We are now on the 2nd Sunday of Advent. The good news of the season of Advent is that the Lord is coming. Wherever Christ is, there is hope. And being followers of Him means that we should be signs of hope, too. Therefore, let us welcome Him who is coming into our lives.
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The message of hope is well explained in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “We can therefore hope in the glory of heaven promised by God to those who love him and do his will. In every circumstance, each one of us should hope, with the grace of God, to persevere to the end and to obtain the joy of heaven, as God’s eternal reward for the good works accomplished with the grace of Christ” (CCC, 1821).
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The message of hope is for all of us to live in our life. Let us, however, look at the life of John the Baptist – the messenger of hope. The Gospel this Sunday brings to the fore John the Baptist, who is made known because of his role in salvation history.
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John the Baptist is well known because He embodied a prophecy way ahead of his time. The prophet Isaiah identified him well as the voice in the desert crying out: Prepare the way of the Lord. John is the Voice; Christ Jesus is the Word. John is the Messenger; Christ Jesus is the Message. Not any human being was identified properly way ahead of his birth. John the Baptist was given the role to prepare the way of his Lord, our Lord. As the voice and a messenger, John preached the good news – Christ Jesus. He did not relate his own life story; he shared the life story of the Messiah.
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John the Baptist is also well known because of the message of his preaching in the desert of Judea: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The message is not simply to prepare; to prepare is to repent. Our preparation for the coming of Christ means conversion. There must be sincere repentance in us. This does not mean a chain of external fulfillment of penance. They may be helpful. But the call to repentance here is what we call metanoia. Metanoia means to make an about face in our way of thinking and life. Our own interests and plans have been at the center of our life; now, metanoia recognizes Christ as the center of our life for “the kingdom of heaven is at hand”.
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John the Baptist is also well known because of his humility – “the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals.” Even as a messenger, John the Baptist is an epitome of truth. He did not flatter his audience nor did he assume a false personality. Gospel means good news. And there is good news when it is the truth that is being sounded and shared. John the Baptist did not try to please people, not even Herod or Herodias. As they say, a person who tries to please everybody pleases nobody but himself. He stood for the truth and he died because of the Truth – Christ Jesus.
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Our society today needs more true messengers like John the Baptist. There is a growing hesitation to become messengers among people of good will because they feel they are unworthy. But John the Baptist gave us the good example: I am not worthy to carry his sandals. It is not our unworthiness, who is worthy anyway? It is our willingness to carry and preach the good news of Christ Jesus. If we do not preach, who will preach the good news of Christ Jesus? Even John the Baptist recognized his unworthiness but he continued as a faithful messenger of the Message. His voice was a loud cry, not a dying whisper!
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Our society today needs more voices to share the Message.
