SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT
6 DECEMBER 2015
Saint
Luke was a student of history. In
reading the Hebrew Scriptures, he understands the ways in which God worked
through Israel for 1,500 years. In
writing his Gospel, he unveils the story God taking human flesh in the person
of Jesus Christ. In writing the Acts of
the Apostles, he records the earliest period of the Church and how the Holy
Spirit worked so powerfully. As a
historian, he has a keen sense of facts.
He approaches history from a different perspective than I did in
college. In studying for a history test,
I crammed into my head all the important dates, persons, and places. Then I took the test and promptly forgot them
all.
Not so with
Saint Luke! He tells us exactly when the
Word of God was announced to human beings.
It happened during the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,
when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of
Galilee. He even mentions that Herod’s
brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and that Lysanias
was tetrarch of Abilene. As if this were
not enough historical context, he also throws in the fact that Annas and
Caiaphas were the high priests at the time.
Luke gives
all these facts, not to impress us with his historical test scores, but to make
a very definite point: Christianity did
not have its origins in some mythological imagination that portrays life going
around in circles. Its origins are
rooted in history, just as God had freed Israel from their exile in Babylon, as
Baruch tells us in the first reading. Luke
may use important people to give us a proper context. But the word of salvation is not delivered to
Caesar. Nor is it delivered to Pilate in
Jerusalem, nor to Herod and his brothers in their three regions. It is not delivered to the important
religious leaders of the people. The
Word of salvation is delivered to John, an insignificant son of a priest
serving in Jerusalem. Neither is it
delivered to Caesar’s Imperial Palace in Rome, nor in the Praetorium where
Pilate delivers his judgments, nor in the plush residences of Herod and his
brothers, nor in the Temple, the most sacred place of ancient Judaism. It is delivered in the remote desert area populated
by wild animals. More importantly, this insignificant son of a Jerusalem priest
takes himself completely out of the picture and points to the One who is
coming, the One who will fulfill the promises of Isaiah and all the prophets. He insists that God is entering into human
history in a unique and unexpected way.
Luke helps
us to understand that we are not walking around in circles. Our pilgrimage of faith began with the first
coming of God in the person of Jesus Christ.
It will eventually end with the second coming of Jesus Christ at the end
of time. In reminding us of these two
comings and telling us to be watchful and alert, the Season of Advent invites
us to be more attentive to the ways in which God comes to us now. The Lord comes in a real way through the
Sacraments. He speaks to us in his
Word. He feeds us with his Body and
Blood. He forgives our sins in the
Sacrament of Reconciliation and heals us in the Sacrament of the Anointing of
the Sick. He strengthens us who are
living permanent Sacraments with the grace of those Sacraments.
Nourished
by his presence in the Sacramental life of the Church, we become more watchful
for the ways he comes to us in our daily lives.
We do not need to look for him in the important people and places of our
world. We look for him in the ordinary
deserts of our lives – in our homes, in our families, in our schools, in the
places where we work, and in the activities of this parish community. God is not a distant being that looks down on
us as we walk in circles. He is the God
of love, who took flesh in time, and who is deeply involved in our pilgrimage
of faith. With Saint Paul, we are
confident that the one who began the good work in us will bring it to
completion.
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