December
4, 2016
2nd Sunday
of Advent
Isaiah
11:1-10; Romans 15:4-9; Matthew 3:1-12
There is this
story about three demons who were discussing what is the best way to destroy
the souls of people in the world. The first demon said, “Let’s tell them the
Bible is not true.” The second demon did not agree with the suggestion and
said, “No. That will not be effective. Let me go and I will tell them that
there is no heaven or hell.” The third demon said, “All your suggestions will not
work. This is the best way: Why don’t we tell them that God is real, the Bible is
true, there is heaven and hell. But they need not worry about these
things. They still have a long life
ahead of them. We must allow them enjoy life.
Postpone being good. Delay going to confession. There is no need to
hurry for there will always be tomorrow.”
My dear friends that is the strategy of evil one. On this Second Sunday of advent, John the Baptist tells us, “Repent NOW for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” We prepare for the coming of the Lord by not delaying our conversion and repentance. How can we be genuine in our repentance? Let me share with you 3R’s that will serve as our guide to genuine repentance this advent season:
REGRET.
Regret means being sorry for the right reason. Regret for the faults
and mistakes we have done. It means acknowledging the truth that we are
sinners. There can be no genuine repentance if we do not accept our
faults. There can be no genuine
repentance if we keep on justifying our faults. John the Baptist tells us that
we prepare for the coming of the Lord by cleansing our hearts of our sins:
Repent, acknowledge our faults and be sorry for them because the kingdom of God
is at hand.
RECONCILIATION.
Our sinfulness wounds our relationship with God and with our neighbor.
Reconciliation means mending broken relationships. Isaiah in the first reading
describes the coming of the Lord as a time for peace, reconciliation and
enemies getting together: Wolf will be guest of lamb, cow and bear shall be
neighbors, baby shall play by the cobra’s den. Paul tells us in the second
reading that Jesus came to bring reconciliation between the Jews and Gentiles.
If the coming of Jesus will bring peace and reconciliation, are we also ready
to be reconciled with God and with our neighbor? Advent season is the perfect
time to prepare our hearts for reconciliation.
RENEWAL.
True repentance must be reflected in our behavior. John the Baptist
failed to see this change of behavior in the Pharisees and Sadducees. The
gospel says they lined up to receive baptism from John. But they did it just for
the sake of observing the external ritual. Conversion is not so much about exterior
practices and rituals. Conversion is not just about going to confession. Conversion is about the renewal of our
hearts. It is about the resolve to turn away from sin and turn to God for our
salvation. Conversion is an on-going and never ending process.
My dear friends,
this advent season, let us remember 3 R’s that will guide us to genuine
repentance: Regret for sins; Reconciliation with God and our neighbor; and
Renewal of our hearts. Let us pray in this mass for the grace not to delay our
response to the invitation of John the Baptist: Repent now for the kingdom of
God is at hand. Amen.
