Daily Retreat 12/10/06
2006 Dec 10 SUN:SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT
Bar 5:1-9; Ps 125(126):1-2,2-3,4-5,6 (3); Phil 1:4-6,8-11; Lk 3:1-6
From today’s readings: “God is leading Israel in joy by the light of His glory, with His mercy and justice for company.... The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.... I pray always with joy in my every prayer for all of you.... John went throughout the whole region of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins....”
Ignoring the Irrelevant?
The Gospel readings for the second and third Sundays of Advent focus on the witness of John the Baptist. This week, the scriptures merely introduce us to this disquieting desert dweller, and next week, the scriptures present a summary of his own words and message, not just for the peoples of his day, but for ourselves as well!
As a prophet, John is oddly off the beaten path. For starters, instead of cleverly connecting with the people by beginning where they’re at, or strategically staking out his venue at a popular meeting place, John trudges out into the lonely desert, where there’s no folk, no food, and no fun! Nothing but the water of the Jordan river set against the scorching sun, to which John will add his own searing words calling for repentance and the drowning of sins in those waters of baptism.
>From a marketing point of view, John’s approach appears to be the perfect formula for failure: get away from everybody and everything, camp out in the most inhospitable environment available, shout at people about their need for repentance, bark about the necessity of the humiliating bath of baptism, harangue the congregation about biblical morality without compromise, and then be vague but foreboding about what’s supposed to happen next.
So, could anyone blame us if you and I just conveniently ignored the irrelevance of that bizarre Baptist, and went merrily about our lives as normal?
“But wait - we can’t ignore John! He was a prophet - the word of God came to him!” Well, maybe so, in another time and place, but his brand of prophecy has nothing to say to us today.
“Nothing? We moderns have no need for repentance?” Of course not! We’re all basically good people, right?
“Is baptism and confession of sins thus meaningless for us?” Evidently so - I and all the other nearly perfect people of my parish have little interest or need of such things, do we?
“So we’re now exempt from biblical morality?” Well, that might be going too far as a blanket statement, but at least we can dismiss some of those antiquated notions of sin, as long as we’re tolerant and can claim to be following our societal conscience. God couldn’t demand more than that, could He?
“Are we so certain of our future that we’re uninterested in what God has to say about it?” Well, I suppose what God says about Heaven and Hell, death, and judgment, and all that stuff - I suppose that does apply to everyone, even those of us living in the 21st century.
In fact, logically, the whole deposit of divine revelation must be for everyone - us as well, including even that word of God which came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the desert! Repentance, ritual cleansing from sin, biblical clarity about morality - in spite of his marketing mistakes, John wasn’t sent by God to give the world the formula for failure, but rather, to proclaim the eternal unchanging gospel of God’s will: to prepare the way of the Lord, make straight His paths; every valley of ignorance be filled, and every mountain and hill of pride and selfishness be made low; the winding roads of crooked thinking be made straight, and the rough ways of coarse morals made smooth; and then, all flesh shall see the salvation of God!
Bar 5:1-9; Ps 125(126):1-2,2-3,4-5,6 (3); Phil 1:4-6,8-11; Lk 3:1-6
From today’s readings: “God is leading Israel in joy by the light of His glory, with His mercy and justice for company.... The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.... I pray always with joy in my every prayer for all of you.... John went throughout the whole region of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins....”
Ignoring the Irrelevant?
The Gospel readings for the second and third Sundays of Advent focus on the witness of John the Baptist. This week, the scriptures merely introduce us to this disquieting desert dweller, and next week, the scriptures present a summary of his own words and message, not just for the peoples of his day, but for ourselves as well!
As a prophet, John is oddly off the beaten path. For starters, instead of cleverly connecting with the people by beginning where they’re at, or strategically staking out his venue at a popular meeting place, John trudges out into the lonely desert, where there’s no folk, no food, and no fun! Nothing but the water of the Jordan river set against the scorching sun, to which John will add his own searing words calling for repentance and the drowning of sins in those waters of baptism.
>From a marketing point of view, John’s approach appears to be the perfect formula for failure: get away from everybody and everything, camp out in the most inhospitable environment available, shout at people about their need for repentance, bark about the necessity of the humiliating bath of baptism, harangue the congregation about biblical morality without compromise, and then be vague but foreboding about what’s supposed to happen next.
So, could anyone blame us if you and I just conveniently ignored the irrelevance of that bizarre Baptist, and went merrily about our lives as normal?
“But wait - we can’t ignore John! He was a prophet - the word of God came to him!” Well, maybe so, in another time and place, but his brand of prophecy has nothing to say to us today.
“Nothing? We moderns have no need for repentance?” Of course not! We’re all basically good people, right?
“Is baptism and confession of sins thus meaningless for us?” Evidently so - I and all the other nearly perfect people of my parish have little interest or need of such things, do we?
“So we’re now exempt from biblical morality?” Well, that might be going too far as a blanket statement, but at least we can dismiss some of those antiquated notions of sin, as long as we’re tolerant and can claim to be following our societal conscience. God couldn’t demand more than that, could He?
“Are we so certain of our future that we’re uninterested in what God has to say about it?” Well, I suppose what God says about Heaven and Hell, death, and judgment, and all that stuff - I suppose that does apply to everyone, even those of us living in the 21st century.
In fact, logically, the whole deposit of divine revelation must be for everyone - us as well, including even that word of God which came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the desert! Repentance, ritual cleansing from sin, biblical clarity about morality - in spite of his marketing mistakes, John wasn’t sent by God to give the world the formula for failure, but rather, to proclaim the eternal unchanging gospel of God’s will: to prepare the way of the Lord, make straight His paths; every valley of ignorance be filled, and every mountain and hill of pride and selfishness be made low; the winding roads of crooked thinking be made straight, and the rough ways of coarse morals made smooth; and then, all flesh shall see the salvation of God!
posted by FrPitstick | 12/07/2006
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