Second Sunday of Advent 9.12.18 Repent
If St John the Baptist were to stand before us today, what
would he say?
Our Lord makes reference to John’s clothing: did you expect
to see a man dressed in soft clothing (Mt 11,8)?
John’s clothing was not soft, nor was his preaching. He
spoke the hard truth, that his listeners were sinners and needed to repent.
Much of present-day language is softened: people today make
‘inappropriate choices’ or ‘mistakes’ or ‘errors of judgment’ (these are all
euphemisms for plain old sin!) The use
of such terms can make the sin seem less serious and therefore not as urgent a
matter as it really is.
John addressed some Pharisees present at one of his talks - You brood of vipers (Mt 3,7).
Not very nice, many would say today. Yet his words were
true, and spoken without malice. He cared for the wellbeing of others, and that
is why he served up truth – necessary for them to know, so they could make the
necessary changes in their lives.
So the Church has ever since been preaching, Repent, Repent.
That is what John would be telling us today. In any century,
in any country, the same tune, the same words, the same urgency.
Having absorbed the hard language, repentance is hard in
another sense insofar as it requires us to give up certain things, to which we
may be attached, or even addicted.
But it leads to joy as we feel the weight of sin lifted from
us. The Lamb of God takes that sin on Himself. We feel liberated. The pain is
worth it.
We cannot cling to our sin and still expect to be admitted
into the kingdom of God. Know you not that the unjust shall not possess
the kingdom of God? Do not err: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor
adulterers (1 Co 6,9).
Many would argue today that God will admit them to Heaven because
He loves them. But do they love Him? That part is also necessary. We must have
genuine contrition for our sins, not just rely on God's love to carry the day.
He will help us to reach the required state, if we let Him
go to work on us. We approach Him in sacraments and prayer, and we gradually
improve.
Ancient Israel was always learning the painful lesson that
if they disobeyed God they would pay for it in other ways. They would lose
their battles, suffer plagues and diseases, be divided from each other.
Sound familiar? The same problem applies now. The human race
as a whole suffers all these things, because people do not come to terms with
God.
And many within the Church have abandoned confessing their
sins, preferring to be more ‘positive’ in their outlook, emphasising their
achievements rather than their failures.
We must, whoever we are, confess our sins and, like the
Publican, begin with asking for mercy (Lk 18,13). This we do in every Mass, and
should do every day, at least once, an Act of Contrition.
We have to do all the other things: go out and evangelise
the world, relieve poverty, and contribute to the social and moral welfare of
our societies.
We cannot wait until we are perfect before we embark on these
courses, otherwise we would never be able to do anything.
But implicit in all our projects is an acknowledgment that
we are always in need of God's mercy.
If we are humble before Him He will bless our undertakings
and there will be much good fruit.
St John the Baptist and all holy prophets will tell us so,
in plain language. May we hear the truth and live by it.
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