Think Again!

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Second Sunday of Advent, Year A

St. Mary of Assumption Church, Whittier, CA

Sunday, December 4, 2016

John the Baptist was Jesus’ cousin and forerunner. He preached in the wilderness of Judea. His ministry began at a time when the Jews were complaining that they no longer hear the voice of prophets. They had gone for four centuries without a prominent prophet, and this promoted many to say that the voice of prophecy, which was the voice of God, do not speak anymore. But as this thinking was gaining ground among the people, John the Baptist emerged, and with a message: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 

John was a fearless preacher who denounced evil deeds wherever he saw them. When Herod entered into an illicit and unlawful marriage with his brother’s wife, Herodias, John rebuked him and told him that the Jewish Law did not permit such behavior. When he saw that the Pharisees, Sadducees, and the religious leaders of his day were stuck in the letters of the law and paid little or no attention to the spirit of the law, John challenged them and berated their hypocrisy. When he saw that the ordinary folks of his time were living lives that were not consistent with the professed faith, John rebuked them. Wherever he saw anything bad- in the state, in the Temple, on the street, in the marketplace, John fearlessly rebuked it. His emergence became a light that lit up dark places. His voice became the voice of virtue, the voice of goodness, the voice of uprightness, the voice of holiness, and the voice of God. His voice became the voice of faith, morals and reason. As he preached, he urged his people: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.” But John was not a prophet of doom. His message was not only about denunciation, repudiation and rebuke of evil. He did not only denounce the wrong that he saw, he also challenged the people to become what they ought to be and what they could be. 

Although John’s prophetic ministry started in the desert, but it never deter people, including the Pharisees and Sadducees, from going to him for baptism. All sorts of people were running to him, thinking he was the Messiah. But he humbly told them he was not the Christ: “I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” John pointed beyond himself. He knew he was not the center of attraction, rather, a signpost to God. He knew his assignment was to prepare people to encounter Jesus, who he described as “Mightier than I.” 

To those who had been baptized unto repentance, John urged: “Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones.” John warned that it will avail to nothing to say that Abraham is our father when one’s deeds are not consistent with the faith that Abraham professed and lived out. It will amount to nothing to say that we are Christians if we are not following in the footsteps of Christ. A Christian is a professional lover. A Christian is a lover of God and God’s people. A Christian is another Christ in the world. It will amount to nothing, after receiving the sacraments- baptism, confirmation, Holy Eucharist etc, we still live in darkness. Claiming Abraham as our father in faith is not enough unless our faith is deeply rooted like that of Abraham. Proclaiming verbally that Jesus is Lord will avail to nothing if we don’t follow in his footsteps. Appealing to God’s mercy is not going to be enough if we don’t make effort to enjoy his mercy. Claiming to be children of the kingdom will mean nothing if we don’t live like redeemed and delivered children of the kingdom. John prophesied the coming of God’s Kingdom and also the requirement to enter into it— to repent. The Greek word for repentance is “metanoia” which means “To be converted, to have a change of heart and to think again. 

Beloved in Christ, let’s think again about who we are, where we are, what we are doing and what we have done. Let’s think again about doing something good, being lovely and lovable, being hospitable, being kind, being compassionate, being merciful, being generous, being inclusive, being gentle, being humble, being truthful, being sacrificial, being understandable, being less difficult, being holy and above all, being Christ.