2nd Sunday of Advent (C) 8 September 2024 Sermon

2nd Sunday of Advent (C)        8 December 2024 Salvation

Prepare ye the way of the lord… a levelling out of what is crooked can be taken in different ways.

There is what God does for us, and what we need to do in response to Him - which is to repent; and then keep that repentance in view as we purify our lives of all that is unworthy of disciples of Christ. We do not grasp for too much but travel light on our pilgrim way.

God rescues us by leading us to true sorrow for sin and a continuous learning of what He wants to reveal to us.

God wants to take us a long way, probably a lot further than we would have sought for ourselves.

Consider, you are on a raft at sea, in great danger. A boat comes by and rescues you. There is gratitude about being saved from such a predicament. This is ‘salvation’ to a point, but if I was a greedy grasping person while I was on the raft, I will still be greedy and grasping when I am safely on the boat. I still need more saving, to get my character right.

Salvation, divine style, is when we go that extra step and seek inner healing, the forgiveness and healing of all that is wrong in our thoughts and attitudes. This is what comes out of my mouth and what actions I do. It is from within (Mk 7,21-23) Our Lord says, that good or evil things come, not from external rituals.

If we get the interior right the external behaviour will match accordingly. Blessed are the peacemakers etc 

People generally stop too short of the kind of self-renewal that is needed. 

Some will say that we must take people as they are. Yes, but that does not rule out correcting faults. Self-acceptance means I am called to belong to Gods family; healing of faults will restore me to Gods family and give me a strong sense of belonging.

We participate in our own salvation. To be saved I have to face my own contribution to the problem. I cannot just put all the blame onto others, or the ‘system’.

It will take more than  education or discussion; I need to be right with God.

Some will declare victory too soon. ‘I have met the Lord; I am saved’ It is  a good start but there is a long way to go.

On the other hand, we can become cynical about life and people, doubting they can ever change for the better. But we have some strong anti-cynicism medicine in our prayer and sacraments!

The levelling of the countryside means the removal of obstacles. We can take a fresh approach to reaching God's kingdom.

He will clear away obstacles in our path, and we will do the same for Him.

He will enable us to see things in a new light and that will give us motivation to do things differently.

We will make it easier for him to save us if we do not resist. The one sheep could run away from the good shepherd. People generally resist God's efforts to save them. Unless they hit rock bottom like the prodigal son.

We will not get a completely straight run in this life, but we can make it easier than it has been so far.

Prepare the way of the Lord!

1st Sunday of Advent 1 December 2024 Sermon

1st Sunday of advent 1 December 2024 Stages of growth

The season of Advent tends to be somewhat swamped by Christmas, as most Christmas events are celebrated before Christmas Day arrives.

We still have the Advent liturgy, however, and that keeps us in our place as far as needing to prepare for Christmas, and not just stumble into it.

The Advent readings take us the full range of time, from distant future to distant past, as we contemplate the infinite power and goodness of God.

All time is in God’s hands, He is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last. We squeeze in there somewhere; small as we are we will not be overlooked.

The Advent season, coming over four weeks gives us a sense of progression from one stage to the next. Think of the Advent wreath as an accumulation of desire on our part, desiring the Lord more each week than the week before. And this of course can go all year, as we grow in our love of God from one time to the next.

As it has been observed, how can we be afraid to meet the Lord if we profess to love Him?

We do not usually fear those we love. So, it is put to us in today’s Gospel that we should go out to meet the Lord with our heads held high. To be able to do that we need to ask Him to draw us along, teaching us, forgiving us, generally maintaining us. He will be no stranger to us when we meet Him on the Last Day.

We are commanded to love God. That it needs to be a command is to help us get used to the idea. But when we love Him enough, we will not need to be told to love Him. The love will flow naturally. It will come with prayer and sacraments as we realize Gods progressive goodness to us.

God knows we cannot take in much at a time, so He reveals His plans gradually, stretching over thousands of years and many generations. 

So, are we progressing in the love of God? We love what is loveable; once we break through initial reserve we will see much more.

We must do some basic things to help this along, such as attend Mass. Get the little things right and the big ones will follow.

We will shed earthly attachments as we do this. Thus, we de-clutter the way; we live simple and good lives, with all the various virtues emerging as needed. Make straight the way of the Lord. 

Many see the Church and religion in general as a kind of drag. Not if we get into the right understanding. A lot of it may be unfamiliar but we get to like it. 

Ask a child who plays in the back yard. Ask him if he would like to be still doing that in ten years’ time. He would probably say yes, but ask him in ten years and he would not want to go back. 

And that in a nutshell is our situation. We don’t know the layout of where we are going, but we do know it is better than here; and we will be better people there than we are here.

The four weeks of Advent symbolise a continuous movement towards eternity. 

May we never stop loving God or seeking more.

In the meantime, let this be the best Advent and best Christmas ever!