December 06, 2020
2nd Sunday of Advent
Avril Haines is the President Elect’s choice to be Director of National Intelligence. When she was introduced, she said, looking at Joe Biden, “I promise to speak truth to power.†This is a dangerous proposition. Consider John the Baptist in the Bible. He speaks up about Herod’s marriage to his brother’s wife. For this public honesty John is arrested by Herod and then executed.
We know John the Baptist as the herald, as a prophet, in the words of Isaiah, “A voice cries out in the desert prepare the way of the Lord.†Like Elijah, John is clothed in camel hair, wears a leather belt, and eats locusts and wild honey. A bit frightening. But when John starts preaching and baptizing at the Jordan River, people are drawn to him from the Judean countryside and from Jerusalem. All types! They step into the Jordan for a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of their sins.
In humility and honesty John the Baptist speaks a word of truth, “One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.â€
John the “B†is not likely to appear on the cover of a Christmas card (too scary) but he plays a crucial role in the coming of the Christ by calling for personal repentance, forgiveness and transformation to prepare for the way of the Lord. He exemplifies the deeper meaning of Advent as a season of honesty, healing, and hope.
Bishop Edward Scharfenberger, our Apostolic Administrator, has sent a Pastoral Letter to registered household in the Diocese. Good Advent reading. He writes about the Holy Spirit.
“Remember the Holy Spirit that drove Jesus into the desert to fast and pray and to be tempted by Satan, is the same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. It is this Holy Spirit that Jesus breathed upon the Apostles, empowering them to heal and forgive sins, entrusting to them the sacramental life of the Church, and sending them off into the four corners of the world, while remaining united in the one Spirit. This empowering Spirit is upon each and every one of us, through Baptism and Confirmation, teaching and reminding us of all that Jesus taught his disciples. We possess this power, in ways unique to each, yet oriented towards building up the Body of Christ, here and now, wherever we find ourselves.â€
During this pandemic, are we are open to God’s empowering Spirit? Are we breathing in the Holy Spirit, the very life of Christ, that will calm our fears, strengthen our resolve, instill courage, and activate spiritual gifts needed at this time of darkness and light? Are we willing to build up the world anew in God’s redeeming grace?
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1st Sunday of Advent
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3rd Sunday of Advent
