Homily - 2nd Advent- Be Changed and Be Joyful

Everybody loves change, as long as everybody else changes and not me.

And the irony or paradox or hypocrisy, is that the only person I can change is myself.  Which then leads to all kinds of frustration.

John the Baptist tells us that we need to change.
Repent, move in a different direction In our lives, so that we are prepared to accept and participate in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Isaiah gives us beautiful vision of the Kingdom, that it is a mindset, a vision of Justice, peace, wisdom, a community.

It is a wonderful ideal.

Yet, why after 2000 years is it not a reality?

I think there are many personal, and real reasons why we don’t make changes, and they are not usually evil.

We tend to not see the need to change in ourselves, in others yes, but not in ourselves.

We are scared to change.  We have a degree of comfort that comes with familiarity with our patterns, even if we recognize their harm.

We do not know how to change.

And I also do not think we truly desire it enough; desire this Kingdom of God.  It remains a lofty goal, but has not become a concrete goal in our personal lives.

I think this is why we need our spirituality as Catholics.

That spirituality of prayer & community which develops our relationship with Christ.

Honest prayer, in which we look at our lives and see where and how we still need to grow.
Honest prayer saying Okay God, Change me.

Community that mentors, supports, and calls attention to unhealthy patterns.

Community that reminds us that we are part of something larger, and that at times my own desires, my own goals need to be placed aside for the needs of others.

Community in the Eucharist that says all of us are in need of on-going conversion, all of us still need to be changed & transformed, as the bread and wine are transformed into the Body and Blood of christ.

We also need our spirituality to keep that vision of the Kingdom in front of us, and we need the wisdom of our community to help make that vision concrete, real.
To help create and grow that desire to want to change.

To know what justice will mean for us here in the Reno Area
What peace will mean, wisdom, community.

We need that Holy Spirit to direct us in our vision to see how much better our personal lives can be,
how much more JOY we can experience if we let go to what we cling,

Trust in God, and let ourselves be changed.

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