Gospel today is about John the Baptist’s ministry, calling all to repentance and change of heart. Luke gives the names of both secular and religious leaders of the time stating that John’s ministry and the coming of Christ happened in real history, the beginning of a sacred history. John’s baptism was about preparing the hearts through repentance, a sign of one’s resolve to change for the coming of Christ. Repentance is like building a road in the desert; it is to ready our hearts of wilderness, for Christ to enter and accept his healing grace, salvation! In the world today, the task of building a road for Christ through destructive social, political and religious desert is tiresome but the end will be sublime joy, so carefully remove all hurdles in life!
The beautiful first reading from Baruch is voice of God in the exiles and deserts of our lives; it expresses the joy of waiting in hope for the Lord who comes to redeem. God says, ‘take off your robe of mourning and misery and put on the splendor of God’; this is the joy of Christmas that we await in advent, the joy of recommitting ourselves to Christ. ‘You will be named’, says the Lord. We are given the name of Christ or Christian, the anointed of God to stand on heights for all to see as redeemed by Christ. ‘Forests, fragrant trees overshadow you; the Lord’s light is leading you to joy’, so take off the garment of sorrow. We have put on the garment of Christ’s light in our baptism and the fragrant trees that overshadow us are the good news of Christ and the sacraments, source of our joy. The Babylonian king devastated and mistreated Jerusalem and took people to the misery of exile. It is amazing that the Prophet prays for the enemy king that the exiled people may live in peace. Readings present the biblical tradition of lamenting for loss, sinfulness and praying for the strength to hope vision of a new life, reconciliation with God and even with enemies.
God’s voice calls us in the wilderness of our lives to repentance and forgiveness. A Pearl Harbor TV story is about a veteran who now works in the memorial built over the sunken ship Arizona: He saw a man coming through the memorial thumping his chest and saying, ‘I am Japanese’. The American veteran thought he was going to have some trouble with the Japanese. But the Japanese man came up to the American vet, put one arm on the American’s shoulder and said: ‘I am sorry’; then he put his other arm on his other shoulder and said, ‘I am so very sorry’ and he embraced the American vet in a bear hug and wept. The man’s wife came up from her deep bow and she was weeping. The American vet wept as did many standing nearby. They recognized the scene as a healing one for two warriors who had carried many emotions around for years. They took off the robe of sorrow and guilt by forgiving each other and reconciling! What old wounds have we recently tried to heal by reaching out to another and offering forgiveness or asking to be forgiven?
Experiences of horror, misery, sorrow are bound to happen but the Lord says, ‘I will help you to make a hope filled journey into your exiles, help you to take off your garment of misfortunes, fear, uncertainty, and you will see the triumph of my mercy over malicious human behavior’. Readings also invite us to reach out to the forgotten, lost ones to our eyes, help them to smooth rough roads in their lives that they may experience the joy of being touched by God this Christmas.