John the Baptist is the very voice of Advent, the voice of the coming of the Lord Jesus to earth to intervene in the relationship between God and ourselves. What John said was not merely a word about Jesus, it was the gospel—It was the beginning of the Good News for the world.
John and his message happened at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, and John and his message are still the beginning today for all those who want to walk with Jesus, for all those who want to find their way out of the wilderness and into a life with Jesus.
As the old Chinese proverb tells us; “A journey of a thousand miles must begin with one step.” John came to point out what this first step must be. He pointed out that the way of the Lord must be prepared, and that the way is not simply a highway in the desert, but rather it is a highway in our hearts, a direction and a step that we must take if we are to be ready for Christ’s coming.
Maybe this is what Isaiah was telling the Israelites at the end of their exile in Babylon. Isaiah is also speaking to us as he proclaims, “In the desert prepare the way of the Lord. Make straight in the wasteland, a highway for our God.” This wasteland he speaks of is that of our hearts. It is not what is outside that defines our wilderness, our desert, our wasteland, rather it is what is in the inside. It is created by our actions and by our inactions.
However, those things outside do have an influence and they can, especially at certain times of year, point out to us just how barren and how unfruitful our present way is. Advent is a time where we more easily detect the hazards of a life unprepared for Jesus. We see our need for that which will ease our burdens of life. We more easily see what we lack and we experience our need for God.
Advent can be a lonely time, not only for those who are alone because they are widows or those who have lost loved ones this year, but a lonely time for those who have no peace, for those who have been deceived into thinking that they can buy happiness for their families by purchasing ever bigger and better gifts.
Advent can be a barren time, a time without joy for those who think that somehow all that they need is supposed to be found at the office party, or in having just that perfect tree or the nicest and biggest decorations on the block.
In many ways we are in a wilderness, a wilderness not of rocks, sand and thirst, but a wilderness that is just as desolate and which keeps us feeling spiritually dry.
Busyness is a feature of that wilderness, that desert. Continual trips to the mall to shop, parties here and there, busyness that exhausts us physically and emotionally.
We are bombarded by appeals for this or that charity. I often wonder where and how they got my name and address for I sure get many upon many pleas for charitable contributions in the mail. But they do tug at our very nature, our nature of kindness and compassion and we do pick and choose what we can afford to support. However, we still feel like we are abandoning some who depend on charitable gifts to have food to eat, a place to sleep, to have clothes on their backs. I hear this said a lot, “If only I could win the lottery.” But I can say this,” we cannot do everything but we can do what we can.”
What I am getting at here is that there are things around us, things that are good and make us feel good but there are also things around us, the things that deceive us into thinking we feel good, prompts by the devil. There are things that our society brings upon our very will to lead us to stray from that which is really good, things that cause us to sin; things like greed (wanting more than what I really need) or envy (I wish I had what he has), lust, gossip, I could go on and on. Our social media bombards us with commercials that delve into individualism, never about the good of all, just me, me, me, even at the expense of other.
Yes, we are in a wilderness, one both within and without and we need the way of the lord to be made ready to receive him so that we can emerge from this wilderness and come to the place where there is rest, the place of hope, peace, joy and love. The place where God resides.
My sisters and brothers, John talks about repentance, the repentance most of us need, the turning around our direction in life. It is a change of attitude toward life and toward the things we think important now, things that are good.
Repentance is not about beating ones breast and saying, “what a miserable sinner I have been”. Repentance is not saying I’m sorry over and over again, as we find ourselves doing, Repentance is doing things in a new way, a way that gives life both to ourselves and others, a way that allows Christ to enter more deeply into our hearts.
All of us here today most likely know more about John the Baptist than did the people who first heard him over 2,000 years ago. We do know that the One who followed after John was the One he called people to prepare for, the Lord of life. John’s words to us are still important. John calls us to a new life revealed in Jesus, and he reminds us that if we are to have that life, we must prepare ourselves for it, by changing our direction, by doing certain things differently than we have done before, to have true repentance.
Repentance is a beginning that is blessed by God, a beginning that we need to make each day, one day at a time. As we turn to face the Son of God, our lives are warmed, His light shines on our path, and as we walk forward from the place we are, we find our paths made straight, the valleys in our way are raised up, the mountains and hills made low, the rough places are made level, and the rugged places become a plain because our God walks with us.
I can’t help but look at my life’s journey. It has had many ups and downs, the times where I struggled and the times that I felt ever close to God. I have often asked myself why? Why are there those times where I felt lost as in a wilderness and all I can come up with is this: During those times my focus was not on Jesus and what He has done for me but on those things of this life, those things that keep me from the very one who hung a the cross for me. Sound familiar?
Advent is a time of rediscovering who we are and what God expects from us. If we go through this Advent with an open heart to allow Jesus to enter more deeply we will find that this season is a season of hope, peace, joy and love. Our archdiocese has been blessed with an Advent gift from Archbishop Peter Sartain with his book of reflection called, “An Advent Pilgrimage-Preparing Our Hearts for Jesus.
I can’t suggest it enough to pick up a copy to take home and read so that you can envision your own Advent Pilgrimage and your family’s. I leave you today with an excerpt from this great little book of reflections: “Advent offers a quiet opportunity to see the Lord Jesus as the only light, the only star, the only guide. He, after all, is the way. It is my prayer that these simple reflections help you keep your eyes fixed on Him-and to discover anew that he has never taken his eyes off of you.”