Homily - 2nd Sunday in Advent, Year B

Homily — 2nd Sunday in Advent, Year B

Isaiah 40:1-11 <> 2 Peter 3:8-14 <> Mark 1:1-8

Fr. Timothy W. Castor

Recently, I saw a movie which I would warmly recommend to anyone—it’s a good family film, rare these days, called "The Straight Story." It’s the true story of a man named Alvin Straight who, when he hears that his brother is very ill and possibly dying, decides he must go and see him. Both men are very old and not at all well, they have been estranged from each other and have not spoken to each other for many years, for reasons which both of them cannot even remember. Alvin decides it’s time to bury the hatchet and be reconciled to his brother. But there’s a problem Alvin cannot drive, he doesn’t have a license, and his brother lives 260 miles away. Strongly believing that this is something he must do on his own, Alvin makes the "logical" decision of driving a 1966 John Deere lawnmower from his home in western Iowa to his brother’s home in Mount Zion, Wisconsin just across the Mississippi River. He pulls a trailer behind him containing everything he needs, and camps out along the way. Like the name of the title character, the roads in Iowa are very straight and very sure—and so is Alvin’s purpose. He knows what must be done, and he is determined to see it through. Nothing stands in his way as he drives along at 5 mph, though he’s always willing to stop and help anyone who is in need—whether it is a young runaway, pregnant and scared; an anxious woman upset at having just hit a deer; or an alcoholic, war-haunted veteran he meets in a tavern. He even offers some words of wisdom to a Catholic priest he encounters while camping out near a rectory. The film is a beautiful and simple story of an old man who makes a straight path to forgiveness and reconciliation.

In today’s first reading, the Prophet Isaiah speaks of making straight paths, and this is quoted by St. Mark in the Gospel. "Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths." What does this mean to make straight the paths of the Lord? It means that we must remove all obstacles from God’s access to our hearts—obstacles of sin and falsehood, obstacles of pride and the lack of forgiveness. As the opening prayer for today’s Mass puts it, "Remove the things that hinder us from receiving Christ with joy." This is why St. John the Baptist came proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. He called the people of Jerusalem and Judea to turn away from their sins so that when the Messiah came he could enter straight into their lives, and bring them directly to the Father.

St. John was the forerunner, preparing the way for the first coming of Jesus the Messiah. But he will come again; and this is what St. Peter speaks of in today’s second reading. This second coming may seem slow—even slower than an old man on a lawnmower. But, as Peter reminds us, "the Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard delay, but he is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." Peter describes how the world will end by fire, and then asks this rhetorical question: "since everything is to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought you to be?" He immediately answers question: you must conduct "yourselves in holiness and devotion, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God" and "be eager to be found without spot or blemish before him, at peace." In other words, the delay in Christ’s return is for our benefit. It gives us the opportunity to remove the obstacles which would prevent his direct access into our hearts and lives. Turning away from sin, devoting ourselves to prayer and acts of charity toward others, and simply living in a state of mindfulness of our Lord’s return – all this is what it means to prepare the way of the Lord and to make straight his paths.

So, what does this mean in your life? How will you prepare for the coming of the Lord? Perhaps, like Alvin Straight, there’s someone to whom you need to be reconciled—someone who needs your forgiveness. Perhaps there are secret sins in your life which remain unconfessed and unforgiven by God. Perhaps you have withheld your love from others and have been selfish with the gifts God has given you. Whatever it might be, now is the time to put it aside, to turn from sin and from error and to fix your heart on God’s love. The Lord will return at the end of time, but he wants to come to you right now. Wait for him, welcome him, let him come straight into your life.