A Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Advent (C)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
For those of you who have not heard me preach this Advent, I have been reflecting on the themes that Fr. Alfred Delp, a Jesuit priest who was martyred by the Nazis during the Second World War, preached on during the Advent of 1941. Fr. Delp wisely saw Advent as a season for us to prepare ourselves to encounter Christ Jesus in our lives, here-and-now.
During the first week of Advent, the message that Fr. Delp reflected on is that Advent is a time for us to have a shaking of our hearts. Too often we allow the things of this world to cause us to become drowsy. We put too much faith in material things, and personal power and prestige. What we need is a great shaking of our hearts, so that we stop clinging to those things which only give us a false sense of security, and instead cling to that which will truly satisfy the deepest longings of our heart; the Absolute, the Ultimate – God. This shaking of our hearts makes us alert and awake, so that we see things as they truly are.
The second message of Advent, which Fr. Delp preached about, is authenticity. Standing before the Absolute, the Ultimate, we must shed all compromise and inauthenticity. In order to have an encounter with God we must be real. All lies are brought to the light in the Presence of Christ Jesus, and if we are to share life with Him, we must let go of those lies and cling to Him who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
As we come to the third week of Advent, Fr. Delp introduces us to a third message of Advent. In the Gospel we see the figure of St. John the Baptist, whom last week was described as the “voice calling out in the desert.” As that voice in the wilderness, St. John the Baptist also models for us the third message of Advent – Confession. In today’s Gospel, the people who have been coming to hear John preach ask him what they must do to ready themselves for the Messiah. John’s answer is Confession. Often when we hear the word “confession” we think about the confession of our sins, and while that is certainly an important thing to do in order for us to be more authentic people, St. John the Baptist has another sense of the word “confession” in mind. This message of Advent speaks of Confession as a public declaration and affirmation of our belief in something. In fact, the Sacrament of Reconciliation is also called Confession, not just because we confess our sins to the priest, but more importantly because we are confessing our belief that Jesus really has conquered sin and death by His Passion and Resurrection, and our belief in God’s love and mercy.
St. John the Baptist gives very direct answers to the direct question, “What should we do?” He told them not to hoard the goods that God had blessed them with, but to share them with those in need, “Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none.” He told them not to cheat and steal, but to give an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay, and to be satisfied with what God had provided for them.
St. John the Baptist also models for us the cornerstone of any true confession of being a follower of Christ – modesty. John was asked a dangerous, tempting question. The people wanted to know if he was the Christ. People were flocking to him. It would have been very easy for him to let it all go to his head. Fortunately John had the good sense to know his limits and the limits of responsibility for the task entrusted to him.
We just have to look at history to see how often leaders who have been entrusted with a mandate from the people to organize and order the things of this world have been seduced to try to take to themselves that which belonged to God. What great service to humanity might Alexander the Great, Caesar or Napoleon might have accomplished if they kept in mind their limits? Instead, in their pride, they brought disaster. Fr. Delp and his parishioners lived through such a tragic usurping of authority. Germans did need strong leadership to help them lift themselves out of the poverty they experienced after the First World War. Instead they got the Nazis, and Hitler who made himself out to be some kind of messiah for the German people. Instead of lifting the people up, they brought disaster upon themselves and millions of others through their nationalistic pride.
St. John the Baptist does not make that mistake. He tells the people flocking around him that he is not the Christ. He tells them that one mightier than he is coming, and he is not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. John confesses the greatness of God, and his own need for salvation.
Confession in the sense we are talking about has three important characteristics. First, it means “being present, authentically standing up and standing for something real” (Delp, Advent of the Heart, p. 95). Too often there are a lot of people talking about the Christian life who do not speak from their own experience of living the Christian life. This does not mean looking only for perfect people. While we should look toward the saints as models of Christian life, if you read the lives of the saints you know that they often were far from perfect. Rather, we need people who try their best to live the Christian life; and when they fall, they turn to the mercy of God to lift them up and continue to follow Christ the best they can. Our concerns must be with God, and not just for the hour or so we are at Mass on Sundays. God must be the center of our lives; the source of all that we do, and the goal toward which we are always striving. This is the first meaning of confessing Christ Jesus.
“Confession also means confessing to an assignment” (Delp, p. 95). St. John the Baptist clearly confesses that he is “the voice crying out in the wilderness.” Yet all of us are called by our baptism to be praising, proclaiming, and really spreading the Word of God. Isn’t Jesus the Good News? Well, if we really believe that than why wouldn’t we want to share that Good News with EVERYONE?
Finally confession means confessing an allegiance not merely to a set of beliefs, but to a person – Jesus Christ. Faith must engage our entire person; not just our emotions nor just our intellect. Faith is a relationship with the One who satisfies the deepest desires of our hearts. In the parallel passage in St. John’s Gospel, John the Baptist says, “There is one among you whom you do not recognize….” (John 1:26). Sadly, that is still too often the case; we do not recognize Jesus standing in our midst. Too often we treat Jesus as we might treat George Washington, a mere person of history. We cannot really have a relationship with George Washington, but we can have one with Jesus because He is with us, now and always.
Recently I put a ring tone on my cellphone. It is a song by George Strait, the country singer. The song is called, “I saw God Today.” In the refrain he sings, “I’ve been to church, I’ve read the Book, I know He’s here but I don’t look near as often as I should, yeah I know I should. His fingerprints are everywhere, I just slowed down to stop and stare, opened my eyes and man I swear I saw God today.” I have it as my ring tone because I often need to slow down to stop and stare so that I see God in the moment I am in.
How about all of you? Have you seen God today? Do you see Him every day? We must confess Him every moment of every day, and then we can join St. Paul who proclaims to the Philippians, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice!”
