Thursday 21 December 2017

3rd Sunday of Advent 17 Dec 2017 Sermon

3rd Sunday of Advent 17.12.17 Spiritual progress

The human race goes on, one generation after another. In some ways we make progress:
Technology, transport, communication, medicine…

In other ways we make little or no progress: we still have hatred, violence, neglect, greed etc

Morally or spiritually, each generation repeats the mistakes of all the previous generations.

God has led us all the way, from Eden to the present day, making a series of covenants with us - with Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and finally Christ, each intervention showing a greater generosity on God's part; yet our response does not match it.

We should be smarter or more aware of moral matters than previous generations, but somehow we are not.

Why does spiritual progress differ from technological progress?

The spiritual aspect requires a deeper perception. Anyone can see the marvels of a mobile phone, but not everyone can see what is wrong with adultery.

Our Lord could have worked more miracles, even in our time, and keep people on track through frequent reminders of His closeness.

He is looking for something deeper on our part. He reveals Himself only to those who are humble, pure, and contrite enough to recognize Him – the poor in spirit, people such as Simeon and Anna, or John the Baptist himself. The last shall be first; the humble shall be exalted.

The proud are too preoccupied with themselves to see the work of the Messiah, let alone welcome Him. They are not looking in the right place, or in the right way.

Not recognizing the coming of Christ they do not change their lives.

Meanwhile they buy more gadgets for their home! They recognise one progress but not the other one.

The saying: Seeing is believing could be better put: Believing is seeing.

This is what God asks of us - to trust Him in advance, to believe His promises before we see them (such as the Second Coming), and then all manner of things can happen. Moses held out his staff and the waters parted. Five minutes before that event, it would have seemed highly unlikely, like most miracles. Miracles happen when someone obeys first.

If we can be like that we will escape the folly of the present and previous generations.

We will have the essential joy (Gaudete Sunday). Rejoice if you have such a stance with God, because you will directly experience His blessings.

Presently we are hemmed in by massive amounts of sin, doubt, fear, and the like, all of which threaten to submerge us.

It can be a battle to keep even our own faith, still more to try to convert others.

It is as simple as which road we take. So much depends on the decision.

It is all there if we want to know, the revelation of God, the story, the miracles - it is all there for public consumption.

There are mysteries in our faith, but the general thrust is clear. It is not classified information. Go to your local library, or to your very advanced phone! The data of our faith, the technical details are not hard to find.

The hard part is to be humble enough to recognize truth, and to desire it; to go down on our knees, from which position we are able to learn a lot.

Naaman the Syrian was told to wash himself seven times and he would be cured. He thought that was too easy. Yet, persuaded to do it, he was cured (4 Kings 5,1-19).

What we are asked to do to reach faith is not difficult, apart from overcoming one’s pride.


We pray we can unravel some mysteries, and finally we will get that long-overdue improvement across the generations.

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