Second Sunday of Advent
This week our readings remind us of what God is going to do. God has begun a good work in us, and desires that, cooperating with Him, that work is brought to completion in Christ Jesus. God desires that our love “increase ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception, to discern what is of value, so that [we] may be pure and blameless,” as St. Paul said in our second reading.
We can often think that we are the ones who are doing most of the work. And while our cooperation with God’s grace is necessary (we are not simply passive spectators in the process of our salvation), God does most of the work, and without God, holiness is impossible. Without God we cannot be free from sin; without God we cannot hope to enter heaven; without God we cannot be the saints that He desires us to be. God is always giving us what we need so that we can live as disciples of Jesus.
First, God desires that we take off our robe of mourning and misery, and he puts on us the cloak of justice. We heard this phrase in our first reading from the book of the prophet Baruch. Baruch worked with the prophet Jeremiah. He saw the destruction of Jerusalem, including the magnificent temple of Solomon, in 587 BC. That would certainly be a reason to mourn and be miserable. He also saw many of the Israelites be deported from Judea to Babylon, while others who were allowed to stay in Judea, despite God’s warning to the contrary, fled to Egypt. Again, mourning and misery.
But God promises through Baruch to bring the people back, even carried like on a royal throne. He promises to return them to the Promised Land, and to lower the mountains, and raise up the gorges. This connects directly with our Gospel, where we heard about St. John the Baptist, “proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,” the one about whom Isaiah prophesied who would prepare the way for the Lord, make straight his paths, lower every hill and mountain, and raise up the valleys. And, importantly, Isaiah concludes, “all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”
While God did fulfill the promise through Baruch to bring the people back to their home after the Babylonian Exile beginning in 538 BC. But this prophecy was meant for more than simply a literal reading. God gives it a spiritual meaning which applies to us even today.
First of all, what is the robe of mourning and misery? It is sin. We chose, in Adam and Eve, to disobey God and to cover ourselves in sin. We usually think of Adam and Eve covering themselves up after they sinned, because of their shame of their own nakedness, and their lustful desire for the other. So they sew fig leaves together for clothes, which were not that comfortable. But Genesis also says that, after God explained the consequence of their sin, He also made them leather garments for clothes. He gave them something much more comfortable and durable, even while it still hid their nakedness.
When we sin, we cover ourselves in uncomfortable clothes. But God wants to give us a cloak of justice, clothes which take away our sins and restore us to right relationship with God, which the word justice connotes. That is our baptismal garment, the white cloth which represents our purity before God. It’s not simply hiding our sins, but God takes away our sins and gives us His holiness, which we are free to keep wearing, or to throw off when we sin. Sin is uncomfortable clothes, and causes us grief, and yet, we still sometimes choose to abandon the cloak that God made for us for clothing that doesn’t protect us from the elements.
The hills are the struggles that we have in the spiritual life, the trials and tribulations that are difficult in life. It can be a bad break-up of a relationship or friendship; the death of a loved one, especially during this time between Thanksgiving and Christmas; the loss of a job, or an unexpected bill. These events and realities make life seem like nothing but an uphill climb. But in the place that God has prepared for us, our true home in heaven, all these challenges have been leveled off so that we don’t have to experience them anymore.
The valleys are all the easy ways that we slide into sin. It can be talking about an annoying co-worker or boss; too much time spent on social media; the white lies we tell so that we don’t have to tell someone something unpleasant; lust in thought, word, and/or deed that looks so enjoyable but leaves one empty. God promises to fill those in for us so that we don’t coast into a life that pushes Him away. In heaven, there won’t be those easy temptations that can so quickly lead us astray.
And lastly, in heaven, we see the full and complete salvation of our God, as Isaiah promised. If we’re in heaven, we’re there for eternity, and we spend eternity basking in the love of God, who created us to be with Himself. St. Paul says that right now we see dimly, as is a mirror (mirrors were not as clear then as we have them now), but later we shall see clearly. Our goal of preparing with God’s grace is so that we can be with God forever. Because for us, as Catholics, the Promised Land is not a place on earth, but our true home in heaven, where God wants to lead us after this exile through the valley of tears. He gives us glimpses of heaven in this liturgy, where we gaze upon the same Christ who saved us by His Death and Resurrection, and who saves us each day whenever we cooperate with Him in living a holy life. That helps us to stay on the narrow path that leads to salvation, and avoid the valleys of easy sins, and gives us strength to climb the mountains that inevitably arise in our lives.
But, as we continue to prepare for Christ’s return in glory and to celebrate the Nativity, God promises good for us. He promises to clothe us in holiness, garments that do not merely cover our sins, but transform us from sinners into His adopted children. He promises to assist us with grace to climb the difficult mountains and avoid the easy valleys of sin. He promises to do everything He can to help us see the salvation that He desires for us, which is only possible with His help. God has set forth for us the goal of our Advent preparations. He has shown us what He desires for us. Will we accept His offer?
