Second Sunday of Advent (José Antonio Pagola)

Ross Reyes DizonHomilies and reflections, Year BLeave a Comment

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Author: José Antonio Pagola · Translator: Rosalino Reyes Dizon. · Year of first publication: 2014.
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Confessing our sins

“The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” Thus begins solemnly and joyfully Mark’s gospel. But then, abruptly and without any warning, it starts to speak of the urgent life of repentance the whole nation has to lead in order to welcome its Messiah and Lord.

A different prophet appears in the desert. He comes to “prepare the way of the Lord.” This is his great service to Jesus. The prophet’s call is addressed not just to the individual conscience of each one. What John is looking for goes beyond each person’s moral conversion. It is about “preparing the way of the Lord,” a specific and well defined way, the way that Jesus is going to follow, disappointing the conventional expectations of many.

The people’s reaction is touching. According to the evangelist, they leave Judea and Jerusalem and go out to the “desert” to listen to the voice that cries out to them. The desert reminds them of their faithfulness in olden days to God, their friend and ally. But above all, the desert is the best place to hear the call to repentance.

There the people become aware of the situation they live in; they experience the need to change; they admit theirs sins without blaming each other; they feel the need for salvation. According to Mark, they “acknowledged their sins” and John “baptized” them.

The conversion that is needed by the way we live Christianity cannot be improvised. It demands long period of recollection and inner efforts. It will take years for us to bring out more truth in the Church and to accept the repentance needed to welcome Jesus with greater faith into the core of our Christianity.

This could be our temptation today: not to go to the “desert”; to dodge the need for repentance; not to listen to any voice that invites us to change; to get distracted with anything in order to forget our fears and hide our lack of courage to welcome the truth of Jesus Christ.

The image of the Jewish people “acknowledging theirs sins” is admirable. Must not we Christians today make a collective examination of conscience, at every level, to admit our mistakes and sins? Is it possible “to prepare the way of the Lord” without this admission?

José Antonio Pagola

December 7, 2014
2 Advent (B)
Mark 1, 1-8

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