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!
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