The Voice

Homily for the Second Sunday of Advent
8 December 2013

        We’ve all most likely been to a play, movie or other event where we have heard a disembodied voice make an announcement. Sometimes it shocks us; sometimes it makes us laugh. No matter what the circumstance, the voice is “there” to draw our attention to something important, something which is supposed to focus, and possibly shift, the understanding of our reality.

        John the Baptist, however, was not a disembodied voice.

        Nor were the prophets, like Isaiah.

        And, most definitely, Jesus was not a disembodied voice.

        John the Baptist became the final and greatest voice preparing the way of the Lord. He is, as Isaiah foretold, that “voice of one crying out in the desert.” The prophets of the Old Testament leading up to, and now including, John the Baptist tried to help the people of Israel to focus their lives on their relationship with God. They worked on trying to shift the reality of the Israelites from exile and domination to one where God would walk among them, to lead them back to Himself.

        Both in our First Reading and Gospel, Isaiah and John the Baptist are pointing out the fact that the coming of the Messiah was drawing near. But they were also helping to focus the Israelites on the mission of the Christ, which was to, in a modern phrase, “put people in their place.” These great prophets were warning the people of their day that the One for whom they were waiting was coming to not only save, not only to redeem, but also to judge.

        And this, my brothers and sisters, is what Jesus did. He “put people in their place.” He tried to lead the people to not only know the compassion of God, but also the justice of God.

        Now Isaiah and John the Baptist speak to us.

        Each week we profess in our Creed that “[Christ] will come again in glory to judge the living and dead.” We forget that in this day and age. To use a phrase of Father Robert Barron from his Catholicism series, we have “domesticated Christ”: We have made Jesus into a loving teddy bear that showers love upon everybody. And because of this, we have lost the idea of how our sin truly tears at the fabric of our relationship with Christ and His Church.

        We, in our culture and society, have forgotten that we will be judged for those sins of commission and omission, “in what [we] have done and what [we] have failed to do,” as we state in the Confiteor. Yes, our God continues to shower mercy upon His people; yes, our God continues to love us. But we must acknowledge that all of our actions and inactions have consequences . . . and we – either individually or communally – are responsible for those consequences.

        Some here may think that what I am preaching is hard to hear – the old “fire and brimstone,” to use a phrase. But, my children, as your spiritual father, I must now be the voice by which God calls you back to Himself; through the grace of the Sacrament of Holy Orders, it is my responsibility to make sure you get to Heaven. If I fail to preach the teachings of Christ and His Church, I’m not doing my job, and I fail to help you obtain everlasting life.

        However, when we were baptized, we were all anointed as priest, prophet and king, so that we may be conformed more to the image of Christ as members of His Body. It now becomes the responsibility of all the faithful to be that voice which calls all people to a deeper relationship with God. That voice should resound greatly not only by the words that we use to invite and teach others about Jesus Christ, but also in the way that we live our lives in accordance of His great command to love one another as He has loved us. And so, it becomes the responsibility of each person baptized into the Paschal Mystery to lead others to Heaven; we are responsible, in some portion, for each other’s salvation.

        The Word of God is not a disembodied voice. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). And through the humility of the Incarnation, Jesus wished for us to know the mercy and justice of God, so that we may share in His divinity. But are we humble enough to recognize that we need the mercy of God to live this life so that we may be judged worthy to live with Him in the next?

        My brothers and sisters, each person in this church is a sinner – myself included. We all need the grace of God to make it through this life. Sin holds us back from experiencing the fullness of God’s love, and keeps us from leading others closer to Christ. I beg you to look at your life, as I do mine, and see where we have failed to be like John the Baptist as that “voice of one crying out in the desert.”

        I implore you to seek out the graces found in the Sacrament of Reconciliation as soon as possible.

        [At the 4:15 PM Mass: You can take advantage of the Sacrament immediately following Mass this evening.] On Tuesday evening, beginning at 7:00, we will be holding our Advent Parish Penance Service. A number of priests will be available to hear your confession and bring you into right relationship with God. On Wednesday, from 6:00 – 9:00 PM, the Diocese will be holding “The Light is Still On for You!”, another opportunity for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Father Bob and I will be in our confessionals that evening, ready to welcome anyone who comes through those doors to experience the graciousness of our God. And if you know of someone who has not been to confession for a time, invite them to come with you, so that they may have the opportunity to know grace of the Sacrament.

        We, like John the Baptist, like Isaiah, like Jesus, are called to be that voice in the world which calls humanity back to God. But we cannot do it if we refuse the grace of God in our lives. We must remember that we will be judged in how we have used this life to draw ourselves closer to God through our charity – or lack thereof – towards others. Pray God that we will have the courage to accept His grace to be the people He has created and called us to be.

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Enjoy the journey . . .