2nd Advent Homily Choices of life!

There is that common sense phrase:  “Don’t run away from, but always run to something...”
The idea that it’s not enough simply to stop or leave something behind, we need a goal, a place to grow into, we need to move toward something.
It’s in one of my favorite songs by the Avett Brothers  “Weight of Lies” -
The weight of lies will bring you down
And follow you to every town 'cause
Nothing happens here that doesn't happen there
When you run make sure you run
To something and not away from 'cause
Lies don't need an aeroplane to chase you anywhere
(btw, christian spirituality is subtly present in many of their songs.)
This wisdom exists in our Catholic Faith and I think is deeply connected to Christmas, and to our salvation.
We leave behind sin to move towards freedom/salvation, to being truly human.
This is John the Baptist and Jesus Christ in our gospel.

We are given a prelude into John the Baptist in the gospel today.  He preaches repentance and forgiveness of sins.

Remember, repentance is NOT about feeling shame or beating ourselves up for mistakes, for sins.
Repentance, to Repent, means to change direction.

Walk away from from sin, that is John’s message.
John does not say walk to walk towards, but given Jewish law, the idea was move towards being in right relationship with God.
Jesus completes that.

Jesus reveals the right relationship.
Jesus is that right relationship with God.
Jesus, through his life and mostly certainly in the his death and resurrection shows that the right relationship is about faith, trust in the Father’s love for us.
So advent, this time of preparation, we can ask ourselves what do we need to walk away from, and how will we walk to a deeper faith.
I hear in confession lots.  And it is wonderful.  People will tell us priests that they  want to stop being liars, cheaters, gossipers, what to not be angry, not be impatient, etc.
This is the message of John the Baptist!  This is the first step!
Next step is the Jesus part...what will that deeper faith be?
At times with teens, as part of their penance, I will tell them to write down the qualities they want to have as adults.  Then to keep that list near, so that when they are confronted by difficult choices, they can ask themselves whether one decision will move them towards being the person they truly want to be, or not.
Maybe I need to do this with us adults too?
Isn’t that the message of “A Christmas Carol?”  Ebenezer Scrooge was shown the value of life, and he changed his life for the better. He wanted a different outcome, a different and better life.
A deeper faith in the Father’s love for us is revealed in the Garden Scene of Jesus.

Here he wrestles with a decision, to go forward with the arrest and eventual execution or not?

His answer is that he trust in the Father’s love for him, and that the love will make things right.

His right relationship, his deep trust in the Father strengthened him to say “no” to his fears, to walk away from being controlled by his fears, and to walk to “yes”, to love.  
That is real power.  That is real freedom
All validated in the resurrection.
We too will have to say “NO” so that we can say “Yes” to truly what is important!
We have to be able to walk away from, to let go of our self-serving, short term, our narrow desires which end up causing suffering...
...so that we can walk towards and accept the Freedom.
Eucharist summarizes this so well.  We are given the body of Christ, the life of Christ, the perfection of Humanity.  We are given the LOVE of God made real
We eat of this.
Then we are given the blood of Christ, reminding us that we will be called on to make sacrifices.  We drink to be empowered to be able to “NO” so as to accept the “yes”
We can’t have one without the other.
This is why Eucharist is the source and summit of all that we do as Catholics.
It guides us forward to being truly human.  It is humanity.



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