2nd Sunday of Advent 2022
Isaiah 11:1-10; Romans 15:4-9; Matthew 3: 1-12
Last Sunday, the key PHRASES were “Wake up” and “Stay awake”: today, we can claim that the key WORDS are “Repent” and “Prepare”. These words are closely related, as Matthew links the voice crying “Prepare” with John the Baptist’s call to “Repent”. To prepare a way for the Lord entails repentance. What does that mean?
I am sure that you have heard many times that the Greek word translated “repentance” is metanoia, literally a change of heart, outlook, focus, general direction, whatever term you wish to use. We are being called to prepare a way for the Lord who comes into our lives, the Church, the world by re-directing ourselves. This is not something which we have done once and for all, but something which we must do repeatedly.
Perhaps you may recall such re-focusing in your own lives. I certainly remember one incident very clearly. I was in my mid-teens, it was a Wednesday afternoon, and we had been allowed home from school early. Unbelievably, I had very little, for once, of the usually overwhelming homework, and as I settled down to some rare recreational reading, I was suddenly struck by the realisation that I was extremely self-centred and selfish, and that I needed to do far more for my mother and father. Whether I actually achieved it is another matter, but the awareness that I should, hit me like a sledgehammer.
There have been other occasions when I have been brought up short by the realisation of shortcomings, whether it be a lack of concentration in prayer, a tendency to make witty remarks which can wound, or, as often as not, a lack of awareness of other people. These have all imprinted on me the need of constant and ongoing metanoia—repentance if you like—if I am to prepare a way for the Lord, and to prepare myself for the continuing encounter with Him.
Nor is it only as individuals that our preparation must entail repentance. There is an expression “ecclesia semper reformanda”, which is sometimes mistranslated as “the Church always reforming”. It actually means “the Church always needing to be reformed”, reformanda being gerundive, as those of you who knew the joys of schooldays Latin will be aware.
In my pre-conciliar childhood, the impression seemed to be conveyed that the Church was the perfect society, standing in no need of change, a view which was rudely shattered by the Second Vatican Council, though some people who wish to turn back the clock appear to adhere to it. The Council reminded us (as indeed had the Council of Trent, though the concept had been forgotten) that the Church, no less than its individual members, is in constant need of renewal, of refocusing, of repentance. Always she must examine herself to see that she still has the mind of Christ, to use an expression of Saint Paul’s, to consider whether certain attitudes and practices some of which may even have been suitable for their time, stand in need of adjustment.
To take a simple example, of a situation which was never appropriate, though it was taken for granted; if you visit an old presbytery, you will probably find poky little quarters at the back which were considered adequate for a resident housekeeper, or even a married couple. Such members of the people of God were not regarded as needing much space or liberty, a clear offence against justice, but one which, for decades, went unrecognised.
If the presbytery belonged to a large town centre church, there would probably also be a series of attic rooms for the maids. My own mother was, until her marriage, a maid in a presbytery, and subsequently in Bishop’s House, and could tell some hair-raising tales about a situation which went unquestioned by good and holy men.
As the Church stands constantly in need of repentance, so too does the world. The kingdom of universal harmony envisaged by Isaiah is a world away from realisation. Not only does the wolf not live with the lamb, even human beings, created in the image and likeness of God, appear incapable of living with one another, whether in families, society, or international relationships. Truly, all the world over, the need to prepare a way for the Lord is glaring, but it must begin with us.
