2nd Sunday of Advent, Year A
In today’s gospel reading, John the Baptist calls the Israelites to repentance. He even goes on to tell them that if they do not have a change of heart, they will be overcome and will face destruction. This message of Saint John the Baptist also applies to us today, during this season of Advent, as we are called to repent and change our hearts, return to the Lord and prepare the way of the Lord.
You might be wondering what is the connection between the call to repentance and the call to prepare the way of the Lord. Both of them are connected, because if we are anticipating and expecting the coming of Christ, we have to be obedient to God and his commandments, and that is how we prepare the way of the Lord, and prepare ourselves to welcome him into our lives and our world. Remember, Obedience to God entails living a good and holy life, by getting rid of our life of sin, when we truly repent. So, we have to begin this journey of repentance back to God, by preparing ourselves well for the coming of Christ on Christmas Day.
We all know our sins and faults. We all also know the areas of our lives, that need to be changed, for us to truly be faithful children of God. Hence, John the Baptist’s call to repentance is very important, and essential in our lives today. His call reminds us to go back to our roots, that is, to our baptismal roots of being true children of God, by living out our faith in God, as we are challenged by the Scriptures today. So, why do we find it difficult to repent and return to the Lord?
We find it difficult to repent and return to the Lord, because of our Pride and Self-Righteousness, as can be seen in the life and actions of the Pharisees in today’s gospel reading, as they were scolded by John the Baptist. We also find it difficult to repent and return to the Lord, because of our Worldliness and Materialism, which are the bane of the Sadducees, who are more interested in the world, here and now, as they deny the existence of the afterlife.
My dear friends in Christ, like John the Baptist said in the gospel reading, it is time to ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!’ Remember that Repentance is a sincere act of regret or remorse, a call to rearrange one’s entire way of thinking, feeling, living and being, in order to forsake that which is wrong, and do that which is right. So, how can we truly repent?
There are many ways and practices that will help us repent and return to our Lord, but my favorites are as follows: By Recognizing my sins through a sincere examination of conscience. By Being contrite and showing true remorse for my sins. By Confessing my sins, which not only pardons me, but grants me special graces to avoid sin, fight the temptation to sin and strengthens me to serve God better. By Doing penance for my sins and making a resolution to turn away from sin and avoid them. By Reforming my life and choosing holiness, so as to be better disciple of Christ.
My dear sisters and brothers in Christ, let us “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” by Recognizing our sins through a sincere examination of conscience; by Being contrite and showing true remorse for our sins; by Confessing our sins; by Doing penance for our sins and making a resolution to turn away from sin and avoid them; by Reforming our lives and by choosing holiness, so as to be better disciples of Christ.
