Last week, I ran across an article on the subject of nones. Have you heard of them? They are those people who check off the box, “none,” when it comes to religious preferences. This reminded me of a parody of the Night Before Christmas, which describes those who make little time for Jesus in their lives.
‘Twas the night before Jesus came and all through the house
not a creature was praying, not one in the house.
Their bibles were lain on the shelf without care,
in hopes that Jesus would not come there.
The children were dressing to crawl into bed,
not once ever kneeling or bowing a head;
And mom in her rocker with baby on her lap,
was watching the late show while I took a nap.
When out of the east there rose such a clatter,
I sprang to my feet to see what was the matter;
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
threw open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The light of his face made me cover my head,
it was Jesus returning, just like he said.
And though I possessed worldly wisdom and wealth,
I cried when I saw him in spite of myself.
In the Book of Life, which he held in his hand,
was written the name of every saved man.
He spoke not a word as he searched for my name.
When he said, “It’s not here!” my head hung in shame.
The people whose names had been written with love,
He gathered to take to his Father above.
With those who were ready He rose without a sound,
while all the rest were left standing around.
I fell to my knees, but it was too late;
I waited too long and thus sealed my fate.
I stood and cried as they rose out of sight.
Oh, if only I had been ready tonight.
In the words of this poem the meaning is clear,
the coming of Jesus is drawing quite near.
There’s only one life and when the last name is called,
we’ll find that the Bible was true after all.
With great excitement many who do follow Jesus are awaiting his return. As though this news is too good to be true. Amidst the immensity of all creation, God’s son took on human flesh, became one with us, was born of a virgin who was conceived without sin, mingled in our midst, died for us, then rose from the dead. Now we await his return as the Son of Man.
Meanwhile every Advent as we await his return, we hear the same message from John the Baptist, challenging us to “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be made low. The winding roads shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth.” John comes with a message of hope, telling us, “and all shall see the salvation of God.” What awesome news! This is God’s dream for all humanity to help us build a better world. God wants to save us but for that to happen, we need to heed John’s directives, so what is he asking us to do?
John is urging us to think of what we need to let go of that stands in the way between God and us. Is anything blocking you from having an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ? What, if anything, is hindering you from savoring the gift of peace that God so generously offers us in the person of his son, Jesus, through the Mass, the Eucharist, the scriptures, and the tenets of our faith?
John the Baptist urges us to fill our valleys and level our mountains, not literally with bulldozers but with attention to what fosters our relationship with Christ and others. The valleys he speaks of are created by kind words never spoken, compassionate deeds left undone, bread not shared, prayers not said, neighbors not welcomed, the poor ignored, deeds and words unforgiven, or expressions of a person’s love that have gone unnoticed or unappreciated.
John challenges us to level our mountains of pride, arrogance, blind ambition, unbridled selfishness, domineering attitudes, all of which preclude us from experiencing and sharing God’s gift of love. He calls on us to smooth our rough ways of anger, impatience, intolerance, prejudice, racism, bigotry, and favoritism that leaves anyone feeling excluded. Heeding John’s call to repentance could result in some of the best Christmas presents that you and others could hope to receive.
Undoubtedly, you have a wish list of what you would like for Christmas, a thing or two that you want to add to your worldly possessions.As many Christmas carols suggest, joy is what many of us are really seeking in life, especially during this time of the year. Might joy be on your wish list? Years ago, a British theologian, Evelyn Underhill, made this observation about joy that I imagine John the Baptist would agree with. “This is the secret of joy. We shall no longer strive for our own way; but commit ourselves, easily and simply, to God’s way, acquiesce in his will and in doing so, find our peace.” To truly prepare for the coming of Christ, the Prince of Peace, accost that which prevents you from acting justly, walking humbly, and loving tenderly. Then see for yourself that Jesus is indeed quite near!