Homily for the Second Sunday of Advent December 8, 2024

As an old man lay dying on his deathbed, his pastor could see clearly that something was bothering him. Finally, the elderly man broke the silence: “When I was a youngster,” he said, “I played a prank that haunts me to this day. One day I twisted the highway route signs in opposite directions, so the arrows would direct travelers in the wrong direction.

“I wonder, as I lie here now, how many people I misdirected by that action—and, I wonder, how many I misdirected by the actions of my life.”

One of the great Advent figures we encounter in scripture each year is John the Baptist, whose job it was to prepare the way of the Lord by calling people to repentance. The story of the changing the direction of the arrows is a good one because repentance has to do with changing direction, turning your life around. Abandoning whatever is sinful or self-destructive, and doing a U-turn toward God.

The Bible is a very honest book, and it includes not only stories of goodness and triumph over evil, but also accounts of horrible, sinful actions. There are also powerful stories of repentance, people who turned their lives around. Let me share some examples.

The prophet Jonah, you may recall as the guy who got swallowed by the whale (or large fish). The reason that happened was that Jonah was actually running away from God. God wanted him to go to the great pagan city of Nineveh and warn the people that, unless they changed their ways, their city would be destroyed. Jonah wanted Nineveh to be destroyed; it was the capital of Assyria, and an enemy of Israel. Well, Jonah finally ran out of running room. God caught up with him, and off he went, warning the people there. The king decreed that all people needed to put on sackcloth and ashes, mend their ways, and start living rightly. Because of their repentance, Nineveh was spared.

A powerful personal story is that of King David, who fell in love with Bathsheba. The problem was that Bathsheba was already married. Bathsheba became pregnant, and to try to cover that up, David had her husband, who was a soldier, to be put into a defenseless position on the front lines and be killed. When David’s sin was found out, he admitted his sinfulness, repented and, ultimately, was forgiven.

A final example, a story that was very popular down through the centuries (it is depicted in the art of various early churches) is that of the so-called “Good Thief” who was crucified along with Jesus. As he hung there dying, he repented, turned to Jesus, and prayed, “Lord, remember me when you enter into your kingdom.” And Jesus accepted his repentance and responded, “This day, you will be with me in paradise.”

Now John the Baptist was a powerful figure who didn’t mince words, and told people what they needed to hear. When soldiers asked, for example, “What should we do?” he replied, “Don’t bully anyone and start acting justly.”

I tried to imagine, if John the Baptist were to walk into this church today, what might he ask of us. Here’s what I came up with—a list of questions that we can use in this time of Advent preparation:

·      Have you fed the hungry lately?

·      Do you worship God in Spirit and in truth, or only because you feel you have to?

·      Are you building people up with words of encouragement?

·      Are your treasures stored in heaven or in a safety deposit box?