10/12/2006 - SECOND SUNDAY of ADVENT
- Year C
First Reading Baruch 5:1-9 Psalm 125/126
Second Reading Philippians 1: 4-6; 8-11 Gospel Luke 3:1-6
"I, the Lord, Your God, am holy"! What does it mean that God is holy?
The term "holy" is explained in a many different ways. The Latin sanctus
carries, with it, the separation of all that is profane; as something that is
set aside in order to serve only as a cult. The Hebrew term says pretty much
the same thing: consecrated, destined for God, purified, ready to be used in
a cult. Greek, the language used by the Apostles and the Evangelists, uses the
term hagios, which etymologically means "soil less", that is, that
which is outside of, or on top of the soil. That which is outside of the soil
does not depend on itself, on its own volition. God is holy: He does not change;
He does not go from love to hate, when men rebel or disobey Him. This is how
we can and must understand the affirmation of Jesus: "Your Father in heaven…makes
His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and
on the unrighteous"
(Mt 5:45). This is because He is holy; He is not influenced by what happens
on earth, nor by human behaviour! God, the Father, always remains the Father,
and will always look at us through the eyes of the Father! God is holy: this
is, for us, a joyous assurance, the assurance that when we look at Him, we will
never see any changes. He will always be as He was presented to us, both through
the goodness of creation, and through the Word of Jesus, His beloved Son. This,
too, means that He cannot be considered like man; that is, we do not know Him
by looking at men; rather, they are destined to conform to Him, because they
are not "His image and His likeness". The perfect man is the one who
carries, within him, the fullness of divine love! We must, therefore, learn
from God, observe His sanctity as something that must belong to us, if we want
to be men that are true, complete and mature. Man, until he becomes holy, is
not fully man; not completely fulfilled!
The page attributed to the prophet Baruch, Jeremiah's secretary, is a great
invitation to hope and faith. It is given to the people in a moment of great
suffering, if not desperation. From the moment that the people received a promise
from God, though, they can no longer be saddened: they must be waiting for that
promise to be fulfilled, and they must be prepared! "Wrap yourself in the
cloak of the God's justice; put the crown of eternal glory upon your head…"!
This is how we await the fulfillment of the promises: by wrapping one's self
in the cloak of justice, what else can it mean, if not living one's whole life
in search of the will of God? And put the crown of eternal glory upon your head
means wanting to completely become a sign of the presence of God, to carry within
you, your likeness to Him. When our Saviour arrives, He wants to be awaited
because, only if we await Him, will we be ready to welcome Him and allow ourselves
to be saved. Here is the Precursor who will help us in awaiting Him. John came
to re-awaken people's awaiting. He was sent by God to speak where people suffer
poverty and oppression: they know the He is the only One who can change their
situation. There are many powerful men around them, too sure of themselves and
their arms, ready to command, but incapable of serving. Luke gives us their
names; however, there are also the names of leaders of religions, among them,
who use the same methods as the leaders who ignore God.
John avoids places where those in authority might prevent the listening to the
Word that was given to him by God. He frequents the deserted places, where man
is alone, before himself; better yet, before God. Here the Word of the Father
becomes powerful, because it is the only one which echoes in the heart. Even
the poor have the need for conversion; they, too, are limited and damaged by
their sin, by the selfishness that causes sadness. They, too, will have true
and profound joy only through the Word that prepares them to meet the One who
is to come, the Word which helps them to free themselves from the evil which
makes them the slaves of the world.
During this time of Advent, we too can look for that desert where God can speak
to us, where someone can resound His Word, in our ears. Will we be able to find
a few moments, or more, where the only voice we hear is the voice of God? Perhaps,
it is necessary to leave our home, come to a church or some other place where
silence is ready and protected. "The Word of God descended upon John in
the desert". There, where none other can distract us, will we be enriched
with wisdom, with discernment and light, so that we are be able to keep the
helm of our life turned in the direction of true peace and true joy. We, too,
will, then, be spreaders of hope and faith, in this world, which is still oppressed
and suffering!