Advent and the Sacrament of Reconciliation

(Fr. Andrew’s Homily for the Second Sunday of Advent)

I would like to speak today about the Sacrament of Reconciliation, by reflecting upon a few lines from today’s Gospel:

“Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be made low. The winding roads shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God” (Luke 3:4-6).

1.  Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. Advent is a time of preparation, a time to prepare our hearts for the Lord’s coming. The Lord Jesus is coming but, sometimes, He cannot find a way into our hearts. Our yard outside has already the Christmas decorations, and there are lights on the front porch, outside… but Jesus wants to come inside, and all those decorations and lights and music make it difficult for Him to find His way in…

What does it mean to prepare the way of the Lord? “John went throughout the whole region of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Luke 3:3) For the Jewish people it meant to repent and to participate in the baptism of John, so that their sins would be forgiven. We also must repent and participate in another sacramental ritual, which we call Confession or Reconciliation. We prepare the way of the Lord when we take away from our hearts the obstacles to God’s presence in our lives. What are those obstacles, what are the sins preventing God from coming in?

2.  Every valley shall be filled. The valleys are our lack of hope. Sometimes, it is lack of hope regarding Heaven and the rewards of eternal life: “There is no meaning in life; effort and suffering are pointless.” Other times, it is lack of hope regarding the graces and mercy of God in this life: “I cannot become a saint. I cannot overcome my sins. I cannot be forgiven: I am bad and have no redemption. There is no way God would love me after all I have done.” If something could make God sad it would be our lack of hope. God could say to you, “My child, you are not strong enough but I am: trust in me. Do not say that you are bad: what you did is bad, but what I did when I made you is not bad. Do not call ‘bad’ my child: you are my child. And do not say, ‘I have no redemption,’ because I went down to earth and climb upon a cross just for you: you are the object of my love and of my efforts. I have created you, and I do not make junk. I have made you also my child, and I will not stop calling you until I take you home with me. It seems difficult for you, but nothing is impossible with me. Rise from this valley of sin and fill your heart with hope!”

3.  And every mountain and hill shall be made low. The mountains and hills are our pride. You know what the worse pride is? The pride of those who, after hearing that God can and wants to forgive them, stick to their own fears and lack of hope. For some people, it is really news that someone can take them out of the hole in which they are. But, when they hear the news, the good news of salvation, they realize they need to change the way they have always thought about themselves and about the world. They have to destroy their own world and emigrate to another one which they did not create. A world of hope, of life, of meaningful effort… But they do not want to give up their world, their own way of seeing life, their own way of seeing themselves. This pride is dangerous, because it is preferring one’s own wisdom to God’s wisdom. Who are we to tell God what is good or bad? Why we sometimes disagree with God?

4.  The winding roads shall be made straight. Winding or crooked roads are our excuses to stick to our own way of seeing things. Sometimes it is not pride that prevents us from moving forward with hope. We know that we can be forgiven, we know that we could become saints but… there is always an excuse. Now, my point here is not to talk about the particular excuses we make: “I am so busy; I am not made from saint-stuff; being a saint does not mean to exaggerate or being a fanatic; maybe tomorrow I can start, tomorrow the weather will be better…” My point is to realize that we sometimes make excuses to stay where we are, and we make it more difficult for the Lord to come. It is like a crooked road: the Lord can still come, but we have indicated Him a crooked, longer road, so that He does not come so quickly…

5.  And the rough ways made smooth. A rough road might be straight but it is still difficult to travel. It is perhaps when we are willing to do what God wants, but we are a little resentful that God wants that, or defensive, or too fearful…

6.  And all flesh shall see the salvation of God. There is a difference between knowing something and seeing it, and this is related to the sacrament of Reconciliation. It is not enough to know that God forgives, we need to see that He has actually forgiven us. We need to hear that we are good from the Lord’s mouth. This is why Jesus left the sacrament of Reconciliation, so that we may experience His forgiveness. “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them” (John 20:23) And how many people experience Confession as an unburdening, as a relief from such heavy weights they have carried for so long…! It is as if the Lord had said to them, “Jerusalem, take off your robe of mourning and misery; put on the splendor of glory from God forever” (Baruch 5:1).

Have we despaired from getting rid of our sins, or from some particular sin? Let us fill that valley with hope. Are we afraid of changing the way we see things? Do we prefer our wisdom to God’s wisdom? Let us give up, make low the hills of our pride, and realize that there is no better plan than God’s plan for us. Are we making God’s way crooked with our excuses to rise from our sins? Do we resent His plan for us? Let us go to confession and talk about these things. May God let us see His salvation!