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The
Softer Voice of Advent
Fr.
George Smiga
December
9 & 10, 2006
Luke
3: 1 - 6
John
the Baptist is the voice of Advent. We hear him in the gospel
today crying out in the wilderness, preparing the way of the
Lord. John's message is cosmic and powerful, and it is a message
of hope. But the voice of John is not the only voice of Advent.
There are other more quiet strains that echo throughout this
season, and I think it would serve us well today to consider
one of them.
The
voice to which I refer is the voice of Paul it today's second
reading. If John speaks as a prophet, Paul speaks as a pastor.
If John challenges his hearers to prepare for the coming of
the Lord, Paul encourages his hearers to trust that God will
be faithful. The particular line which I have in mind is one
of my favorite in all of the scriptures. Paul says to the
Philippians, “God who has begun the good work among you will
bring it to completion.” Paul is saying is that when God begins
something, God finishes it. God does not love us and then
decide to abandon us. God does not bless us and then decide
to change direction. Both God's plan and God's intention for
us are constant. How we need to hear this admonish of Paul!
How we need to believe that Paul's words are true. Because
if we could believe those words, we could live with greater
confidence, we could live in greater peace.
What
are the things about which we worry? What are the things that
disturb our peace? Are they not fears about what the future
might bring, what we will have to deal with in the days ahead?
We worry about our children and our grandchildren. Will they
find a good job? Will they discover someone who will really
love them and with whom they can build a happy life? Will
they win the battle against addiction and all the other temptations
that are present in society? We cannot see what is coming,
we cannot control the future. So we worry, and our heart churns
within us. Paul says, “What are you thinking? Who is it that
gave you that child or that grandchild? Was not his or her
life a creation of God? Is it not a gift from God? Why would
God create a life and then walk away from it? Why would God
give you that sign of love and then abandon it? No,” Paul
says, “that is not the way God is. God who has begun the good
work among you will bring it to completion.”
We
worry about what we will become. What we will do when we get
out of school? Will we find a job which we enjoy? Will we
find someone with whom we can share our life? Will we be able
to be a good mother or father? We do not know how the future
will play out. Wee cannot control it. So we worry. Paul says,
“Don't go there. Where do you think your life comes from?
Where do you think your dreams and desires originate? What
is the origin of your health and your energy? Do not all these
things come from a God who has made you and loves you? Would
God so bless you with life and all of these dreams and aspirations
and then decide it is a mistake? Will God who has shown you
such love forget you when you have to face the future? No,”
says Paul, “God who has begun the good work within you will
bring it to completion.”
We
worry about growing old; we worry about losing our energy,
losing our memory facing the inevitable battles with sickness,
watching our senses deteriorate. We dread the upcoming struggle
with death, a struggle none of us can win. Because we cannot
control the future, because we do not know the particular
twists and turns by which this aging process will unfold,
we worry. Gradually we can lose enthusiasm for life and the
hope of the future. Paul says, “What are you thinking? Where
do you think your life came from? The blessings you have in
your life—your family, your friends, your achievements, all
the opportunities you never thought would be yours—where do
you think those came from? Are all these things the result
of your own cleverness and industry? Could all these blessings
that so surround you be the result of your own wisdom and
effectiveness? All of these things come from a God who has
blessed you time and again. Now why would God who so loves
you forget you? Why would God who gave you so much leave you
out in the desert to die? No,” says Paul, “God who has begun
the good work within you will bring it to completion.”
John
calls out in the wilderness, “The kingdom of God is coming!”
Paul whispers in our hearts, “God will always be faithful.”
If we can hear the voice of John, we must also believe the
words of Paul. God does not begin something and then give
up. What is begun will be finished. God has made us and God
has blessed us. That good work will not be abandoned. It will
be brought to completion.
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