REPENT! Prepare the way of the Lord! These words of John the Baptist echo down through the centuries and are as pertinent to us as they were to those who first heard them. John the Baptist came from the desert crying out to the people, calling them to a moment of “metanoia”…literally meaning “a moment of turning around” from their former ways.
They came to repent and be baptized, to begin again with God, to prepare the way of the Lord! To ready themselves for an encounter with The Christ, and an encounter with God in the flesh-- the Incarnation!
The Voice of John the Baptist cries out to us in the midst of the rush and chaos of the Advent season, calling us to a conversion of heart. He announces the breaking forth of the Reign of God in our very midst. But can we hear him amid the cacophony and the clamor of our busy and overscheduled lives? I fear perhaps not, not unless we are willing to do something very counter cultural…to step back, to sit down and to spend a moment reflecting on our lives and our relationships.
Reflecting on our relationships with family and friends, with coworkers and classmates, with neighbors and our relationships with migrants and immigrants. Reflecting on our relationships with the homeless and the hungry, and with all those on the margins of society: the unseen, the ones who are “Other” than us because of the color of their skin, their gender, who they love or where they were born or what their politics are.
We need to make time this Advent to reflect on our relationships with how we view and treat “Others” who are the beloved of God…just as you are the beloved of God. Whether or not you believe it, whether or not you accept it, it is your core identity. Embrace it this Advent, embrace being the beloved of God, just as you are! It will change your life.
We need to ask ourselves if we are “living out of this identity, as the beloved of God”? In the Scriptures for this Sunday Isaiah speaks of a new time for the people of Israel -- a time of great hope; a new reign that is breaking forth.
In this new world, mercy and justice will flourish and the wicked and unjust ones will be banished forever. But as we look around it seems as if we are a long way off from the “peaceable kingdom”. Wars rage and political unrest swirl around us like the biting winds of a cold December night. Millions of our sisters and brothers desperately seek refuge, with no home in sight. Terrorists strike the innocent and fill us with fear…it all seems so bleak.
Where is the Reign of God bursting forth? It is waiting to burst forth from within each one of us! Every time we respond to a person in need or in pain or in a hurtful or harmful situation, and respond in a Christ-like manner, the Reign of God burst forth!
Are we brave enough to embrace that moment of “metanoia”…“to turn around” to answer the call of John the Baptist. To allow the love of God to soften our hearts and enlighten our minds and embolden us into action. To fight against racism, bigotry and misogyny and all forms of exclusion, marginalization and hatred
that plagues our society today?
As Christians are we willing to “live” the Reign of God through our daily actions? What would that look like? What would I have to change or continue to do in my life for me to be a living sign to others of their identity as the beloved of God, just the way they are, and in doing so show them the bursting forth of the Reign of God in the midst of a hurting and fearful world? And in doing so…“prepare the way of the Lord”!
“The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.” (Jn. 1: 5)
Advent Blessings,
Fr. Tim
They came to repent and be baptized, to begin again with God, to prepare the way of the Lord! To ready themselves for an encounter with The Christ, and an encounter with God in the flesh-- the Incarnation!
The Voice of John the Baptist cries out to us in the midst of the rush and chaos of the Advent season, calling us to a conversion of heart. He announces the breaking forth of the Reign of God in our very midst. But can we hear him amid the cacophony and the clamor of our busy and overscheduled lives? I fear perhaps not, not unless we are willing to do something very counter cultural…to step back, to sit down and to spend a moment reflecting on our lives and our relationships.
Reflecting on our relationships with family and friends, with coworkers and classmates, with neighbors and our relationships with migrants and immigrants. Reflecting on our relationships with the homeless and the hungry, and with all those on the margins of society: the unseen, the ones who are “Other” than us because of the color of their skin, their gender, who they love or where they were born or what their politics are.
We need to make time this Advent to reflect on our relationships with how we view and treat “Others” who are the beloved of God…just as you are the beloved of God. Whether or not you believe it, whether or not you accept it, it is your core identity. Embrace it this Advent, embrace being the beloved of God, just as you are! It will change your life.
We need to ask ourselves if we are “living out of this identity, as the beloved of God”? In the Scriptures for this Sunday Isaiah speaks of a new time for the people of Israel -- a time of great hope; a new reign that is breaking forth.
In this new world, mercy and justice will flourish and the wicked and unjust ones will be banished forever. But as we look around it seems as if we are a long way off from the “peaceable kingdom”. Wars rage and political unrest swirl around us like the biting winds of a cold December night. Millions of our sisters and brothers desperately seek refuge, with no home in sight. Terrorists strike the innocent and fill us with fear…it all seems so bleak.
Where is the Reign of God bursting forth? It is waiting to burst forth from within each one of us! Every time we respond to a person in need or in pain or in a hurtful or harmful situation, and respond in a Christ-like manner, the Reign of God burst forth!
Are we brave enough to embrace that moment of “metanoia”…“to turn around” to answer the call of John the Baptist. To allow the love of God to soften our hearts and enlighten our minds and embolden us into action. To fight against racism, bigotry and misogyny and all forms of exclusion, marginalization and hatred
that plagues our society today?
As Christians are we willing to “live” the Reign of God through our daily actions? What would that look like? What would I have to change or continue to do in my life for me to be a living sign to others of their identity as the beloved of God, just the way they are, and in doing so show them the bursting forth of the Reign of God in the midst of a hurting and fearful world? And in doing so…“prepare the way of the Lord”!
“The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.” (Jn. 1: 5)
Advent Blessings,
Fr. Tim
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