Homily
for December 9, 2007
Liturgical Year A - Cycle II
2nd Sunday of Advent
By Fr. Andrew Moyo Topic:
Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand.
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John the Baptist is the main character
of today’s
Gospel. He gets the people ready to
welcome, to welcome the Messiah at any time that he would appear.
The serious preparation for the people would
have to entail a change of heart.
Repentance and producing good fruits symbolize this change of heart as
evidence of repentance. The location of the ministry of John
is symbolic and
interesting. From the text we read,
“John the Baptist appeared preaching in the desert of Judea. The people came to him
and were baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing
their sins.” It was across the river
that they entered the Promised Land, after years of wandering in the
desert. The same areas, the desert and
the Jordan River are the places to enter the Messianic
Era. We are also told that John wore
clothing made of a camel’s hair. The
prophet Elijah had similar attire. This
reminded the people of the Prophet Elijah.
The Jews believed that Elijah would come first to usher the Messianic
Era. John’s attire therefore, reminded
the people that the promised time was near at hand. The message of John the Baptist was
very clear. Repent for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.
The response was very dramatic. We read, “The whole of Judea
and the whole region around the Jordan
were all going to him.” Not only the
ordinary people heeded to his call but also the religious leaders, that
is the
scribes and the Pharisees. Why did they
flock to this eccentric man? They were
sick and tired of oppression and injustice and they wanted a change.
They wanted something new and better. They
saw in John the messenger of God, the time of promise, and their era as
an era
of salvation. We are here because we want to change.
We are here because we want to prepare
ourselves adequately for the coming of the Messiah. The message
also for us is very simple. Repent for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand. This is a
call to reflect on our lives. It is a
call to reflect on our relationship with God and neighbor.
Aristotle once said, “An unexamined life in
not worth living”. Advent is therefore a
call to reflect. What areas do we need
to improve or change all together? Our relationship with God. In the past year, how
has my relationship with God been? How
is my prayer life? In my daily chores,
do I leave room for God? I am always
busy with other things. The message is loud
and clear. It is a voice crying, Repent for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Produce good fruit as evidence of your
repentance. These words were directed to the
Sadducees and the
Pharisees. Even though they came to be
baptized, John saw that their conversion was not genuine. It did
not touch their lives. Deep down in their hearts, they were
convinced
that as children of Abraham, they would inherit the kingdom through no
merit of
their own. They actually believed that Abraham sat at the gate of
Gehena to
turn back any Israelite who might by chance have been consigned to its
terrors. John tells them that they got it wrong. They need
to produce good fruits. They have to change their heart.
They need to bear good fruit or else they risk
being burnt in the fire. The same is
true for us Christians. It is not enough
to have one’s name recorded in the parish register. We need to
practice our religion. We need to put into action the words of
the
Gospel. We need to keep God’s commands and
precepts. A millionaire
announced to Mark Twain, "Before I die, I will go to the Holy Land. I will climb Mount Sinai and read aloud the Ten Commandments."
Twain observed, "I have a better
idea. You could stay home and keep
them."
Let us pray that during Mass that the Lord will lead us to true
repentance.