Advent is
all about the Incarnation—that awesome moment when God, because of His love,
entered our flesh to experience our sinful condition—and to love, to repair it
and to lead us to wholeness. That's why every
Advent we must listen again to the urgent demand of John the Baptist that we
recognize our sinfulness, bring it to light, and repent (Luke 3:1-6)—or as my mom
always put it, “do our Christmas duties”.
Like the
people of Israel, whose deep-down desire to be free of their sin brought them
running to the desert, so we who hear Luke’s Gospel must consider John's
message as addressed to us. Only when we’re
convinced again this Advent of our need for new grace to restore and refresh
our hearts, can we truly appreciate the words of Baruch to come alive, to put
on new garments of justice, and to be alert and ready (Baruch 5:1-9).
Then the
love in our hearts may be stirred as we gaze at the manger scenes in churches and
(hopefully) public squares and in our own living rooms. St. Paul's letter to the Philippians reminds
us of our partnership in the Gospel, and that we’re committed to increase our
love all through our lives so that we will be "pure and
blameless in the day of the Lord."
(Philippians 1:4-11)
No comments:
Post a Comment