2nd Sunday of Advent Year B
Welcome Brethren, as we celebrate the 2nd Sunday
of Advent. On this second Sunday of the
Advent Journey, we continue with hope as we listen to the Word of God
proclaimed through the Sacred Scriptures.
The Advent Journey is a little bit different from the Lenten Journey because we are to focus on waiting. During Lent, we hurried into a spirit of Repentance: “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand.” But in Advent, we are called to wait in hope. We are invited to unite ourselves to God’s chosen people who have waited thousands of years with hope for God to keep His promises. The promise he made to Adam and Eve in the Proto-Evangelium (Gen 3:15) where the offspring of the woman will crush the head of the serpent. The Gospel Evangelists will help us piece the Old Testament prophecies together and see that the Covenantal promises have been fulfilled in the child born in Bethlehem of Judea.
In regards to waiting, many of us don’t like to wait. If we want something, we want it right here and right now. For instance, I want the new Steve Job’s iPod Touch, and I want it now. I don’t want to delay.
I remember when I was in the Seminary, and 6 years into it, I wanted to be ordained. After working this out with my Spiritual Director, I’ve learned that I’m not supposed to be operating out of my time, but out of God’s time. So I have to be patient and wait for it.
It is very similar in the case of many young couples who want to consummate the relationship instead of waiting for Marriage. They want it right away, but there’s a beauty in waiting, and it makes it all the more special.
It is very similar in the case of some who are on their death bed. They want God to quickly call them home, but the humility is to come to this awareness; they are operating not on their own time, but on God’s time. The initiative 1000 that was passed not too long ago in the State of Washington allows for Physician Assisted Suicide in our State, and we are the second State after Oregon that has made this permissible. But it is merely rushing the death of a person. It’s difficult to wait.
It may seem like a long time for us, but it’s not long at all in God’s perspective. In the reading from 2nd letter of Peter, we hear: “Do not ignore this fact, beloved, that with the Lord, one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like one day. God’s time is vastly different from our time.
St. John the Baptist, in the Gospel today, is preparing the
people for Jesus. In the spirit of preparation,
he humbly states that: “I’m not the Messiah”. The one who is coming after me is greater than
I. I’m not worthy to loosen the straps
of his sandals. I baptize you with
water, but the one who comes after me will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. In other words, it’s not about me, but about
the one who comes after me. During the
Advent Journey, let’s focus on the spirit of waiting because it is not about
me, but about the Lord God who will fulfill the promises. We are operating on God’s time.
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