Prepare the Way of the Lord

John the Baptist is a tenacious and fiery man.  From the Gospel we recognize that he is not afraid to challenge the powers that be, so as to proclaim the message of the Gospel.  The Word of God is acting through him.  John helps us understand that the faith we profess is not an invitation to be 'nice' to each other, but a challenge of Metanoia.  That is, turning around; conversion of our whole selves.  Not only is his lifestyle radical, but his message is as well. 

There is a story that I am using for my homily this morning, and it occurs at a Benedictine monastery.  The story goes that the community commissioned a statue of St. John the Baptist for the monastic church.  When it arrived, several of the monks were concerned that the figure looked gaunt, and very stern.  The story continues that the Abbot challenged that the figure was disturbing because it recalled for the monks how they had moved away from their ideals and commitments.  And the real live John the Baptist does exactly that; calling us back to our initial 'Yes' that we uttered (or was uttered for us) at Baptism and Confirmation.

While Advent is not a penitential time as is Lent, it is a period for us to examine our connection to the mysteries that we celebrate.   At the very first parish I was assigned to, we had a large storage area in the basement of the church.  In the liturgy area the shelving was organized according to seasons.  I had always found that amusing in that seasons of our liturgical celebration could be reduced to a series of boxes against a wall.  I am afraid though we do the same with our spiritual lives.  We do "Advent" things but do not really mean it.

When I was in high school work I remember how difficult it was to preach at the parish I helped out at.  Truly I could speak about the teens, and the difficulties therein, but I didn't know about the lives of the people who were in he pews. The Vatican II Dogmatic Constitution of the Church in the Modern world, challenged the Church to be in communion with the world it served.  For Church to call for conversion and discipleship, it also had to go through conversion and discipleship.  The call to change our lives is the beginning of changing the world around us.

Today is about Metanoia and transformation.  We are called and chosen to be sure, but need to reflect that by becoming one with the mystery which we celebrate.