Homily: Thursday of the 2nd Week of Advent - Preparing for proclaiming

This Sunday, on Gaudete Sunday, we will hear the preaching of John the Baptist. John will be down at the Jordan River, calling people to repentance, in order to help them prepare for the coming of the Messiah. In the Gospel Sunday, John will speak about Jesus.

In the Gospel today, Jesus speaks about John. Jesus speaks about John as the greatest of the Old Testament prophets.  What makes John greater than Isaiah, Elisha, Elijah, and Jeremiah? He’s greater than these men because God chose John to prepare the way for the immediate coming of the Messiah.  The other prophets spoke about the distant future, but John had the great vocation of helping people immediately prepare for the Messiah.

Jesus then says, however great John’s role as a prophet, the least in the kingdom is greater than he.  Who are these prophets of the kingdom, who are these heralds who are greater than John the Baptist? You & Me!  John the Baptist did not have the great honor that each of us has. John did not have the greater honor to shout from the rooftops, “The Messiah has come, he has died, he has risen.”

John prepared Israel for the Messiah who was to come. We prepare the world, all nations of all time for the Messiah, who has come.  John announced salvation is coming. We announce salvation is here; salvation is available through the Sacraments of the Church. John spoke about the coming of the kingdom; we get to actively build the kingdom. John spoke about a time when the Messiah would baptize with the Holy Spirit. We are the ones who have been baptized with the Holy Spirit, to go out in that spirit to preach and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and to announce to the world that Jesus Christ is with us always until the end of time.

Now we normally think of Advent as a time of preparation. We prepare through penance, quiet prayer, reflection, acts of charity. But prepare for what? We are preparing for proclamation.  We prepare during Advent, so at Christmas we can proclaim Christ is born a Savior, God is with Us always.

We are already at the half-way point of Advent.  Only two weeks until Christmas Eve.  So, we do well to take inventory, to reflect, how have our Advent preparations been going? How are my spiritual practices different now than during Ordinary Time? Have I made time for that extra prayer and reflection? Have I gone to confession yet? Have I engaged in extra acts of charity yet? Have I reached out to the lonely, the needy, the estranged family member?

If we are supposedly greater prophets than John the Baptist, as our Lord said in the Gospel today, are we acting like it? If not, what needs to change?May the Holy Spirit, with whom we’ve been baptized, continue to draw us deeper into the life of God, that we may go out and draw others to Christ, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.