Thursday 5 December 2019

1st Sunday of Advent 1 Dec 2019 Sermon


1st Sunday of Advent 1.12.19 Recognizing the Saviour

We are often reminded we should repent of our sins; and that we should avoid sin.

Sin is anytime we offend God by breaking one of His commands. There are the Ten Commandments, and then there are sub-clauses that go with them. For example, Thou shalt not kill takes in hating or insulting as well.

It is difficult not to fall into one sin or another. To have to keep all the rules could sound like an impossible burden.

If we put the same thing another way, however, it all seems easier.

We can avoid sin simply by recognizing with sufficient clarity our Saviour Jesus Christ.

The more we come to know and love Him the easier it will be for us to align ourselves with His will.

And this will mean we no longer commit sin, because we have lost all desire for it. It will be no great effort, either, because it will come naturally.

There are already some sins we would not dream of committing, such as rob the local bank. We can come to the point where we would not dream of speaking unnecessarily about our neighbour’s faults, or having jealous thoughts.

The moral law comes from God and expresses His nature. The more we understand Him the more natural His laws appear. He has not just thrown us a rule book and said, Here, keep these!

Instead He has come among us and patiently shown us what He is like, what God is like, what Man is like when brought into union with God.

Jesus came to show us the Father (Jn 14,9).  He never sinned in His human nature, never rebelled against God;  because He had perfect union with God, perfect understanding of what was what, and why it was so.

This is where we need to be, or at least steadily pressing in that direction.

The rules still matter; and He does want us to keep them; only that it come from the heart; that it be an expression of the union we have achieved with God up to the present time.

And this is meant to catch on; so that the whole population will come to the same understanding; no longer resenting being told what to do.

God is not denying our natural desires, but rather purifying those desires, making us much happier than we would have been, if left to ourselves.

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (Ep 5,8).

We have been liberated, at least in principle, and there is more to come.

It may hurt a little to re-orientate our desires; but the joy will be far greater than the pain.

In Advent we are reminded that our time is limited. We do not have forever to decide whether we will accept God's offer of liberating us.

The invitation is very generous on His part, but if we delay too long we will stay in our sins, and with that will come the penalty of eternal death.

In the end it comes to this: do we love God or Not?

Whether we keep the rules is one measure of that, but as we see that is only a start.

We have a long way to go to reach the full and serene union with the Heart of God, as we would see in Our Lady, for instance.

The time we have left is the time to travel this distance, to reach the required level of union.

We refer back to the time of Our Lord on earth, for constant reassurance and direction.

If we can draw from His humanity - His trust in God, His gentleness, generosity, wisdom, compassion - then we must arrive eventually.

Come, Lord Jesus includes that we come to Him; come in mind and heart; agree with Him; accept all He wants to do for us.

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