Second Sunday of Advent, 12/6

Dear friends, we are now entering the second Sunday of Advent. As we light the second candle of our Advent wreath, our joy of waiting for Christ grows bigger. With these two flames brightly lit,

Christ’s coming is clearer to us just as Isaiah says in the first reading: “Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together.” And together with the psalmist our prayers grow in joy and in need of God, “Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.”

This Sunday, we start hearing about John the Baptist during this time. He comes crying out in the desert calling for repentance from our sins. Just like Lent, Advent also has a penitential spirit. Waiting for a Saviour means we have to be saved from something – from sin, and Christ’s birth alone does not save us to eternal life; for Christ’s mission is completed on the Cross and his Resurrection. True repentance leads to true joy. Just as lent waits for the Resurrection, Advent awaits with Joy for the birth of the One who is to be risen. So how do we prepare our hearts for Christ’s coming (for his second coming)? When I had my bible study a few days ago, one of the students brought up to our group reflection these lines of Isaiah: “Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God! Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill shall be made low; the rugged land shall be made a plain, the rough country, a broad valley.” And he mentioned how these landscape images are image of our hearts. I find his analogy very beautiful. Advent invites us to fill the valley of our hearts with the Holy Spirit; make our proud hearts low, make them plain and let the love of God flow through it like a broad valley where waters flow, giving life to everything around it. And this is what our advent should look like, letting the Holy Spirit do his work in our hearts, to grant us the gift of humility. A humble, contrite heart is a heart that God does not spurn (Psalm 50). A humble heart is capable of receiving authentic joy. As we journey toward Christmas, let us ask John the Baptist, the humble pre-cursor of Jesus, to intercede for us and to help us grow in humility. Have a blessed Advent!

Nelson Villamor, SCV