SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT

[cappie]

 In the Advent readings we recall God's saving deeds - in the history of Israel and in the coming of Jesus. Our remembrance is meant to stir our faith, to fill us with confidence that, as today's second reading puts it, "the One who began a good work in [us] will continue to complete it" until He comes again in glory.

Each of us, the Liturgy teaches, is like Israel in her exile -   in need of restoration, conversion by the Word of the Holy One . The lessons of salvation history should teach us that, as God again and again delivered Israel, in His mercy He will free us  if we turn to Him.

God also has a sense of timing and a plan when it comes to dealing with his people. God decides the time and place when he will act.
 
That is very evident in this Sunday's Gospel (Luke 3:1-6). There we read about the ministry of John the Baptist.
 
Luke tells us the names of political and religious leaders who were in power when John began preparing the way for the coming Messiah. That information lets us know that John started his ministry around the year 27 AD "in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee ... during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas."
 
Furthermore, Luke tells us where John preached. He "went throughout the whole region of the Jordan."
 
But it was not John's decision to act at that particular time or in that particular place - it was God's. In the Gospel of Luke it is evident that God acted at a definite time in the lives of Zechariah and Elizabeth to bring about the birth of John the Baptist, just as he acted in the life of Mary to bring forth the Messiah.

John the Baptist has an important message for us. At least, that is what the Church is saying. It is saying that before we rush to the joy of Christmas, before we receive the great mystery of God with us, we have to prepare for this event through a time of self-examination and penitence. That is, we need to set aside some time to examine our spiritual lives, to look with utmost honesty at all the ways our lives are out of balance, to try bring about some harmony in ourselves and in our world. As John says, quoting the prophet Isaiah, “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 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” 

So in Advent, we hear John’s message as an invitation to spiritual reflection. Just as we might clean our house in preparation for a special guest, so the Church asks us to take stock of our souls and to be at our best when the special day arrives.
 
God had a plan of a salvation and that plan not only included definite people and places, it included definite times.
 
If God had a sense of timing when it came to John and Jesus and to all the figures in the scriptures, can't we conclude that God has a sense of timing when it comes to us?
 
Is the fact that we are alive at this time and in this place purely a random act of chance outside of the control of God, or are we here at this time, on this day, according to God's good timing?
 
Advent is the perfect season for us to consider how God acted in human history and in accordance with his timing to bring about the birth of the Messiah.
 
Advent is also the perfect season for us to notice how God is working in our lives to bring us closer to him. Through the words of John the Baptist, we are being challenged to "prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths."
 
Furthermore, this Advent season stands out for another reason. It brings us the beginning of the Holy Year of Mercy announced by Pope Francis. A year that will offer us opportunities to grow in our appreciation of the mercy, forgiveness, and personal love that God has for each us.

We each have a mission. Being a Catholic means experiencing the joy of being loved and chosen and forgiven by God. How am I called to communicate this good news?
 
The fact that we are alive this Advent season is no accident. God has a sense of timing and that timing includes us! We are not random – as Pope Benedict XVI said, “Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary.”  We’re called to tell that to others.

When we receive Christ in the Eucharist, we’re receiving all the power and the presence of God. So let’s be intentional about this. Let’s pick one way this week that we can bring joy to others.