SUNDAY
6 December 2015 [ advent
– week 2 ]
• Baruch
5:1-9 • Psalm ___ • Philippians 1:4-6, 8-11 • Luke 3:1-6 •
Bibliography:
John Henry Newman, “Rebuking
Sin” (Bk.
I, Serm. 24) Parochial & Plain Sermons (1891), San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1997.
[__01__] This
Sunday’s Gospel – of the 2nd Sunday of Advent - is an account of the
message of John the Baptist.
John
the Baptist’s message was one that we might be inclined to delete, to ignore,
or to resist.
That
is, all of us would feel challenged if we were to receive a message that
required us to change, or to change direction, to think differently, speak
differently, act differently.
Change
is difficult.
[__02__] On
more than one occasion, I have – and perhaps we all have – had to admit that we
do not have all the answers.
And,
we may need a course-correction or change in order that we could find them.
Years
ago, in a difficult and technical academic class in college, I was lamenting to
one of my friends about low scores and inability to keep with the homework.
My
friend had taken the same class and recommended this professor.
I
expected – from a friend …. Pity, compassion, but instead, I received this
question,
“Well,
what are you doing about it? Have you gone to see the professor at his office?
He will help you.”
So,
I went to see the professor, many times. My grades improved. In that class, in
particular, I recall that I learned not only the importance of having the right
answer but also of following the proper methods.
However,
while I obtained the help that I needed …I also made the change with some
reluctance.
Many
of us, myself included, do not want to hear such a message. We would rather
rejoice to know that no such change is necessary, that there are no messages,
that my voice mail box is empty.
[__03__] This
is, however, contrary to the Good News of the Gospel.
The
Good News of the Gospel is that we are called to – and capable of – change and
conversion.
This
was also the message of John the Baptist.
It is a message about change and conversion
[__04__] Cardinal John Henry Newman observed that
John the Baptist is audible and comprehensible to others.
John
the Baptist is audible and comprehensible even to those at a distance to those
far from him.
Perhaps,
we would say that – of course – he is heard at a distance. He was in the
desert, right? He was the voice crying out – ECHOING – in the wilderness…no
obstructions, no sound barriers, nothing soundproof.
However,
John is also heard well in the city, heard by those far from him not only
physically but also spiritually, politically.
[__05__] At
times, we ourselves do not want to hear – we resist – the message of change or
conversion.
Why
do we resist?
[__06__] DISTANCE … is one reason.
Sometimes,
we are too far away to hear the message. And, by this I do not mean that we are
cross-town or cross-country from the speaker.
It
is simply easy, is it not to ignore a message from someone we do not know or do
not trust. In fact, in these days of fake emails and phishing scams, and
lottery winnings that require me to give my Social Security number to an
unknown messenger, we are trained not to talk to such strangers.
We
are trained not to trust them.
[__07__] John
Henry Newman observes that John the Baptist was able to deliver a message about
repentance and change, despite the distance.
He was able to do this because of his own humility and self-sacrifice.
John
the Baptist was bold enough to speak to the King, to King Herod about his
relationship, his marriage.
John
the Baptist was heard not because of his loud voice but also because of his own
humility.
Newman
observed, “it is [not] a difficult thing for a man of a rude arrogant mind to
say a harsh thing to men in power … it is rather a gratification.”
However
the unusual aspect of John the Baptist was that was not only able to criticize
– but also connect with King Herod.
We
read in the Gospel of Mark the way that John the Baptist was treated by Herod.
While others wanted to harm – or take his life, Herod acted in the following
way
“Herod
feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man and kept him safe.
When he heard him, he was much perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly.”
(Mark 6:20)
[__08__] Newman observes that it is a rare thing for a
person at the level – the ordinary level – of John the Baptist to correct – or
reprove – a superior person, an official government leader . It is especially difficult to do so without
incurring the wrath or revenge of the king:
“John
the Baptist rebuked [corrected] Herod without making him angry, therefore he
must have rebuked him with gravity, temper, sincerity, and an evident
good-will.”[1]
John
the Baptist was able to overcome this distance.
Distance
can be an obstacle in our conversion, the call to change.
[__09__] On the other hand, CLOSENESS or INTIMACY can
also be an obstacle.
Perhaps,
in certain packed or crowded rooms, it is difficult to hear.
It
would also be difficult to hear if we were to hear the same message over and
over again and were to continuing ignoring it. This is the fable of the boy who
cried wolf.
It
is also the Gospel of the prophet not being accepted in his own hometown.
Been
there, done that.
Sometimes,
closeness or lack of distance can be an obstacle.
John
Henry Newman observes in the 19th century something that is still
going on in the 21st century, that Christians – those in the Body of
Christ – by an unspoken agreement – wink at each other’s faults and keep
silence.
I
have at times also signed this agreement …initialed this contract, indicating
that he right thing to do is to keep silence.
After
all, if I dare point out to someone his or her fault, then am I not also bound
to hold myself to a higher standard?
But,
as Newman observes, such a “correction” can be given with charity, with prayer,
with restraint, and with the humility of John the Baptist. This benefits both
the person giving the message and the person receiving the message.
[__10__] Just
as Jesus came to speak to us, he also came to listen to us, to take our sins
upon himself, to die for our sins …and when we go to confess our sins, we also
participate in both this death and resurrection and sacramentally.
The
message reaches us through the sacraments of the Church, helping us to prepare
the way of the Lord, to make straight his paths.
[__11__]
[__12__]
[__fin__]
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