As we enter our 2nd week of Advent, we continue our preparation for the coming of Christ. Last Sunday, in the Gospel for the first weekend of Advent, Jesus himself told us to await his arrival with vigilance and prayer. Today, the voice of John the Baptist cries out in the desert. The Gospel tells of the powerful Roman leaders of the region, of Caesar and the Roman governor and tetrarchs, of the high priests of the Temple, but they are not the ones who announce and prepare the way of the Lord. Rather, the eccentric prophet prepares the path for the coming of the Messiah.
As we actively wait during Advent, undertaking special prayers and devotions, John’s voice cries out in the desert wilderness. But the desert is more than just the location where his public ministry took place. We modern Americans might think of the desert as arid and desolate, but in the eyes of the Hebrew prophets, the desert was the place where the Israelites first encountered God and where they faithfully responded to God on their way to the promised land. John the Baptist calls Israel to return to this metaphorical desert, to return to their faithfulness, to respond to God's grace as they had done long ago. The people of Ancient Israel would have remembered how God led their ancestors out of Egypt into the desert on their way to the promised land, how their ancestors responded to God’s call in the reality of their lives.
John the Baptist prepares us for the coming of Jesus, the Prince of Peace, the promised Messiah, but there is so much going on in our world that points us in a direction that is anything but peace. Intolerance, anger, and violence seems to be crying out to us in the world, rather than peace, justice, and salvation. On December 24, as we being our celebration of the birth of our savior, the Church will call us to a Jubilee Year with the opening of the holy doors of St Peter’s basilica in the Vatican. The Jubilee Year will be centered on the theme: “Pilgrims of Hope.” As His Holiness Pope Francis so beautifully expressed it: "We must fan the flame of hope that has been given us, and help everyone to gain new strength and certainty by looking to the future with an open spirit, a trusting heart and far-sighted vision." As we look forward to the birth of our savior and as we prepare during these weeks of Advent, it is good to think of the Jubilee Year that is coming soon.
During the Jubilee, some of the activities that are encouraged include going on a pilgrimage to a shrine or a holy site. We can also reflect upon the way we are to be pilgrims of hope, how we can cultivate hope in our own life and in the world around us, even in the midst of the challenges and obstacles we face. We can also engage more fully in acts of mercy and works of charity, reaching out to those who are struggling or who are on the margins of society. Finally, we can participate in the sacrament of reconciliation during Advent and seek forgiveness for our sins. Our Advent reconciliation service will be on Wednesday, December 17 at 6:00 pm at Holy Savior. We priests make a huge effort to be available for the sacrament of reconciliation during the season of Advent. I actually had my first Advent reconciliations back on November 19 at St Joseph school, almost a month before our parish’s reconciliation service. This is a meaningful Advent devotion that will help us prepare for the birth of our savior.
