There are three prominent personalities from the Bible who play key roles in our approach to Advent. There are Isaiah, John the Baptist and Mary. We hear from Isaiah and John the Baptist in the scriptures this weekend. The words of Isaiah paint a picture of a new day that God will bring about. This new era will be connected to the traditions of the past and will bring about a change in all of creation. We hear of the harmony that exists in God’s creation when animals considered natural enemies will live together. The new day of the Lord will also bring harmony among all peoples with one another and with their relationship with God. We will be forgiven and peace will exist between us and God.
In the letter to the Romans Paul continues the message of harmony among all peoples. The centuries old enmity that existed among peoples will be put aside when we realize that all are forgiven in God’s mercy through his Son Jesus.
John the Baptist makes his dramatic appearance along the banks of the Jordan River. His is a message of challenge. “Reform your lives”. John the Baptist is committed to what he preaches. He does not suffer fools easily. He confronts the sham of the religious leaders whose appearances cover lives filled with arrogance. His is also the humility that allows him to step aside when Jesus makes his presence known. His call and the role he has is fulfilled. John the Baptist points to Jesus.
I mentioned last week that my experience is that Advent has for me a way of sounding like an old record. Advent can get lost in the run up to Christmas with the ever present Christmas music and television specials as well as movies with the Christmas theme. Advent seems puny in competition with Christmas. There does not seem to be the intensity is associated with Lent. We hear a few exhortations to be alert and to be watchful. We are to be expectant and hopeful but once we hear those ideas we may drift away from that advice.
Allow me to relate an incident from this past Thursday. I was on my day off with a priest friend of mine. It is our custom to pray the morning prayer of the Church after which we read the next day Scriptures. The passage we read was similar to this one. It contained a message of reform as well as ideas of hope and trust. We came up with certain clichés that had been used before and we thought we had delved deep enough into the Scriptures. What I did not realized was that by mid-afternoon I would encounter a deeper meaning of the scripture and the season of Advent.
It was not the hot desert of Judea. It was a cold\day in the teen. It was not along the banks of the Jordan River but near the shore of Lake Michigan. A multitude was nowhere to be seen. The scene was not to be easily recognized like John the Baptist with his camel hair garment and unfamiliar diet. I did not know and still do not know his name. Unlike John the Baptist he uttered not a word. I am sure he did not know I was passing by.
As my friend and I were taking our three mile walk in I saw twenty yards in the distance what seemed to be a bundle of trash or a bundle of rags on a park bench near Montrose Harbor. As we drew nearer neither my friend nor I said anything. Like many who live in the urban setting I was a tad suspicious and guarded as I realized it was man sleeping on the bench. He was wrapped up in a couple of tattered old winter coats with dirty blankets covering his body from head to foot. I kept a careful eye on him and the plastic bag with all his earthly possessions that served as his pillow.
I could not help thinking how he would react if I were so presumptuous as to exhort him to be hopeful and trust God. What would he hope for? As we page through the ads in the paper we make up our wish list from the warm comfort of our homes. He on the other hand probably would hope for a roof over his head that night at one of the shelters. He would be calculating what soup kitchen he would visit for his food and more than anything else he would hope and trust that no one would try to rob him or hurt him. He was there lying on the park bench vulnerable to all sorts of dangers; be they dangers from other humans, from the meanness of nature or the failure to find the next meal.
After we walked by I was aware I had been jarred out of my complacency. I had little concern about shelter for the night or a meal to nourish my body. I was not afraid that the police would come ordering me to get out of there. In the past few days I have visited that experience over and over again. That nameless homeless man was for me a herald’s voice in the desert confronting me of my need to prepare the way for the Lord. We all need to see again what God provides for us and to see in others what we can provide for them. “If a tree is not fruitful it will be cut down”.
Often we live in the darkness that causes us to miss how much God cares for us and because we miss that reality we fail to take care of others. For some of us trusting in God can come easy. It is a luxury we can afford to invest in. For others trust and hope are the only way they can possibly get through the day. As we continue Advent we all need to be alert to the words of other John the Baptists who are always coming into our lives.