2nd Sunday of Advent 4 December 2022 Desires
Our faith requires a certain toughness. While we might prefer things to be easy and comfortable there is also in us a desire for challenge and achievement; and even to be disciplined, though it hurts sometimes.
We find we have conflicting desires much of the time. We do not always want the right thing in the right way.
We understand that everything would run much better if we did want the right things but our sinfulness confuses us.
It should not be as difficult as it is, but at least we know to what we are aspiring.
Ultimately we want to go to Heaven. What is so good about Heaven is that we can indulge the senses? No, it is to be in union with God.
There will be sensual enjoyment, no doubt, but there is more than that, waiting to be discovered.
At two years old we might be happy to play in the backyard. At twenty-two we would be bored by infantile games and seek other sources of entertainment.
At 42 or 62, probably different again.
Our tastes change and we learn as we go, so we can smile at our own limited understanding back years ago.
The same process can apply to how we are now, at whatever age. We are offered Heaven, and even in this life a fair slice of Heaven as we bring our lives under God’s authority.
The happiness being offered to us is much greater than we have ever experienced here, or could even imagine.
What made John the Baptist do what he did; to live so differently from other people around him? He could have been just one of the boys but chose to be separate, pursuing different goals.
He had discovered the precious pearl (Mt 13,45-46) and stayed with that all his life. Even in the womb he could rejoice at the coming of the Messiah (Lk1,44).
It takes the average person years to grasp this, if they ever do, but John was right onto it.
Like John we must stay on the right side of the argument. We can always set a straight course if we have not done so yet. Prepare ye the way.
The way to eternal life.
Instead of just trying for worldly happiness, as seen from our very limited perspective, we can go for a much bigger prize.
We cultivate our stance before God, our desire for Him, and knowledge of Him. As we do that we find we are less reliant on the worldly things, we probably thought we could never do without.
John the Baptist preferred penance to sensual delights.
Penance is the voluntary renunciation of permissible pleasures. It helps us to focus on other things besides what we can see right in front of us. It helps us to see beyond this life to the next, and adjust accordingly.
John would have been happier in the desert eating locusts than spending Friday night at the pub etc.
We get bored with the world, not in a depressive way but because we have found something better.
In the old quiz shows you could take your winnings and leave, or you could come back next week and try for higher prizes. This is our position. We must come back till we find God, and having done that we never let go.
We talk penance at the most hedonistic time of the year! We want happiness as much as anyone, only we know from the prophets and other saints that it cannot be found in this life alone. We set our sights for Heaven, our true home.
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