. Advent,
therefore, calls us both to enkindle our faith and to put our faith into
concrete action to prepare for the triumphant return of Jesus. So what does faith as an Advent action look
like?
Faith as an Advent action will
lead people to acknowledge and accept the two things that they most need to
know about God. It seems to me that the
two things that people most need to know about God are: that God is good and
that we are each called to union with him in holiness. Let me try to explain. Because suffering and pain are such a
prevalent part of the human condition, many people look to the idea of God and
say, “If God is good, then why do I suffer?”
The answer, of course, is that we suffer because sin is in the world,
not because God is not good. The
goodness of God appears, my friends, when we become for others the answer to
their suffering by providing accompaniment and, where possible, relief. This is done most effectively in the works of
mercy. When, because of faith, we do the
works of mercy, we become evidence to others of the goodness of God, which then
may open their hearts to put their faith in him.
Once a person comes to
acknowledge and accept the goodness of God, he/she needs to see that this good
God calls him/her to union with him in a life of holiness. In this, what a person needs to know is that
living a life of holiness is a sure path to peace of mind and heart in the
world, even if it doesn’t lead to a life without suffering. Our personal efforts to live a life of
holiness—that is, a life of devoted discipleship of Jesus—and to live that
holiness in joy, will demonstrate to others that union with God through a life
of holiness is something desirable and worth pursuing. A Christian who, because of faith, strives to
live according to God’s commandments, and who strives to remain joyful even as
the world fights against him/her, is evidence that union with God through a
life of holiness is the most secure way to find peace of mind and heart in this
world.
My brothers and sisters, this
Advent call to prepare the way for the Lord’s Parousia is exactly what Bishop
Doherty’s pastoral plan, “Uniting in Heart”, is attempting to fulfill. By implementing “Uniting in Heart” here at
Saint Patrick parish, this parish will become a place in which each of you will
be nourished and strengthened in your own conviction that God is good and that
he has called you to union with him in a life of holiness. You will then be equipped to go out into this
community of Howard County and to give witness to these things by your own
action in the world. By your witness in
this community, you will be preparing the way for our Lord’s return and even
hasten its coming. Therefore, I urge all
of you to support Father Shocklee’s leadership as he begins to implement “Uniting
in Heart” here at Saint Patrick parish.
My brothers and sisters, the
promise of our Lord is sure: he will return in his glory, though we do not know
the day nor the hour. And even though he
seems to be long-delayed in coming, we know that any “delay” on his part is for
our good: so that we can finish our preparations for his coming. Therefore, let us use this unique time in our
lives, in this unique season of the year, to re-commit ourselves to discipleship
of Jesus and, thus, to prepare for his triumphant return. As we do, our Lord will rain blessings down
upon us: not least of which is the blessing of this Holy Eucharist, in which
Jesus gives us his living presence to strengthen us until the day of his
coming. May we be ready when he comes.
Given at Saint Patrick Parish: Kokomo, IN – December 6th,
2020
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