Second Sunday
of Advent - A (December 8, 2013)
Gospel
reading: Matthew 3: 1-12
Fr Charles Johnson,
O.P.
One of the great
spiritual writers of our time, Padre Ignacio Larrañaga, a Capuchin Franciscan
priest who lived in Chile, died in late October at 85 years of age. I had
the privilege of hearing him give a talk 4 years ago in the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador,
where I served in mission.
In spite of his
advanced age, he told the nearly 1,000 people in attendance a story of an
imaginary conversation between John the Baptist and Jesus.
John, with the full
force of his prophetic clarity said that the time had come. “The ax lies
at the root of the trees and the time had come to cut them down.
Religious and social corruption had taken root and the only remedy was to chop
them down, but from the roots.”
Fr. Larrañaga’s tone
changed as he switched to give the response of Jesus, who with equal firmness
replied, “No, it’s all about my Heavenly Father’s mercy. That is what is
needed. Always mercy, the cutting can wait”
The effect of the
message was palpable. We had come to hear the words of wisdom of a
contemporary spiritual master. However, instead of an ethereal message,
we were brought to the depths of God’s very essence: mercy, simple mercy.
Be patient, let God’s mercy do what is needed.
Yes, John the
Baptist was right. He looked upon the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and
Sadducees as well as the immorality of his time and saw it all for what it was:
a failure to recognize sinfulness in its many forms and the need for sincere
repentance. The same can be said for us and our day and age.
The hard-hitting
message of John the Baptist had drawing power. It was obviously very
cathartic and brought about sincere conversions in the people who came to him.
However, John the
Baptist’s perspective needs more, it needs grace. It needs Christ to be
complete and to have staying power. Perhaps John the Baptist needed
a little more patience.
Pope Francis writes
that “we cannot but admire the resources that Jesus used to dialogue with his
people and teach them and reveal his mystery to all.” The “secret,” the Pope
says, “lies in the way Jesus looked at people, seeing beyond their weaknesses
and failings.”
Seeing and going
beyond our weaknesses and failings to get at the love he himself has given us.
Jesus knows where that love is sometimes hidden, do we? Take the time in
prayer to open up your heart to his light; it might be a surprise what we
discover.
John the Baptist
recognized more the obvious, the sinfulness and hypocrisy of his age.
However, we need Jesus to recognize what is sometimes less obvious to us: that
beyond all the sin and suffering that seem to occupy center stage and get all
the attention, his love is at work; his grace is alive.
Sometimes the
getting beyond our weaknesses and failings, our sinfulness, requires some
work. However, for Jesus it’s not that it takes time, but love.
Keep in mind what St. Peter teaches us in his second letter: “Consider the
patience of our Lord as salvation.”
Even in the coldest
of hearts, the patient mercy of Christ can find the warmth of love.
How? Well, it’s a love that he puts there …. Have we let it take
root?
The good news is
that God prefers to prune the vines and not cut them down. He longs for
us to be fruitful branches, not firewood.
Advent blessings,
Fr. Charlie
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