audio homily is in stereo

Last week, we began the season of Advent, this week we enter the middle of this simple four week season. We see the powerful Gospel of Luke, which we will follow all year, presenting John the Baptist calling us to prepare for the coming of the Lord. This is the true meaning of Advent. It is not a time to prepare for Christmas, but to prepare for the coming of the Lord.

Let us look closely at this reading:
St. John the Baptist is the last of the Old Testament prophets. He is a visionary and he had knowledge of the future that most did not have. A virtual feral child, he spoke with the intensity of a Father trying to get his family out of a burning house. He knew that he had to call the people to repentance, for it is only through repentance that they would escape the tribulation to come. A tribulation that still exists in some circles. So he is not only vehemently calling people to repent, he is also separating the wheat from the chaff among his community of Jews.

Many people today will say that God does not exist, and the reason is that they do not see God. It is an unscientific assumption and I do not care which scientist says there is no God, he did not use the scientific method to make this declaration. If we look closely at the missing factor in calculations of whether or not God exists, that unaccounted for element is always time. God’s will is done, but not immediately, rather in time.

So throughout the Old Testament, we see that there is a description of the future and it involves all the world coming to adore the God of the Jews in Jerusalem. In order for this to happen, there are many events that must take place over time. Jesus life, death and resurrection are the key events which open the door of salvation to all. That door is proclaimed to be opened right back in Genesis, but again time must first pass. We learn that Jesus arrives at the fullness of time. It is at the fullness of time that this process happens with John the Baptist leading the way. What also must happen is those who seek to block the door must be removed. John the Baptist may or may not be aware that he is the last prophet of the Old Testament who will usher in this process, but he is deeply aware that a great change is happening, that he is its herald and that people have to choose which part of that change they will be in.

Imagine he is in a beach resort town and he feels a rumbling in his room that he is aware that this indicates a major earthquake somewhere in the world. A major earthquake happening elsewhere may cause a devastating tsunami in a beach resort. So he runs through the town yelling for people to head for high ground. Many will have not the slightest inkling of the possible danger coming and will dismiss him a fool. Others will try to shut him up, after all he is costing them money. Still others will listen. That is a good way to comprehend how he sees his mission and its intensity. He is calling people to repent, for the world is about to change and their repentance or lack thereof will have eternal consequences.

As a member of Canção Nova, I follow Monsignor Jonas’ system of Bible study and in doing so I found a powerful verse in chapter seven of this Gospel that highlights this very message. Jesus is speaking and says that the scribes and pharisees rejected John’s baptism and therefore they put themselves outside God’s plan for their lives. You cannot get more scarier words than that, when Jesus himself says that those who reject God’s messenger put themselves outside of God’s plan for their salvation. That shows you how important John is and by default how important our Catholic message is. John is fully aware what is at stake and he begins to proclaim the message to all.

Today, as I said is the second week of Advent and as I said last week, this is not a time for preparing to celebrate Christmas, it is a time to prepare for our ultimate encounter with Christ, that is literally the meaning of advent.

It is time to look at the call to repent and to see what in our life needs to change.Pope John Paul II said, as we approached the millennium, that St. Paul warned to eliminate the desires of the flesh by seeking the ways of the spirit. The sainted Pope added that in our time the desires of the flesh are expressed in a materialism that rejects God. That materialism which surrounds us in thought and in practice is something we need to eliminate from our lives. It is seen in declaring God non-existent and living a life seeking only what this world has to offer us. In our world, it is found not only in those who reject God and find materialist and political solutions to the world’s problems, it is also found in those in and outside of the Church who demand their world, their way. They are rejecting God for the desires fulfilled only in the materialistic philosophies and moralities. They are lost. You, if you embrace Christ are not. What habits are you going to build this year to reject the philosophy and habits of materialism and embrace the truth of Christ. What ideas will you explore that are going to put you at odds with those around you who will tell you that there is no God? What new habits are you going to build to strengthen your witness to a world that like the scribes and pharisees rejects the message of John the Baptist and puts itself outside God’s plan of salvation.

There will come a time when you are standing in front of the throne of God, will you be ready? Will that moment catch you by surprise? Will you have anything to show for the gift of life that God gave you?

God’s kingdom is found by those who seek it. Those who reject it put themselves out of God’s kingdom. We have a mission not that different from John the baptist. What we believe is real but it is realized through the progress of time, which is why many do not understand our faith. They want proof now of what we preach. It is happening, but in God’s time, not ours. Imagine explaining to a roman soldier how oil in the ground can be used for fuel to move chariots forward. He would not have a clue what you were saying. The principles that make that combustible engines work were just as real then as they are now, but the time had not come to put them into practice. That does not mean they were never real.

John’s understanding comes to fruition, not only does Jesus’ come and, through his preaching, his death and resurrection open the door of salvation for all who seek Him. The Father put an end to that which blocked that doorway. The scribes and pharisees were outside God’s plan of salvation and the system they embraced embodied by the temple was destroyed less than forty years after Jesus’ death. One of the greatest proofs of what we believe is that reality that to this day remains as it was in 70 AD. John knew the truth. He called his hearers to repentance and to reject the ways of the world. He is giving you that same call today. Are you listening?

Fr. Carr is an alliance member of the New Song Community (Canção Nova). He is the pastor of Holy Trinity Quincy, MA and is the editor of this blog. He is the author of several books, blogs and hundreds of videos all of which you may find on Youtube. He also has a regular radio program on WebRadio Canção Nova. Which he podcasts onPodomatic and here on Catholicismanew. You can follow him on twitter as @frbobcarr and on Google plus as+FrRobertCarr. Thoughts, comments on the homily? Let us know at Facebook