Last week I spoke of advent as a time of watchful waiting, a season of anticipation and hope for the coming of Christ at Christmas and at the end of time. Every person needs something to look forward to in life in order to survive. Advent gives us plenty to look forward to, ideally a closer relationship with God as we await the birth of his son.
Moments ago, we heard at the beginning of Mark’s Gospel the cry of Isaiah the prophet, “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.” To enable his listeners to prepare the way for the Lord, John the Baptist appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. He baptized many as they acknowledged their sins.
Centuries later, how might we prepare? John the Baptist isn’t talking about our usual preparations for Christmas such as our meals or shopping or decorations. He’s talking about preparing our hearts. What blocks the way of the Lord from entering our lives and our hearts?
Perhaps we need to change some habits or attitudes that conflict with Jesus’ teachings. Even if we don’t attend daily Mass, we could read the gospel of the day, using The Word Among Us and its comments to ponder the message. Doing so, we may experience the Lord speaking to us in powerful ways through his Word.
There is no limit to the many kind things we can do for others. I am mindful, for example, of the many volunteers who assist St. Anthony’s Kitchen preparing or delivering meals with a smile every Friday.
Sometimes our preparations are not a matter of doing something more but of doing something less, such as watching less TV so that we can have more quiet time to be with God or to be in touch with our loved ones.
There is no substitute for quiet time. Consider using that time to examine your conscience, asking yourself, “Who do I need to forgive and whose forgiveness do I need for what I have said or done or failed to do?” Whenever we say the Lord’s Prayer, we seek the Lord’s forgiveness as we promise to forgive others.
On Facebook, a friend posted this thought, ”One day, you’ll just be a memory for some people. Do your best to be a good one.” How might others remember you? Will they see you as willing to forgive or not? If you have offended or hurt someone, does the victim remember you as one willing to apologize or not?
Advent is a good time to share what I call the ten commandments of forgiveness. The first commandment: forgiveness isn’t easy. There is no quick fix. We can’t forgive on our own so we need to ask God for help. The second commandment: forgiving is not forgetting. Forgiveness is about a change of heart, not having senior moments.
The third commandment: forgiveness doesn’t overlook evil. It doesn’t mean, “Let’s pretend it never happened.” The fourth commandment: forgiveness is not indifference. We don’t go back to business as usual and let the hurt go on. We should do what we can to insure that the evil doesn’t happen again.
The fifth commandment: forgiveness isn’t the same thing as approval. We can be forgiving and at the same time express our disapproval of the harmful behavior. The sixth commandment: forgiveness is based on recognizing and admitting that people are always bigger than their faults. We shouldn’t define somebody by something they said to us or the way they hurt us.
The seventh commandment: forgiveness is willing to allow a person who has offended us to start over again. Too often we sever the relationship. The eighth commandment: forgiveness recognizes the humanity of the person who has wronged us along with our own shortcomings.
The ninth commandment: forgiveness surrenders the right to get even. Revenge is not an option here. Finally, the tenth commandment: forgiveness means we wish the person who hurt us, or the group that hurt us, well. That’s tough but its basically letting God be the final judge.
Our readings began with the plea, “Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God.” This we do once we endeavor to practice the art of forgiveness when the need arises. Jesus endeavors to do that in a sacrament that offers us the grace to deal with our weaknesses, to help us, strengthen us, purify us, cleanse us, bring us closer to God and heal our souls, namely the sacrament of reconciliation, which Peter tells us, the Lord wants us to come to.
When we ignore this sacrament, and don’t confess our sins, we hold on to the pain and hurt caused by our wrongdoings. Isaiah calls on us, just as he did the ancient Israelites, to set out on a journey of hope and to risk everything for the unseen future that God has in store for us.
Advent dares us, even in hard times like these, to believe that our deepest longings for peace, for eternal life, are God’s desires for us. This gives us good reason to hope for peace in our hearts. The happy paradox is that repentance is the source of that hope and peace.