Maranatha! (2nd Sunday Advent A)

We look around and we see conflict and division. Oftentimes these are manifested through violent expressions. Harsh words... malicious accusations... killings... war... terrorism. We also experience so much injustice in society. The evildoers seem to have their way and even rewarded; while the good suffer and unjustly punished. We deeply wish that things aren't the way they are now. “There has to be an end to these.” This yearning is our own experience of the longing of advent.  We long for harmony, peace, and justice.  Just as the people of Israel cried out, "Maranatha!" (Aramaic for “Come, O Lord!”) as they long for the coming of our Lord, we too long to see an end to our many sufferings.  When we are at it, we may as well magnify this yearning as we journey into the season of Advent. 

Today’s readings afford us both a vision of what we are yearning for and the way towards such a vision.  I’m speaking of Isaiah’s vision of the Day of our Lord and John the Baptist’s way of repentance.

Isaiah’s Vision. Our first reading (Is 11:1-10) is Isaiah’s oracle depicting the era of the Messiah. For Isaiah, the prophet of Advent in the Old Testament, the eschatological era of the Messiah will be characterized by justice for the Anawim (the poor one’s of Yahweh) as the Lord “shall judge the poor with justice and decide aright for the land’s afflicted” (v. 4). Not only that justice will reign, there shall be harmony in this eschatological age as signified by these images: “Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with kid; the calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to guide them” (v. 6). There shall be peace in all the earth for “there shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the Lord, as water covers the sea” (v. 9).

A vision provides hope. It is to where we are committed to journey no matter what. The vision is what we yearn to happen now. We long for justice, for peace and harmony.  Despite overwhelming obstacles to our efforts, despite the fact that we can reach a point of exasperation, we continue to cling to the vision.  We continue to hope. And more importantly, as we feel helpless many times, we have to learn to trust in the promise of the fulfillment of the Reign of God. We don’t fulfill the vision with pure human will and creativity; it is the Lord who ultimately brings fulfillment.

This is, then, at the heart of Advent: Our anticipation of the Lord’s coming, the fulfillment of the vision. So when we are down and discouraged, exasperated and feeling useless, there’s one more thing to do: Cry out with total dependence on the Lord, “Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!”

John’s Way of Repentance. Our efforts, all too often, are motivated by egoism or by a do-it-my-way arrogance. No wonder we fail many times and we don’t progress towards the vision. John the Baptist, in today’s gospel reading (Mt. 3:1-12), has taught us the way—Repentance. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (v. 2). For John, repentance is how we prepare for the coming of our Lord. For him, who is the Advent prophet of the era of fulfillment, repentance is both urgent and concrete.

The kingdom of heaven is at hand! The fulfillment of the vision is now! Repentance, then, must not be delayed. It has to be done now. It is urgent; it must be prioritized.

And repentance must be concrete; it has to “produce good fruits” as evidence (v. 8). It cannot simply be a sentimental remorse for sin or a spur-of-the-moment intention to be better. Remorse and good intentions are a good start but these have to lead to concrete changes. Repentance or “metanoia” involves three levels of changes: The change of mind which means a new way of thinking; the change of heart which means a new way of valuing; and the change of behavior which means a new way of acting. All these are the ways of Jesus Christ. To repent is to turn away from our egoistic self and embrace the ways of the Lord, in St. Paul’s language, “to put on Christ.”

When we truly repent then, we allow Jesus Christ, the Lord, to reign in our hearts. Then everything in the vision follows—justice, peace, harmony.

Christmas lights are, no doubt, delightful to behold. But, alas, when we ignore the Advent requirement of true repentance, they may end up just as a colorful cover-up of a frightening darkness that secretly lurks within us and hovers around us. And we continue with our exasperation and helplessness in the face of the worsening ills of society wondering why our vision, or Isaiah’s, remains elusive. We need to listen to John. Repent.