HOMILY FOR THE SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT
When I was in graduate school at the St Paul Seminary School of Divinity, my class did a number of church tours for our Art and Environment in Catholic Worship class. One of the churches we toured was St John the Baptist Catholic Church in Hopkins, Minnesota. When this church was built, there was a Eucharistic chapel attached to the sanctuary in which the tabernacle, where consecrated hosts were reserved to be distributed to the sick and homebound, was located. Next to the tabernacle was a fairly large statue in honor of Mary, Mother of Jesus. Mary’s head on the statue was gazing at the tabernacle, her left hand pointing to the tabernacle. No matter how one looked at the statue, one’s eyes was always drawn to the tabernacle which contained the real presence of Jesus in the consecrated hosts. Fr Jim Notebaart, the professor of our class, observed, “Mary always points to Jesus.”
On this second Sunday in Advent, we meet John the Baptist for the first time. John is out and about preparing the way for Jesus, whose sandal strap John felt not worthy to fasten. Like Mary, John always points to Jesus. I love this passage from the Gospel of John, which I believe illustrates this point so succinctly.
²⁵ Now a discussion about purification arose between John’s disciples and a Jew. ²⁶ They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing, and all are going to him.” ²⁷ John answered, “No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven. ²⁸ You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah, I have been sent ahead of him.’ ²⁹ He who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. For this reason my joy has been fulfilled. ³⁰ He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:25-30, New Revised Standard Version)
Like Mary, Mother of Jesus, John always points to Jesus. Something on which to reflect during this second week of Advent is the question, “As disciples of Jesus, do our lives point to Jesus?”
Upon reflecting on this question, I have noticed the many times my life failed in pointing to Jesus, especially as compared to the practice of Mary and John the Baptist. Like many human beings, rather than a life consumed on Jesus and in service to God and neighbor, my life has been more self-consumed, self-focused. The challenge that John the Baptist presents to me this second week in Advent is not only to become aware of a life that has been self-consumed, but to begin a life more focused on Jesus, and to choose that my words and actions are pointed always to Jesus and what he has taught us in the Gospels.
I acknowledge that living a life pointing to Jesus is not a one time conversion event. This is more than just saying, “I have accepted Jesus as my personal Savior.” To live a life that points to Christ in everything is a long process, and like all human relationships, our relationship with Christ is one into which we must daily put forth all our effort. As important as the relationships we have with spouse, children, grandchildren, family and community are, the most important relationship we have is with Jesus Christ. When our relationship with Jesus improves little by little, day by day, the human relationships we hold most precious will also improve.
Advent is a time when Mary, Mother of Jesus, and John the Baptist can be important guides to living a life focused on Jesus. As we often call upon our friends to assist our lives, let us call upon Mary and John the Baptist to assist us in deepening our relationship with Jesus, the Christ.
