Repent, For the Love of God
Dec 8, 2019 – Second Sunday of Advent
Lectionary: 4
In Isaiah, the prophet offers us a beautiful picture of the day that Christ will reign on the earth. He will judge justly, especially for the poor. He will destroy the ruthless, and slay the wicked. All enemies will be at peace. It will be glorious.
In the Gospel, John tells us how we should prepare for the coming of this kingdom.
Repent.
The world tells us that I’m OK and you’re OK. The world tells us that “everyone does it.” The world tells us there is no such thing as sin.
The Gospel tells us to repent.
Let’s consider the who, what, when, where, and why of today’s gospel.
Who? Everyone. Great crowds of people came to John. They came to confess their sins, and be baptized. Deep down, most of us know that we are sinners, and we need to repent. We need to not just repent once, but constantly repent of whatever comes between us and God.
What? John tells them to repent, but there is more. They are challenged to produce good fruit as evidence of their repentance. Repentance is a change of heart shown by a change in how we live. They are challenged not to presume the fact that they are children of Abraham guarantees their safety. We, also, should not presume that the fact we are baptized as Christians guarantees we are safe from the coming wrath. The Catechism teaches us that the we, the Church, are, at the same time, “holy and always in need of purification,” we constantly follow the “path of penance and renewal.”
When? Now. Yes, our Lord is coming again, and possibly soon and even very soon. We should prepare ourselves for that day. Yes, most or all of us will die one day, and face judgment. But the kingdom of God is at hand. It is here. It is within us, now. In Isaiah, the prophet describes the perfect king. That king is our Lord Jesus Christ. He desires to live in our hearts now. When we allow him to live and reign in our hearts, his kingdom is present within us. His peace is with us.
Where? The desert. John preached in the desert. Great crowds came from all around the Jordan valley to hear him preach, and to repent. What is in the desert? Nothing. John could have preached anywhere. Jesus could have fasted anywhere. They both chose the Judean desert. Why is that? The desert is a place without distractions or diversions. It is not a pleasant place. It is difficult. It is empty. Because it is empty, we have space and time to ask ourselves hard questions. In Advent, we are invited to spend a little time in the desert. We are invited to pray more, and to spend less time on amusements. What is it that separates us from God? What is it that is bad in our lives? What is it that is not bad, but is worthless in our lives? The Gospel describes a day when Jesus will gather the wheat, but burn the chaff. Chaff is the hard shell around wheat. It is not bad, it is just worthless, and it must be removed in order for the wheat to be useful for food or for planting. What is worthless in our lives? Are we willing to let it go?
And Why? We might repent because we fear punishment here on earth, or in hell, or in purgatory. This is an inferior motive. Fear will keep us away from what is harmful. Fear can bring us to repentance. But human fear alone will never bring us close to God. As I mentioned to some of you a few weeks ago, human fear causes us to fight, or to run away. It is different from the fear of the Lord that Isaiah tells us is a work of the Holy Spirit of the Lord. Fear of the Lord is a fear of being separated from God. Fear of the Lord comes from our love of God, and our respect for God. It comes from a desire to be with God. Regular, human fear makes us run away. Fear of the Lord makes us run to God.
The best reason to repent is love. If I love God, then I want to be closer to God. Because I want to be closer to God, I will repent of whatever prevents that closeness.
Those of us with children learn this lesson. Fear has a place. Fear is a beginning. When teaching children too young to reason, fear will teach them how to avoid things that are hot or sharp or otherwise dangerous to themselves or others. It is a poor tool for anything else. In fact, fear becomes counterproductive when we want to help our children learn how to choose what is good, and reject what is bad. When they can choose for themselves, only love will invite them to choose the right path.
This Advent, and always, God is calling us to repent. Not just out of fear, and not because God has some need to control us. God is calling us to repent because God loves us. God sees what is keeping us from fully experiencing God’s love, joy, and peace. There are obstacles between us, and God wants to remove those obstacles. God does not want to make us less than we are, or even different than we are. God simply wants to free us from the worthless chaff. God wants to help us shed the hard shell that prevents us from being useful. Jesus wants to come in to our hearts and dwell with us.
Prepare the way of the Lord. Repent always, for the love of God.
