Prepare the Way. (2017-12-10, Advent)

Sunday 10 December 2017,    2^nd Sunday of Advent

● Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11  ● Psalm 85 ●  2 Peter 3:8-14  ●● + Mark 1:1-8  ●●  

Title: “Prepare the Way” 

[__01__]      On this 2^nd Sunday of Advent, we read about the construction of a highway, of a road to welcome our Lord and Savior.

          What happens when a new road or bridge is being built? What happens during its construction?

          One thing we observe is that all the existing traffic has to go somewhere.

          For example, over the past 3 years, a new bridge has been under construction to cross the Hudson River where the Tappan Zee Bridge is located.

          The new bridge – which recently opened to traffic – located parallel to – alongside the existing bridge.

          A new way has been prepared.

[__02__]      There are ways in which you and I are called to prepare the way of the Lord, during this busy end-of-year season.

          You might think or say… don’t bother me – Father Jim – with all this talk about getting ready for Advent, Christmas, or the 2^nd Coming.

          I have enough to do….

          I have deadlines.

          The call to prepare the way of the Lord reminds that we are building this way – often in parallel – to all of our other projects.

[__03__]  What is that creates a an obstacle to getting started ..or responding to God’s call… in our lives?

          Could it not also be a feeling that we are powerless or ineffective against some other force, maybe against someone else’s greediness, someone else’s jealousy, someone else’s anger?

          It may be that we feel powerless against our own anger or our own sinfulness.

          One of the messages of our recent Christ the King celebration is that Jesus is the King who comes to rule ..not only to rule and govern the nations, but also to give us the grace to rule, to reform, to turn back to him, to make a smooth path for his presence.

[__04__]       During Advent – or  anytime – when we confess our sins, admit our faults, we are also making a smooth pathway, admitting that actions – my actions – have consequences  not only for my own salvation and happiness but also for the salvation and happiness of others.

          Is my anger a valley or a mountain to others? It may be a mountain high enough and time enough to welcome God’s  presence and follow his instruction for construction, reconstruction and to prepare the way of the Lord. And, by preparing the way of the Lord – in love and charity – we also enable others to move about more freely, without so many traffic jams.

          And, with God’s help, we can do so, in parallel and gradually with our many responsibilities.   [_fin__]