Make Straight the way of the Lord

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara CSsR

Homily on the Second Sunday of Advent, Year B

St. Gerard Majella Catholic Church

Louisiana, USA

December 4, 2011

Today's gospel is taking from the first chapter of the gospel of Mark. The gospel of Mark does not begin with the story of the birth of Jesus. It does not begin with the story of the babe in the manger, rather with the words of prophesy of Isaiah. The prophesy is about the sending forth of a messenger, a forerunner who will prepare the Lord’s way. The messenger is described as a “voice crying out in the desert.” This voice crying out in the wilderness is crying for something vitally important. The voice is addressing an urgent need. It is a voice of urgency. That voice has a message for us, and its message is: “Make straight the way of the Lord.”

“To make straight” is to make amends, to repent, to level the stumps in our hearts that stand against the entrance of God and God’s words. “To make straight the way of the Lord” is a call to repentance. It is a call to take a path different from our present one. A call to repentance implies that we are saved, not by acquiring stuff, but by emptying out those things that crowd out God. “To make straight the way of the Lord” is to open ourselves to God. God wants to be in our lives. But let’s remember that the Lord does not enter where hate and lies abide. The Lord does not enter where lust has made its bed. The Lord does not enter where falsity, stealing, cheating, gossip, anger etc have been enthroned. The Lord does not enter where pride, discrimination and prejudice reign. The Lord does not enter where remorse and guilt over bad behavior are seen as weakness. Making straight the way of the Lord means eliminating anything that contradicts our faith. To make straight is to get rid of all the impediments we have allowed into our hearts that prevent spiritual growth. This is the good news!

Today’s gospel tells us that John the Baptist appeared in the desert preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As he preached, multitude of people from Judea and Jerusalem were going to him. They acknowledged their sins. They were remorseful. They were repentant. And due to their sincere repentance, they were baptized by John the Baptist. They were ready for the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. 

The problem with some modern Christians is not that they sin. Of cause we all sin! Even the Apostles of Jesus were not entirely free from wrongdoing. Romans 3:23 even says that “All have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God.” The problem with some of today’s Christians is that they sin and call it a mistake. Sin is not a mistake. It is a transgression. There is a difference between a mistake and a sin. A mistake implies an error in judgement, i.e. something done unintentionally, like turning unto a one way street unknowingly, pouring salt into a cup of coffee thinking it was sugar, mistyping a word when using a computer. Any of these could happen because we are distracted. But a sin is more than a mistake. It is a deliberate choice to do something one knows is wrong. It is a transgression. We sin and call it how God made us. We sin and call it our neighbor’s fault. We deliberately sin and blame it on the devil: “The devil made me do it.” Like Adam and Eve, we never take responsibility for our actions. We sin and still claim that sin has not made us sinners. We sin and still claim that we are good people. We sin and give reasons to justify our actions. We sin and never feel remorseful or guilty of wrongdoing. Today, many Catholics  after willfully disobeying the commands of God, boldly approach the altar to receive the Eucharist during Mass without going to confession. We sin and claim that we are not hurting anybody. Some call sin fun. And any message that condemns sin is sometimes condemned and the preacher is seen as outdated, old-school, out-fashion and out of touch with the real life. 

Today, the voice crying out in the wilderness is asking us to make straight the way of the Lord. He is asking us to rebuild old bridges. When he first preached, a huge crowd of people from Judea and Jerusalem acknowledged their sins and  repented from them. Let’s act in like manner. Let’s not give excuses or be stubborn. John’s message invites us to become wilderness people in our time. We don’t have to imitate his diet, his dressing habit, or his place of residence. But we can still become wilderness people like him when we empty everything that cloisters our heart and life. We can become wilderness people like John the Baptist when we let go of all sins and wrongdoing and let God into our life. We can become wilderness people when we clean up our lives in order to create more room and space for the Holy Spirit. We can become wilderness people  when we live a life of simplicity. 

Advent is a season of letting go! Let us let go of anger! Let go of lies! Let go of hatred! Let go of backbiting! Let go of gossip! Let go of holier-than-thou attitude! Let go of fault-finding! Let go of greed! Let go of pride! Let go of over-eating and over-drinking! Let go of immoral desires! Let go of looking down on others! Let go of envy and jealousy! Let go of making excuses! Let go of bitterness! Let go of ingratitude! Let go of the devil’s stuffs! When we let those go, we let God into our lives. Today, John the Baptist calls us to repentance. Today, Jesus calls us to repentance. Today, the Church calls us to repentance. Let’s acknowledge our sins! There will be confessions on December 5-7. Let us go to God and empty our sins! For that will make us wilderness Christians. With that, we will be ready for the coming of the Lord Jesus.


God bless you!