Through prophet Isaiah God says: I want to comfort my people, a people burdened by
wars [pandemic], desolation, pain and loss and give them peace, freedom; I want to
show them my unfailing love. Build a highway for God in the wilderness of human fears
and hopelessness; let the God of peace enter! Mark begins his gospel introducing John
the Baptist and his preaching of baptism of repentance by water. He is building the
highway of hope, justice and peace that Isaiah prophesied for the Greater One, Christ
the Son of God to enter! Sending of Christ, Son of God is God’s offer of comfort to the
world and that is experienced through repentance and acceptance of forgiveness.
Good news of Christ dissolves all darkness in human hearts!
Repentance is to acknowledge the need to straighten our crooked ways and invite the
Lord who comes to shake up life and God’s Spirit to refashion us. Repentance is
change of direction; it is giving up and taking up! It is to let the fire of Spirit to unfold
our lives that we may give up everything unloving in us and take up the gospel or
putting on Christ. God’s will is that all may experience peace through repentance that
the fire of God’s love may burn human selfishness, malice; ‘God wants none to perish
but all come to repentance’ [2Peter]. A humility of heart that of John the Baptist is
required to build a highway in our hearts for Christ to enter. A heart turning to God is to
find Christ the good news, our peace/comfort.
Longing to welcome Christ is a welcome we give to people who cross our paths; you
then radiate peace and your presence is comfort and consolation for others, like a wall
to lean on, a companion of strength/courage that the afraid could walk with! A young
wife, who started living the Gospel in her family said: I experienced a joy I never had
before and wanted to share this love outside the four walls of our house. For example, I
remember running to the hospital to visit the wife of a colleague who tried to kill herself.
For sometime, I had known of their difficulties, but being absorbed in my own
problems, I had not bothered to help her. But then I felt her suffering was my own and I
could not rest until the situation that had driven her to that point was resolved. This
experience marked the beginning of a change in my attitudes. I understood that, if I
love, I can be a reflection of God’s love for everyone I meet, even if only a very small
one.
This woman understood that Christ comes to take away our sins and comfort us in our
sufferings and give us peace; that we are like John the Baptist to make known Christ,
his comforting and life-rebuilding presence to others! This Advent, as we give thanks to
God for Christ, the good news of comfort, we are assured by God, saying to us: ‘I have
loved you with an everlasting love’ [Jeremiah 31:3]; may this truth sink into our
unsettled hearts; we are in this love even if at times we don’t feel the comfort or see the
light!