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Isaiah was commanded by God
to speak tenderly to the people returning from the Babylonian exile.
What comfort did he give them? He announced that their slavery was about
to end and their sins were to be forgiven. And how would all this come
about? A voice would cry out: Prepare a way for the Lord in the desert!
Make a straight highway for God in the wilderness. Every path must be
made ready for the glory of the Lord to be revealed. Here comes the Lord
your God with power, bringing his reward with him. Like a shepherd he
would gather his people and bring them home.
Those beautiful words took on a different shade of meaning in the mouth
of John the Baptizer. John embodied the terrifying and fascinating image
of the Old Testament prophet Elijah. John understood himself to be that
voice crying out in the desert, “Prepare the way of the Lord, make
straight his paths.” He preached repentance from sin and a radical
change of heart, manifested in justice toward others. John saw his
mission as the one who prepares the way. He announced the coming of the
Holy One of God, who would baptize with the Holy Spirit.
The Holy One of God has indeed entered into human history when Jesus was
born to Mary and Joseph at Bethlehem. Jesus entered our personal history
at our Baptism. Through the power of his Holy Spirit He lives in
the souls of those He has freed from sin and justified by sanctifying
grace. He continues to enter into our lives through the sacraments,
especially the healing sacraments of Reconciliation and Anointing of the
Sick.
In 2 Peter, we are reminded
that the Lord will come again. However, God’s time is not our time.
“With the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years
like one day.” The Lord is patient in order that we not perish. “But the
day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass
away…” The next coming of Christ will be as our judge. What sort of
persons ought we to be, waiting for and hastening the day of the Lord?
We must conduct ourselves in holiness and devotion.
Advent is an invitation to
consider our lives in light of the coming of Christ the Lord. Have
we turned the paths of our lives from crooked to straight? Filled in the
valleys of our self-doubt and disappointment? Lowered the mountains of
our pride and envy? Do our lives reveal his glory? Take advantage of the
Sacrament of Reconciliation in the coming days on: Saturdays, December
10th & 17th from 3:30 to 4:00 PM and on December 21st, 22nd, & 23rd from
6:00 to 8:00 PM.
Prepare the way of the Lord! |
