Advent Week Two: Prepare The Way We often see old war films showing a scene of two uniformed armed forces personnel ringing the doorbell of an average home, the door is opened, and the woman answering sees the soldiers and immediately swoons. No words are needed for her to know the news is dire. These messengers are doing their duty, but it is not a pleasant one. Other messengers are welcomed with open arms and joy, for example, when the boss’s secretary brings out the vacation schedule and the laborer has gotten the vacation time requested or when the child brings home an improved report card to the parents. Still other messengers might leave us wondering, uncertain, searching. In this gospel John is the messenger for “One mightier than I [who] is coming after me.” His message was new and startling: “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” No doubt John’s hearers received his message with wondering, uncertain, searching hearts. John was a desert ascetic whose mission was to prepare the people for a life-transforming change—the Lord is coming! Who is this Lord? One mightier than John. How so? John announces the nearness of salvation; Jesus is the salvation. John baptizes with water, Jesus with the Holy Spirit. What does this mean? Jesus’ baptism instills God’s very Life through the power of the Holy Spirit within us. Baptism with the Holy Spirit trans¬forms our preparation into fulfillment—the Lord has come! Here is the key to grasping John’s message: by our encountering the Lord, our own wondering, uncertainty, and searching about the meaning of John’s message is dispelled. John’s humility as depicted in the words of this gospel (“One mightier than I”) did not rest in a false sense of his own worth, but instead on his own deep conviction about who Jesus is, a conviction that only could come from his having encountered the One whom he proclaimed. Like John, we too must personally encounter the very One whose messengers we, too, are to be. Encounter with the Lord’s Presence opens us to the Spirit with whom we’ve been baptized, enabling us to have greater clarity about the message and the One whom we proclaim by the quality of our own holy living. [Living Liturgy 2017] John the Baptist diverted attention from himself to Jesus. His ministry was not about himself but about the “One mightier than I [who] is coming after me.” He proclaimed repentance, prepared for Jesus, died—this was the pattern of John’s life. Actually, it’s the pattern of Jesus’ life, too: he proclaimed the Good News, prepared the way to the Father, died. Further, it’s the pattern of our own paschal mystery living: proclaim the gospel of repentance, prepare for Christ’s many comings, die to ourselves. During this Advent are we primarily preparing ourselves for life-transforming change or merely preparing to celebrate a secular Christmas? What are our expectations? How does John the Baptist challenge us with a new set of expectations? Who helps us listen to John and respond? What prepares us to open ourselves to respond more fully to the Spirit with whom we have been baptized? Do our responses show that we know our expectations will be exceeded? What really prepares us for the changes the coming of the Lord will bring into our lives?
Great Expectations Parents know the different cries of their baby: whether it’s a cry of discomfort, hunger, anger. The very sound of the baby’s cry includes something of the baby’s experience and need. Though not able to speak words yet, the baby nevertheless is quite capable of communicating, and good parents are ever attuned to this constant and revealing self-information that helps them give comfort and security to their little bundle of love. Advent calls us to be ever attuned to the cries around us that testify to the Light come into our midst and that challenge us to encounter Christ in such a way that we cannot hold within ourselves our own cries of recognition and commitment. After saying clearly who he is not (“Christ or Elijah or the Prophet”), John does say who he is: “I am the voice of one crying out in the desert.” So who is John? The one who in his very being recognizes the Christ who has come to lead the people into the fullness of light and Life. Testifying with conviction to the light of Christ must be more than speaking words; the conviction is conveyed—cried out—by the way we choose to live each day. We are to do good works (“bring glad tidings to the poor,” “heal the brokenhearted,” etc.; first reading). Testifying with conviction also means that we must constantly grow in our relationship to Christ and learn to recognize him even where we might not expect to find him. Yes, sometimes we are like the people in the gospel in that we seek the Messiah but often do not recognize his Presence in our midst. The work of Advent is to intensify our good works so that we become attuned to recognizing Christ here and now; even more, it is the work of our whole Christian lives. As we near the celebration of Christmas, we ourselves must take up John’s conviction, John’s cry. Testifying with conviction comes to greater fullness when we have been tried in the various “deserts” of our daily living. Testing confronts us with choices, and making good choices attunes us to Christ’s Presence to us in so many ways. This testing brings us growth and liveliness. It helps us see in new ways and cry out with ever greater urgency. What is at stake is recognition of the Messiah-Christ among us. It’s easy and comfortable to recognize Christ in the expected places and ways. When we enter the peace of a church, for example, we expect to find God. When we sit and pray in our homes, we expect to find God and have our prayers answered. All this is good. The “deserts” of our own lives are opportunities testing us and leading us to deeper conviction about who Christ is. For example, the “desert” of a long, debilitating illness tests our trust in God’s Presence and care. The “desert” of a failed relationship tests our understanding of love and fidelity, and our willingness to forgive. The “desert” of unemployment and financial stress tests our priorities and values and our willingness to depend on God. Such testing shapes our convictions, helps us encounter Christ in our daily living, and enables us to testify to him with greater authenticity. Especially during these final days before Christmas when everyone is so busy, we can forget that our mission is like John’s: to testify to the Light by crying out its Presence in our midst. We do this by how we respond to those around us: take time to listen to the one hurting, visit those who might be forgotten, do with a little less ourselves so others might have more, take time to pray, remember to give thanks, offer a helping hand, reorganize our priorities, praise the God in others.
Prepare The Way We often see old war films showing a scene of two uniformed armed forces personnel ringing the doorbell of an average home, the door is opened, and the woman answering sees the soldiers and immediately swoons. No words are needed for her to know the news is dire. These messengers are doing their duty, but it is not a pleasant one. Other messengers are welcomed with open arms and joy, for example, when the boss’s secretary brings out the vacation schedule and the laborer has gotten the vacation time requested or when the child brings home an improved report card to the parents. Still other messengers might leave us wondering, uncertain, searching. In this gospel John is the messenger for “One mightier than I [who] is coming after me.” His message was new and startling: “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” No doubt John’s hearers received his message with wondering, uncertain, searching hearts. John was a desert ascetic whose mission was to prepare the people for a life-transforming change—the Lord is coming! Who is this Lord? One mightier than John. How so? John announces the nearness of salvation; Jesus is the salvation. John baptizes with water, Jesus with the Holy Spirit. What does this mean? Jesus’ baptism instills God’s very Life through the power of the Holy Spirit within us. Baptism with the Holy Spirit trans¬forms our preparation into fulfillment—the Lord has come! Here is the key to grasping John’s message: by our encountering the Lord, our own wondering, uncertainty, and searching about the meaning of John’s message is dispelled. John’s humility as depicted in the words of this gospel (“One mightier than I”) did not rest in a false sense of his own worth, but instead on his own deep conviction about who Jesus is, a conviction that only could come from his having encountered the One whom he proclaimed. Like John, we too must personally encounter the very One whose messengers we, too, are to be. Encounter with the Lord’s Presence opens us to the Spirit with whom we’ve been baptized, enabling us to have greater clarity about the message and the One whom we proclaim by the quality of our own holy living. John the Baptist diverted attention from himself to Jesus. His ministry was not about himself but about the “One mightier than I [who] is coming after me.” He proclaimed repentance, prepared for Jesus, died—this was the pattern of John’s life. Actually, it’s the pattern of Jesus’ life, too: he proclaimed the Good News, prepared the way to the Father, died. Further, it’s the pattern of our own paschal mystery living: proclaim the gospel of repentance, prepare for Christ’s many comings, die to ourselves. During this Advent are we primarily preparing ourselves for life-transforming change or merely preparing to celebrate a secular Christmas? What are our expectations? How does John the Baptist challenge us with a new set of expectations? Who helps us listen to John and respond? What prepares us to open ourselves to respond more fully to the Spirit with whom we have been baptized? Do our responses show that we know our expectations will be exceeded? What really prepares us for the changes the coming of the Lord will bring into our lives?