Second Sunday of Advent

Matthew 3:1-12

2^nd in Advent (A-8) Do we see the forest, or just the trees?

Pope Francis’ Exhortation: Christ is Alive, Christus Vivit, says:

“He (Christ) is in you, he is with you, and he never abandons you. However far you may wander, he is always there, the Risen One. He calls you and waits for you to return to him and start over again. When you feel you are growing old out of sorrow, fear or resentment, doubt or failure, he will always be there to restore your strength and your hope.” (#2)

What a message of hope this is, is it not? Leave it to Francis, when the Militant Right of our Church is attacking him, to find a way to give a message of hope! Like John the Baptist and Jesus after him, Francis is holding up a mirror to the Society of his time, asking it to look and allow itself to change because of that relook. Only the narcissists don’t see what God and others see. The Pharisees, the Scribes and our President are examples of this. They can’t see the plank in their eyes, but they sure try to remove the splinters in their brothers/sisters’ eyes.

Francis finds himself, like John the Baptist and Jesus did, in the midst of a world in turmoil, of a Church in turmoil, with leaders of both having bought into the false idea of everyone for themselves. Francis is a great example to us of willingness to hear all sides of issues, including his enemies’. He says, “Those young people who are not believers, wished to share their thoughts, raising issues that led me to ask new questions.” Wow! In the Synod on the Youth, he wanted to hear from all youth, not just believers, for he feels we have a lot to learn from them.

In other words, he doesn’t close himself off from hearing, even from his enemies, regarding what is best for the Church and world. I served nearly 20 years as a pastor, and I realized that our job is like the steward of a forest. The forest ranger sees the whole forest and it is his job to care for the whole forest. He needs to know when pruning is needed so that the forest can grow and thrive. And he needs to act on that timing for betterment of all.

Sadly, we forest ranger pastors, have to deal with “tree people,” and “leaf people.” These can’t see the forest for their trees, or their branches, or their leaves. Hence they conclude, “He should prune other trees or other leaves, but not mine, because mine is so important for the forest.

John the Baptist is trying to say all this to his people: “Repent for the Kindom of God is near,” and “Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight God’s paths.” John was so dynamic he could easily have fallen prey to what people were saying about him: that he was the Messiah. But no, he only presented him. To prepare for it, he asked all to Repent.

Most think repentance is a feeling of guilt for sins committed or good omitted. But that’s not true repentance. To repent is to re-look at life and let ourselves to be changed by that re-look, to look in the mirror with God’s eyes, and change according to that re-look’s conclusions. Repentance is self-pruning. Repentance sees what needs to be done or undone in order to find peace and be one with God.

Are there changes I need to make in my life? What or whom do I need to prune or let go of? What do I need to do that I’m not doing, to be ready for Jesus? Are there people I must to reach out to? Are there people I need to prune because they’re not healthy for me to be around?

Jesus said, “Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance.” It means we must do something with our lives, do something about our faith and our discernment. We need to reach out to those who have no body to turn to. We need to adopt a family that has little to sustain them. We need to reach out to our youth and tell them how much they are gifts from the God, who created us in God’s image and likeness.

Let our service use our gifts of life, freedom, faith, and discernment in gratitude.  The present moment is itself a gift. Let us unwrap it and find God.