2nd Sunday of Advent 2020 - Advent Courage

Above the front steps of our beautiful church are statues of the four Gospel writers: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Do you know which one is which? You can indeed tell them apart by the symbols associated with them. St. John, is depicted with the eagle, because his Gospel begins soaring in the heavens, “in the beginning was the word, and the word was God, and the word was with God”…in heaven. The symbol for the Gospel of Luke is an ox, because Luke’s Gospel begins with the story of Zechariah, the Levitical priest, who would offer such oxen as sacrifices in the Temple. The symbol for Matthew is a human or a human face because Matthew’s Gospel begins with the human genealogy of Our Lord—Matthew traces the human generations of the Lord all the way back to Abraham. The symbol for Mark also derives from the beginning of his Gospel. Mark’s symbol is a lion because his Gospel begins, as we heard moments ago, with the voice in the wilderness roaring out like a lion, the call to prepare the way for the Lord. 

Remember, St. Mark was originally writing his Gospel to the ancient Romans—who valued symbols and persons of strength. So, the lion, a symbol of boldness, fierceness, courage, strength, sovereignty, and justice, would have resonated with Mark’s Roman audience, especially this bold character whom we meet in the Gospel’s opening lines: John the Baptist, this sort of ferocious character, this wild man roaring the call to repentance out in the desert.

John, is fierce, he’s courageous. He doesn’t fear the opinions of onlookers who might ridicule him for the way that he was dressed; he doesn’t fear the repercussions for boldly proclaiming that the Messiah was near. Later in the Gospel, we find John the Baptist boldly calling out the sinful adultery of King Herod. And he arrives on the scene to point to one who is even mightier than him, who will baptize, not with water, but with fire and the holy spirit.

So, on this second Sunday of Advent, we are presented with this bold, courageous lion, John the Baptist, as a figure to consider and emulate.

I don’t know about you, but the characteristics, I typically associate with Advent are attitudes like patience, passivity, waiting, calmness, and peace. And yet, I propose, that each of us, could use a little bit of the spirit of the lion, John the Baptist, in our Advent preparations.

Last, Sunday, Pope Francis convoked a consistory in which he created 11 new cardinals, and of course he preached to them, giving the new cardinals their marching orders. And in his homily, the holy father spoke about how Christian courage is an important antidote to the mediocrity, lukewarmness, and indifference which threaten the Christian life. He said, “Without making an effort to love God daily and awaiting the newness he constantly brings, we become mediocre, lukewarm, worldly. And this slowly eats away at our faith, for faith is the very opposite of mediocrity:  it is ardent desire for God, a bold effort to change, the courage to love, constant progress…Faith is not water that extinguishes flames, it is fire that burns; it is not a tranquilizer for people under stress, it is a love story for people in love. That is why Jesus above all else detests lukewarmness.”

Again, think of that symbol of the lion. A lion is anything but mediocre, lukewarm. He’s fierce, he’s bold, he’s not timid or tamed or constricted by the ways of the world. 

So, too, the Christian is to be a sort of lion: bold in our proclamation of the Gospel, and courageous in pursuing the love of God in our personal life. 

In addition to his remarks to the new cardinals, Pope Francis spoke about Advent courage in his Sunday Angelus message. He said “Confidently waiting for the Lord allows us to find comfort and courage in the dark moments of our lives…“The Lord never abandons us; He accompanies us through the events of our lives to help us discover the meaning of the journey, the meaning of everyday life, to give us courage when we are under duress or when we suffer. In the midst of life’s storms, God always extends His hand to us and frees us from threats.”

Now, a lion is courageous and bold because, well, he is at the top of the food chain, isn’t he? His physical prowess is superior to the other beasts. So, notice what the holy father says is the source of our Christian courage—certainly not physical strength, rather the source of our courage is that the Lord accompanies us every day, always and everywhere. 

John the Baptist boldly proclaimed Christ because he was guided by the hand of God. God had chosen him, and he knew God was with him for this special mission.

So, too with us. In resisting those powers of darkness that seek to lull us into spiritual slumber, we are able to take courage because God is with us. God has chosen us and called us to boldly proclaim the Gospel in this very strange era of 2020. How do you know that you can overcome the temptations of your life? Because you’re a Christian. How do you know that you can remain faithful to God in these most complex, confusing times? Because you are a Christian. And God is with you.

In a very real sense, we light the candles of our advent wreath, not simply to count weeks before Christmas, but as a reminder that we need to be set on fire. Beyond gentle images of beautiful angels, lowing cattle, and an expectant mother, these first weeks of Advent present us with these bold characters like Isaiah and John the Baptist, to help set us afire with courage. And so, we do well to examine…where have I become spiritually lukewarm, spiritually mediocre, spiritually lazy, spiritually fearful? 

In the collect prayer at the beginning of mass last week, we asked God to give us the resolve to run forth to meet Christ at his coming. And this week’s collect prayer spoke of setting out in haste to meet God’s son. 

Spiritual Resolve, haste, courage, boldness, do you see these characteristics in your spiritual life? If not, make good use of the time you have left. Run forth with righteous deeds, resolving daily to engage in acts of charity for others, yet boldly set aside time daily to run forth to meet Christ in prayer, and courageously examine your conscience for any sins that need to be repented of, or confessed in the Sacrament of Confession, and do not be afraid, like John the Baptist, to appear a little strange to the rest of the world, in bravely pointing others to God for the glory of God and salvation of souls.