Two weeks ago I officiated the golden wedding anniversary of a friend’s parents, where I said the best wedding homily is actually the couple themselves still much in love, filled with joy after 50 years as husband and wife.
“May forever pa rin (There’s still forever),” despite all the celebrity breakups on which we feast on social media and the many separations happening among some couples these days. How I wish that more young people are invited to wedding anniversaries so they would aspire for lasting relationships, too.
Of course, it is never easy — that is why there is the Sacrament of Marriage where couples pray to God and promise Him to cooperate in His grace so that until death, they would remain together in faith, hope, and love that would eventually bring them to eternity.
It is the reality not only of marriage but of life itself. God calls us to a particular vocation or state in life like marriage, priesthood and religious life, or single blessedness in order to lead us to Him in eternity.
And that is the two-fold meaning of Advent, too! We are preparing not only for the first coming of Jesus at Christmas but most of all to His Second Coming at the end of time (parousia). This is the second Sunday in Advent so beautifully presented by Luke.
First we notice is Luke’s solemn account of how the Son of God Who is eternal entered through our own time that is temporal. If Luke were to write his Gospel today, maybe he would simply change the names above into Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte, with Pope Francis and Cardinal Jose Advincula representing the Church then spice it up with some showbiz tidbits or whatever is trending on social media.
But, here also is the artistry of Luke when he segued to John the Baptist to direct our thoughts to the Second Coming of Christ without losing sight of the present moment, of the here and now.
Though John is the main character in today’s gospel and next Sunday, Luke is actually focused on Jesus Christ who had come, would come again, and continues to come to us today. All four evangelists were clear about John as secondary only to Jesus as His precursor.
However, only Luke of the four evangelists cited the Prophet Isaiah extensively regarding John’s unique mission with Christ to stress this future aspect of Advent, skipping only that part “the glory of the Lord shall be revealed” by closing it at “all flesh shall see the salvation of God” in Isaiah 40:3-5.
Luke is teaching us that Advent is looking beyond Christ’s birth but also to His Easter and most of all, to His Second Coming now happening.
For Luke, to be like John in the wilderness is for us to be bold and daring in opening ourselves to God in Jesus Christ amid the turmoils of our time like wars and pandemic, calamities, and upheavals. No matter how much pains and disappointments we have had this year that made us doubt God’s love and presence for us in Christ, let us dare anew like John in the wilderness to believe and live out His coming and presence.
In citing Isaiah 40:3-5, Luke is reminding us that we shall all see and experience God’s salvation in Jesus Christ today while awaiting His parousia. Notice the similarity of Isaiah’s prophecy with that of Baruch’s in the first reading when “every lofty mountain be made low, and that age-old depths and gorges be filled to level ground, that Israel may advance to secure in the glory of God” (Bar. 5:7). Both prophets spoke of the future expectation expressed by John already unfolding in Christ who had come.
A friend texted me last week complaining if Christmas would happen at all in their family after a serious rift with their youngest brother. “Dinaraan-daanan lang po ako Father ng kapatid kong bata, para akong patay na.”
Being the eldest in the family, my friend asked his younger brother to shape up and fix his life (ayusin ang buhay) after taking a third partner. He had dumped his first wife after the birth of their son who turned out to be a special child; then, took a second partner and had a daughter whose godmother, his kumare, is now his third partner. My friend had taken upon himself to rear his special nephew and niece while his brother does not care at all.
With that situation at home, my friend told me he could not feel Christmas at all despite the material things they have. After a few hours, I texted him back and told him no one can take away the joy of Christmas because that is Jesus in our hearts. Keep Jesus alive in your heart, I texted him, asking him to continue to still love his wayward brother, never losing that hope in Christ that someday, peace would be restored among them in the family. I ended my texts reminding him that Jesus was born during the darkest night of the year.
That’s the voice of John in the wilderness — when we dare to open to God amid our many pains and sufferings, proclaiming and living out His love in Jesus who had come, continues to come, and would come again at the end of time. That’s preparing the way of the Lord even when it is all dark, taking small steps at a time as we could not see the next distant scene. In times like these, let Saint Paul’s desire in the second reading be our Advent prayer, “that your love may increase ever more in knowledge and every kind of perception, to discern what is of value, so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ” (Phil.1:9-10).
How lovely during this time of Advent when our days are getting shorter, dark earlier than usual because this is also the time sunsets are most awesome. Somewhere out there where the sun sets with skies redolent like embers of the dying day is the voice in the wilderness proclaiming to us Christ’s coming and presence even in the long dark night of waiting.
What do you long or desire most right now in your heart? Reawaken your hopes in Christ Jesus and be ready to be surprised as He shall straighten your path soon especially with your loved ones. Amen. – Rappler.com
Father Nicanor Lalog, or Father Nick as he is called, used to be with GMA News before getting ordained as a priest in the Diocese of Malolos in 1998. He is now the chaplain of the Our Lady of Fatima University and Fatima University Medical Center in Valenzuela City. He writes a daily blog of prayers and reflections at lordmychef.com.