Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, NY
Br. Bob Pierson, OHC
Advent 2 B - Sunday, December 6, 2020
Each year, on the second Sunday of Advent, we are introduced to the figure of John the Baptist, that strange fellow who runs around in the desert, dressed in camel's hair, and eating locusts and wild honey. And on this year, Year B of the three year lectionary cycle we are also given the treat of hearing this first reading from Isaiah 40:
“Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins.”
We know that the original context for these words of Isaiah was the post exilic prophet proclaiming the good news that the exile was coming to an end. That God was coming to bring the people back to Jerusalem. So, it's time to “prepare the way of the Lord,” to fill in the valleys and cut through the mountains, to construct a super highway through the desert to allow God to bring the people home.
This was extremely good news for the people of Israel. How can it also be “good news” for us? The past few months have found us wandering in a desert exile of our own as we respond to the presence of the coronavirus in our midst. And while the exile is not over yet by any means, we know that it is coming to an end with the advent of several vaccines that, if people allow themselves to be vaccinated, will bring this plague to an end. But if that is the only thing we think we need to be “saved” from, I think we are ignoring another “disease” in our midst that has been around for much longer, and can be just as devastating as any respiratory illness.
I am talking about the “disease” of rancor that exists in many parts of the world between good people who are so convinced that they are right that, in fact, they are wrong. People on every side of our political divides have become so rancorous that it seems we have forgotten about the command to “Love our neighbors as we love ourselves.” Many of us have become so comfortable with ranting and raving against “them” that we have forgotten that “they” are our brothers and sisters, fellow human beings in need of the same respect and dignity that we hope to obtain for ourselves.
What kind of vaccine can save us from this illness? During the past few days of silent retreat I have been reading a book that has sat on my shelf for years. It was a gift from a directee of mine back in Minnesota, and I have been putting off reading it until just this week. The book is entitled, “Left To Tell,” and it's the story of a young Rwandan woman, Immaculee Ilibagiza, who survived the genocide that took place in her country in 1994. Along with five other women, she hid in a bathroom that was 4 feet by 3 feet for over three months. During that time she experienced such fear, and anger, and hatred for those trying to kill her and her family, that she knew she had to turn to God to save her soul from being consumed by the evil around her. After they were rescued, which is an amazing story in itself, she knew that God had saved her life so that she could tell her story while working for the healing of the soul of her country and people. She refused to give in to hatred and revenge, and learned to pray for her persecutors who had killed all of her family and were hunting her by name. The conversion that she experienced in that tiny bathroom over those three months enabled her to be Christ after the war ended.
I am convinced that we, too, are called to reject the invitation to “demonize” those with whom we disagree and to pray for them as our brothers and sisters in the Lord. That is not to say that we don't need to work for truth and justice, but more than revenge we need healing and reconciliation. It's hard work because people will not be easily brought together after such serious divisions have been encouraged by many around us, but it IS the way of Jesus, and bringing healing and reconcilation is the way to prepare for the coming of the Lord.
In the selection we heard today from the second letter of Peter, he reminds us that “the Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.” He asks, “what sort of persons ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming day of God...? Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish; and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation.”
As we gather around the table of the Lord at this Eucharist today, let us promise to live the healing and reconciliation that Jesus offers us in this sacrament. Let us refuse to give in to the pressure to “win” or “get even,” and rather work for all to be reconciled in Christ. We can be examples of Christ's love and mercy as we refuse to give in to the need to write off those with whom we disagree, and work to love them as God loves them. What a wonderful way to prepare the way!
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