Second Sunday of Advent

Fr Dominic’s Homily

We light our second candle. Last week represented hope, this week represents love. All the candles of course represent the light of Christ coming into the world.

Now we actually have no idea what day Jesus was born on. But the reason why we celebrate the birth of Christ in December is because it’s at the time of the shortest day. It is to remind us that Jesus is the true sun who brings light into the world.

Each year, the second and the third Sundays in Advent centre on John the Baptist, reminding us that if we want to prepare well for the birth of Jesus then we need to listen to John’s message. He actually fulfils the message of the prophet Isaiah all those years before when he speaks of a voice that cries in out in the wilderness.

In the ancient world when a king decided to tour his kingdom, he first sent his herald ahead to prepare the way. So John the Baptist is the great herald of the Christ the King and the preparation which he speaks about is a preparation of our hearts and our lives.

He says: “Make straight the paths of the Lord,” which means clearing the path of sin and any obstacle preventing the Lord from coming into our lives so that Jesus can enter our hearts more easily.

Just as Isaiah tells us to level the mountains and fill the valleys. Any pride in us becomes an obstacle and we must fill any negative areas with virtue.

John called people to repent as a way of preparing their hearts and lives for the Lord's visit. He calls for a change of heart so that we choose for God in our thoughts and actions.

John lives in the desert we hear. And it is in the quiet of the wilderness we receive the Word of God and experience the conversion of heart that makes us receptive to God’s love.

The desert is a place of listening. It is not so much a place as an experience. An experience of transformation. It’s where we face situations that we try and avoid. It’s a good analogy for advent – to prepare ourselves.

John the Baptist comes from this desert saying repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. He is known as roughly clothed and eating a strange diet.

He has said a profound yes to God and this is why he has said so many “no’s" to himself. He has given himself entirely to the service of the Lord.

He wears simple clothes and has a simple message: Conversion and repentance.

We have to receive God's word into our heart and mind and allow his Word to change our attitudes and thinking.

This is an ongoing process. There is never a time when you can say you have been fully converted!

Repentance is the deliberate turning away from sin and turning to God to receive his pardon, healing, and strength to do what is good and reject what is wrong.

But more than that Repentance is this means a new way of seeing and being. A new way of life.

Often Jesus heals the blind in the scriptures. Remember that the spiritually blind don’t even know that they are blind.

That’s why we need a kind of discipline.

We need to see people clearly in a more spiritual way.

We need to ask for more light.

We also need to ask the Lord to reveal the faults that are within us that may be hidden to ourselves.

We all await Jesus to return – but our own notions of who he should be may be different. We need humility that can allow us to see and understand him in the right way and not in the way we simply want him to be to suit our needs.

In this season of Season of Prayer and preparation as we listen to John the Baptist let our self-denial be for the sake of giving a more profound and sincere yes to God as we prepare for the birth of Christ into the world and into our hearts.