Homily for Second Week of Advent 2017

       Look for the good whenever you can.  How often do we say to a friend, partner or some other family member, “Lets go out.”  We just want to get out of our house, or apartment; maybe we want to “step out of the office” or away from our desk.  Why do we want to “go out?”  Put in a rather severe way, we want to escape our bondage.  If you are feeling particularly imprisoned you might fly to Hawaii, or for some of you San Francisco.  For those less bound, perhaps a “day trip” to a local park or amusement park — and if you are having an Elvis Blue, Blue Christmas, off we go to the shopping mall.  There are a myriad of ways to go out.

Our scripture readings reflect this wanting to go out.  In Isaiah, they want to go to the mountain of promise, which promises a freedom from the bondage of exile in Babylon, so they can return to their homeland.  In our reading from Second Peter, he is talking about looking forward to the end time when all will be refashioned and made new.  And, in the Gospel, people are going out to John the Baptist.  Why?  Well, in his day there were no malls, amusement parks or movies for that matter.  A good fiery preacher would fit the bill and get their minds off their troubles.  Only kidding — at least a little bit.

In John’s day there were high expectations of a messiah, a savior who would set them free from the bondage of Roman occupation, the bondage of rejection and disparagement by both civil and religious leaders.  John fit the bill for those familiar with their Hebrew Scriptures: a fiery preacher, appearing in the desert preaching repentance — someone strong who could take on the Roman occupiers and bring the promised peace.

However, John had a surprise for them because he too was looking for release from bondage and was on the watch for another, more powerful one that he was only preparing the way for.  I find this a little odd because John was the cousin of Jesus.  They must have spent a lot of time together playing and the like as they were growing up; yet he didn’t see Jesus as the promised one.  I think this is because Jesus was bringing a different, deeper, more powerful freedom; he was going to change hearts, not just minds.

I am not sure that we are so different from the people in the time of the Baptist and Jesus.  We look around today and see a lot of chaos, and many are wondering how we got into our present state of affairs.  Being a child of the 50’s and 60’s I would have thought we would be a lot farther along and better off than we are.  We changed so many laws that were suppose to right the wrongs, but it doesn’t seem to have worked.  I think it is because we changed laws, not hearts.  The Church too has changed a lot of the rules, but has changed few hearts.  The heart of the Gospel and the heart of Jesus needs to penetrate our hearts so we can truly be transformed; transformed beyond the rules and the laws.  This is the work of prayer and quiet contemplation.

Strengthened in this way we need to make a conscious decision to go out looking for the good wherever we can. I mean, each time we open the door and walk out, walk out with the intention of seeing the good and sharing the good with one another. Advent is a time of waiting and watching, and of announcing good news. So I'd like to suggest an advent exercise. For an hour, and hopefully for an entire day, and if you like it you can continue it as long as you want; jot down in the small notebook, or your iPhone or Smartphone, if you like to take photos, photograph the moments: every good that you see, a good action, a good thing, something beautiful, something meaningful. Then meditate on those words and images of goodness and commit yourself to see even more tomorrow. This is not only the way we prepare the way of the Lord but also see the Day of the Lord right here right now.