2nd Sunday in Advent Year A

 2nd Sunday in Advent – Challenge to Change

 What is Advent all about? Is it simply the last-minute run-up to Christmas during which we must ensure that we have bought all of the presents for all of the family and all of the friends?

Is it simply the opportunity to get into stock all of that extra food that we might need – just in case there is an earthquake in our area or some other natural disaster that would justify our hoarding so many extra supplies?

Or is it something else? Where in this mix of activities do we place the real meaning of Advent – and what exactly is this “real” meaning when all is said and done?

I think we would all agree that Advent is about getting ready; completing our preparation for Christmas Day and the birth of our saviour, Jesus Christ. But that is easy to say and not so easy to put into any sort of practical reality.

So I think we need to look at Advent as a time or an opportunity to change. To change how we have been living to how we need to live. To change our everyday, run-off-our-feet, mode of living and take a long hard look at our lives, our living, our faith and our faith-practice.

This is what living a Christian life is all about – change; change and the challenge to change. The challenge to make Christ relevant in our lives and the challenge to make us worthy representatives of God’s word – his scripture – in everything we do.

It is all too easy to let scripture wash over and around us because we feel it isn’t really real and doesn’t apply to us here and now. We are wrong if we think like this: it is real: it does apply to us here and now.

Isaiah was talking to and about a troubled people: a people beset with doubts, with stresses, with anxieties and with pressures to conform to the beliefs of others. John the Baptist was preaching to a people torn apart during the Roman occupation where the easiest response was to conform, to keep your head down and just get on with life.

Is there anyone here who doesn’t recognise these same pressures here in the world today? What can we pray; what can we say; what can we wear; what can we believe; where can we gather; what can we retain as holy and sacrosanct; – and the list goes on. To what extent have we each folded under this pressure and only do the barest to get by within our church?

Our scripture reaches out to us in our great time of need to remind us of what God is asking and calling us to do. It is reaching out to us exactly as it did in the time of Isaiah when the Jewish people were lost and bewildered, broken spirited and angry with the changes they had to face.

Our scripture is reaching out to us as John did with the people in Judaea – calling them to come and recharge their faith; to challenge how they were living the message of God – the message of love for all as he had always loved them.

When we had candidates for Confirmation, they were prepared to check and challenge what we were offering them in our instructions and preparations. We had some interesting discussion throughout the six-week programme. What does being a Confirmed Christian mean to them in their families, in their classrooms, in their lives – in this parish? There was no one-size-fits-all answer that met every person’s needs in every situation. We are all different in our needs but we are all the same too!

We are the same in that we believe that God loves us no matter what we do. We believe that no matter how many times we may fall down or turn away from Him, God will pick us up and help us to start over. God is love – pure unadulterated, unconditional, forgiving and fulfilling love.

He reaches out to us time and time again throughout history and especially during our times of greatest needs. He speaks to us through our scripture and through our prayers – if we but take the time to read, to pray and to listen to His replies.

We should consider, especially during this season of Advent, dipping into our scriptures during the week; making and taking some time to stop and ponder a phrase, a word or a paragraph and then to see what God is trying to say to us. We need some space, some time, some quiet and some determination to listen and feel for God’s reaching out to us. Why not make a simple change and spend just a few minutes, a few moments in God’s presence and thank him for his love, his guidance, his protection and ask him to help you make better use of your time and to make the changes that you need to.

When we read or hear the scriptures, let us remember that it is God himself who speaks to his people and it is Christ, present in his word who proclaims the gospel. I challenge you to make a change and stop, read, listen and change.

 Bidding Prayers

1.      We pray that we can all check and challenge our personal levels of faith and seek the wisdom and courage of the Holy Spirit to change and grow from where we are to where we need to be. Lord in your mercy

2.      That we can come together to prepare ourselves and our parish community to be better ready to greet Jesus at Christmas. Lord in your mercy

3.      That we work together as community to improve the lot of those less fortunate than us, with deliberate and positive love-centred-actions. Lord in your mercy

4.      That there is an end to the war in Ukraine and across all countries torn apart by wear and conflict and a return to peace. Lord in your mercy

5.      That the sick of our parish are renewed in their faith by the impact of our loving and neighbourly actions. Lord in your mercy

6.      That those who have died from our parishes find eternal rest with the Lord. Lord in your mercy

7.      That Our Lady joins her prayers with ours as we now say together, Hail Mary, full of grace