Jesus, I trust in you!
We know that Christmas is just
around the corner when traffic becomes heavier and malls and night markets
become busier. People are just so busy “buying special gifts, making time to be
friends to one and all.” Everybody is so busy preparing for the most wonderful
time of the year.
While nothing is wrong with
shopping and with partying, it is only right for us to keep our focus on the
real reason for the holidays. If Advent is a time of preparation, what are we
preparing for? Many of us will immediately conclude that we are preparing for
the feast of the Lord’s birth. All these parties and gift giving celebrate the
mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God.
While this may be true, we must not
forget that Advent does not only prepare us for Christmas. Advent also prepares
us for the coming of the day of the Lord when “the heavens will vanish with a
roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and all its deeds
will be made manifest.” (Sa araw na iyon, ang kalangitan ay biglang mapaparam
na may nakapangingilabot na ugong, matutupok ang araw, buwan at mga bituin, at
ang lahat ng lupa ay malalantad.) We are waiting for that awesome day of
judgment when all the earth will make an accounting before Christ.
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| St. John the Baptist of Qiuapo Church |
Thus, St. Paul warns us to be holy
in conduct and devotion, to make every effort to be found without stain or
defilement, and at peace in the sight of God as we await for the coming of the
Day of the Lord. In preparing for the coming of the Lord, St. John the Baptist
proclaimed a baptism of repentance which led to the forgiveness of sins. He
declares: “Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God! Every valley
shall be filled in, every mountain and hill shall be made low…” Not only did he
proclaim repentance. He lived it out by a penitential lifestyle: he wore
camel’s hair and fed of locust and wild honey. He fasted, prayed, and
proclaimed because the one who is to come after him is more powerful than him.
He considered himself unworthy to unstrap the Lord’s sandals. The one who comes
after him is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
The Lord shows generous patience in
the seeming delay of his coming. He is giving us time to repent and straighten
our ways. “He wants no one to perish but all to come to repentance.” This
repentance is necessary because on the last day, everything shall be consumed
by fire – everything except those which belong to the Lord. When Jesus said,
“Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of God,” he was
referring to poverty of the spirit as basic requirement for entrance into the
Kingdom of God. This poverty is detachment from everything that is not of God.
Fr. Pong said to us during our Advent recollection: Ang hindi magdadala ay
langit ay huwag ikasusungit. Oftentimes, we have so much worldly excesses, so
many mountains to level. On the other hand, we find ourselves lacking in doing
good, so many valleys to fill. That is why we are not prepared for the coming
of the Lord’s Day. We have so many excesses to burn and so little good to
offer. We must burn our excesses by
penitence and make up for our lack of goodness by acts of charity. And most of
all, we must repent now, lest we be caught by the day of the Lord that comes
like a thief in the night. Let the Divine thief steal nothing from us by
voluntarily giving up the worldly things we are attached to. Let the Divine
Judge be pleased with us by our offering of spiritual profits gained by works
of charity. Confess your sins, pray, fast, and give. Let us prepare the way of
the Lord!
O Mary conceived without sin, pray
for us who have recourse to thee!
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