2nd Sunday in Advent year C

Prepare the way, the King of Peace is Coming.

My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,

John the Baptist totally separates himself from the world in order to give testimony of another world. Within his solitude he is able to hear the voice of God. His home is a testimony of what our souls must be in order to listen to God and to possess him.
How is Advent going for you? If you have not yet begun to make a straight way for the Lord, begin today. It is never too late to begin. Spend time with God searching for the answers to your problems.

We are too busy to get exact gift for us and for whom we love. There is only one gift at Christmas, that gift is Jesus. God is always willing to give, but it is up to you to un-wrap God’s gift to you. Celebrate Advent with your heart, it is an opportunity to step back from the consumerism of the materialistic world and make a straight way for the Lord.
How do we prepare ourselves to welcome Jesus? Leveling the mountains and filling in the valleys, straightening the roads and giving them a smooth surface is what John the Baptist said we would have to do to prepare for the Lord. The scholar Chris Seeman explains: “It was customary for the inhabitants of a region to repair and beautify the roads by which an imperial official – or perhaps the king himself – was expected to visit his district.”
John was fully aware of his mission, handed to him by his father: “You, child , will go before the Lord to prepare the way for him.” How repair, how beautify the roads by which his beloved cousin Jesus would visit his people?
“Repent”. We'll never repent unless we get close to God. We wish to remain attached to habits and attitudes, which are unworthy of us and hurtful to others. Like St. Augustine, we are inclined to say, "Change me, Lord but not yet." What is called for is repentance and we must be careful not to confuse that with remorse. Remorse is simply a temporary regret about our unworthy behavior. It usually lasts a very short time and then we return to our old habits. By contrast, repentance means that we have found something better and more promising than our sinfulness. This discovery is the love and goodness of God. If we could only realize how much God loves us, we would be able to resist every temptation.
Of course John the Baptist was not talking about the hills or roads of Palestine. He was talking about the hills and roads in the heart of every person in every century that wants to meet the Lord. To meet the Lord we need to prepare our hearts. What are the mountains and hills in our hearts that need to be leveled? We could think of pride and greed. So many people are remarking that we have become a very selfish greedy nation. What are the valleys in our hearts and lives that need to be filled in? We could think of trying to overcome an addiction or lack of confidence in oneself. What are the crooked roads in our hearts that need to be straightened? We could think of lying and deceitfulness and being dishonest with others. What are the uneven surfaces on the roads of our hearts that need to be resurfaced? We could think of bad language and being a bother to other people. How do we level these mountains and hills, fill these valleys, straighten these crooked roads and resurface them? Paul gave us a remedy when he wrote to the Philippians chapter one, which we heard in our second reading.
What he says is to increase our love more and more, to improve our knowledge, the knowledge about word of God and the teaching of the Church and deepen our perception, in other words grow in love of God and neighbor and improve our knowledge of our faith and our knowledge of Christ. You say you love Jesus. How do you love a person if you do not know him very well!
Sometimes we can put up a good fight to keep God’s grace away! So what happens then? God in his all-wise plan for us allows a catastrophe to bring us to our senses. It is not that God wishes a disaster on us, no. God only wants what is good for us. It would be unfair to expect God to come and wave a magic wand and prevent all kinds of disasters. God is not a magician. God has given us freedom. But when something does happen it can be a lever to help us think again about our attitudes and how we live.
The spiritual writers say that when we are broken internally it can be an opportunity for great spiritual growth. When a disaster like that happens it can act like John the Baptist preaching to us, asking us to prepare a way for the Lord, stirring up people’s consciences, helping to lay low the mountains and hills, fill the valleys, straighten the roads and give them smooth surfaces. But when it happens we have a choice. We can allow God’s grace to work and allow the mountains to be leveled and the valleys filled in, the crooked roads straightened and the uneven surfaces to be smoothened. Or we can prefer things as they used to be. We might say, ‘it was better before’ and try to go back to the old ways of living and thinking and doing things. We can surrender to God and grow to become what he has called us to be or we can remain stubborn and refuse to grow from this grace-filled opportunity. .
A wise man was once asked ‘Why, of all things, did God choose the humble thorn bush as the place from which to speak with Moses?’ The wise man replied: ‘If he had chosen an oak tree or a chestnut tree, you would have asked the same question. Yet it is impossible to let you go away empty-handed. That is why I am telling you that God chose the humble thorn bush - to teach you that there is no place on earth bereft of the Divine Presence, not even a thorn bush.’
Today is the Sunday of Peace. But we are not at peace. Our life is full of anxieties and complaints. Our anxiety comes from the fact that we don’t have a sound eye: we don’t have a sound look at things: we consider money as the supreme value; and we don’t have a sound look at God: we don’t consider God as our loving Father who takes care of us. The remedy to our anxiety is to trust in God.
Jesus never promised us a life free of difficulty. Adversities and problems challenge us every day. The peace that Jesus gives us through the presence of the Holy Spirit is the peace that comes from conquering each problem. No experience of life should be able to do away with our peace of soul. We must never allow any danger or suffering to diminish it.
When we learn how to complain less and always to look for the brighter side of things, then and only then shall we discover the unsuspected treasures of life.
When the employees asked Jerry who was their restaurant manager how he can be peaceful at all times. He said "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, 'Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.' I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life."
Yes dear brothers and sisters, prepare the way for the Lord, the King of Peace is coming, let Him find us always at peace.