Sunday the 8th of December 2024 - Second Sunday of Advent

Baruch 5:1-9/ Ps 126(125)/ Philippians 1:3-6, 8-11/ Luke 3:1-6

Today we light the second purple candle on the Advent wreath. This candle represents faith. Called the “Bethlehem Candle” it is a reminder of Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem.

The world of communications with high-definition television and the power of the internet allows us to virtually travel anywhere we like. Although this ability to see things almost as if we were there is amazing, is it really a substitute for physical travel? Can a virtual visit be as absorbing as actually being at a place? To fully appreciate a location, we need to be there, to experience the sight, sound, smell, and feeling of the place.

We cannot live our lives in a virtual world. We need to live in the present, in the world we inhabit, and interact fully with the people around us. The season of Advent helps us to become present in the story of the incarnation, God taking flesh and becoming human in the person of Jesus. We can stand aside from this reality as in a virtual world, or we can engage in it with all its physical reality. Advent takes us on a journey to the reality of the baby born in a stable at Bethlehem. It brings us into the reality of Christ living at the heart of his Church on earth and not simply a character in an ancient story.

The period of Advent reflects our faith life. Our baptism marks the beginning of our faith journey, our pilgrimage through life here on earth. A journey that leads us to the reality of eternal life, the life we are created for. We are created in the image and likeness of God, and Jesus became human reflecting himself in our image and likeness. The only difference being the absence of sin in Christ, an absence of sin that we will eventually achieve, not through our own efforts, but because of the appearance of God, the baby born in Bethlehem.

Luke plants his gospel firmly in history naming several people and their important positions. Included in this list are Pilate, Herod, Annas, and Caiaphas, all of whom were to have direct and influential encounters with Jesus. We hear of John, a voice crying in the wilderness, referring to the first reading and the journey of God’s chosen people through the dessert. A call for repentance and preparation for the Lord by making the crooked paths straight and the rough places level, so that all humanity can see the salvation of God made real to us in Bethlehem. This is the purpose of our journey through life, a journey brought into focus for us during Advent, our calling as Christians and the purpose of the Church.

In our times it can feel that we are a voice crying in the wilderness and that the world is just not listening. This should not deter us from continuing to be counter cultural and increasingly at odds with what is going on around us. The world sees changing values and principals over time, differing beliefs and understandings abound, but the word of God remains the same, solid, honest, and reliable down the ages. We might seem to be like John the Baptist, dishevelled and at odds with the world, or like Jesus, rejected and put to death for preaching peace and tolerance, but that should affirm us on our journey. If we were comfortable in the ways of the world we would not be on the right pilgrimage path.

Our Christian life is a journey along a road. Sometimes the path is hard, twisting and turning, with many hills to climb. We need to be like road engineers building a motorway, seeking to smooth out sharp corners, and level the steep gradients. In this way it will not only be easier for us but easier for people to follow our way. There will be times when the journey is arduous, but it is in human weakness that the power of God appears most often, and in suffering that we can join with Christ in the suffering he endured for us.

The call of Advent is the call of John the Baptist to make straight the paths for the Lord in our own hearts and in the world around us, to clear the obstructions that hinder us in our journey, to welcome the Christ Child into the world, our lives, and our souls.

God Bless Brendan.