3rd Sunday of
Advent, 14 December 2014
● Isaiah
61:1-2a ● Psalm / Luke 1:46 ● 1
Thessalonians 5:16-24 ● John 1:6-8, 19-28
[__01] This Sunday, in the Gospel, we read that
John the Baptist was conducting his ritual in the wilderness, in the wild, at
the River Jordan.
John is asked why he was
baptizing. Pharisees,
priests, Levites had gone off road to the wilderness themselves and were asking – “why do you baptize if you are not the Christ,
or Elijah or the Prophet?”(John 1:25)
John responded that his
baptism is a ritual which prepared his followers – and also prepares you and me
– for a later baptism and for a personal encounter with our Savior.
John was proclaiming
that the journey to our Savior began then – and would begin now – with the
baptism of repentance …with a baptism in water.
Life begins in
water.
[__02] Life begins in water.
We know this
scientifically and physically also.
In many settings and in
many crises, water would not be a resource to be squandered or taken for
granted.
Deprived of water, we would
not survive very long, though we might have other forms of nourishment.
When NASA and other
space agencies launch their probes and orbiters and satellites into space and
land on other planets, they are searching for – among other things – signs of
water, ice, glaciers … for there is water, there is life.
However, it’s also true
that living things –marine life and you and me – require more than water to
survive. Life begins in water, but does not end in water.
[__03] The experience of forgiveness begins
with this baptism of repentance on the bank of the Jordan. This was John the
Baptist’s message.
However, this is not the
end of the message or the end of the journey to forgiveness and salvation.
There is a difference
between the baptism of repentance and the baptism of forgiveness. And, I think
we have experienced – or seen in others – the first without the second …or the
journey of the first baptism to the second baptism.
An example given by
Jesus would be the parable of the Prodigal Son.
This prodigal son – the younger son – in the parable traveled – ran away
-- to a far country, spent all his father’s money, became destitute.
At this low point –
emotionally, spiritually, not to mention FINANCIALLY in his bank account – he
repents. This is the baptism of repentance.
The prodigal son
returned home, declaring to his father, “I
have sinned against heaven and against you and I no longer deserve to be called
your son.” (Luke 15:21)
Life begins with the the
water of repentance.
Should it end there?
Would his new life end there?
At times, I think you
and I have experienced this baptism of repentance only.
[__04] What is this repentance, to us?
Consider the times we
have experienced the –
- Cold
shoulder
- Silent
treatment
- A
“time out”
- On
the playing field, the penalty box, the yellow card, the red card, the
foul, something that would relocate a player to the sideline temporarily
or permanently during a competition.
And, play resumes after
the penalty period starts.
For example, if were to
offend someone and this person were to stop talking to us or were to put some
wall literally or figuratively, we would probably the get the message. There
would be a new boundary due to some major fault or minor fault.
Could life continue
after the fault, after the sin? Yes, if someone were to show his or her sorrow,
his or her repentance. Life continues,
begins in water.
Would not this have been
the path for the Prodigal Son?
He was even willing to accept
the BAPTISM OF REPENTANCE, to accept this and ask nothing more, saying, “treat me as you would one of your hired
workers” (Luke 15:19)
This baptism of
repentance was several steps higher– socioeconomically and spiritually – from
his destitution and despair. His father’s
hired workers had more to eat.
Life began with
repentance. However, the Good News is that God would not stop with repentance.
Life continued after repentance.
We know that the
Prodigal Son is welcomed home, he is forgiven.
[__05] The Good News is that life begins in
water. From the water, we are also invited to come up, to ascend for air, for
God’s grace.
The people of this
Gospel reading had gone into the wilderness, exited from their regular routine,
to repent. The life of salvation began at the River Jordan, in water.
This, however, was
leading to a greater baptism and a greater reconciliation.
And … for the
sacramental life of conversion – and our personal encounter with our Savior,
Jesus – this is also true. It is a journey from repentance to forgiveness.
In this journey, we are
not meant simply abandoned in lamentation over the past. We are not simply being convinced, or
persuaded to regret the past, to regret
history.
Yes, we are called to
sorrow, to contrition for our sins. Life begins with this repentance. Life
begins in water.
However, life also
continues on dry land and in our regular lives and beyond the wilderness.
Life continues in the
reconciliation and in the peace of the sacraments of the Church.
[__06] We read in the Gospel of John that …[CCC
1470]…. In converting to Christ through penance and faith – i..e, through
repentance, you and I – pass from death to life and “do not come into
judgement”. (John 5:24, CCC 1470)
That is, when we confess
our sins, we are encountering again the grace of our baptism, the grace of
renewal and of reconciliation with God and with others.
We celebrate this every
week here at Lourdes. We celebrate this on request as priests of the parish and
this coming Wednesday December 17th, 7:30 pm at St. Joseph’s Church
in our Advent Penance Service.
This grace is not only a
deletion of the past but an encouragement for the future that we are made whole
and that we are invited to cooperate with God’s grace.
[__07] This sacramental forgiveness – this
baptism of forgiveness -- through God’s grace – practically which we ourselves
would not be able to complete.
Consider – if we have
offended 1 person in a private setting, it is certainly possible – under
certain circumstances – that we could go and admit our fault aloud and be
reconciled to our spouse, co-worker, brother or sister, friend, to another
person.
However, there many
other times and circumstances in which it would not be possible – or would not
be prudent – to admit our faults to every person we have offended.
The sacrament of penance
and reconciliation gives us access – with God’s help – to both the baptism of repentance
and the baptism of forgiveness. We can confess our sins aloud – through a
priest – to begin this healing process.
Life, which begins in
the water of repentance, continues in forgiveness and reconciliation.
Pope John Paul II -- St.
John Paul II – wrote[1] – “this
reconciliation with God leads to other reconciliations which repair the
breaches [brokenness] caused by sin
[sinfulness] / [fault]” …
[As a forgiven person,
you I are reconciled with our inmost being, our inner sense of truth. Moreover,
don’t we also realize – through forgiveness that we still possesses our freedom
and goodness, also given by God. [We are] reconciled with our brothers and
sisters. [We are] reconciled with the Church. ]
(CCC 1469)
And, our journey from
the privacy of the wilderness, and the waters of the river and back to the
city, in the words of John Paul II, “we are reconciled with all of
creation.” (CCC 1469)
[__fin__]
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