Second Sunday-Advent B

Second Sunday in Advent-BToday we celebrate the second Sunday in Advent. This Sunday is called, ‘John the Baptist Sunday’. This Sunday is also called a Sunday of Hope. It’s not that easy to understand the last prophet of the Testaments. Even two thousand years ago, people could not understand John the Baptist fully. A few people comprehended what John the Baptist meant when he said, “prepare the way of the Lord”. And even fewer people could understand when he said, “I am unworthy to untie the thong of His sandals”. Today John the Baptist invites people for repentance and baptism. He calls them out to come out of their shells and meet the Christ whom they were longing for.
school principal called the house of one of his teachers to find out why he was not in school. He was greeted by a small child who whisper: “Hello?”
“Is your Daddy home?” asked the principal.
“Yes,” answered the whispering child.
“May I talk with him?” the man asked.
“No,” replied the small voice.
“Is your Mommy there?” he asked.
“Yes,” came the answer.
“May I talk with her?”
Again the small voice whispered, “No.”
“All right,” said the man, “Is there any one there besides you?”
“Yes,” whispered the child, “A policeman.”
“A policeman? Now, may I speak with the policeman?”
“No, he's busy,” whispered the child..
“Busy doing what?” asked the principal.
“Talking to Daddy and Mommy and the fireman,” came the child’s answer.
“The fireman? Has there been a fire in the house or something?” asked the worried man.
“No,” whispered the child.
“Then what are the police and fireman doing there?”
Still whispering, the young voice replied with a soft giggle," They are looking for me.”
John the Baptist invites people to leave behind their sins and be baptized. He asks them to come out of their shells so that God could find them. God will surely find them but at the same time, it is up to us to go to Him to experience His love and kindness. Even we go away from Him, He will never leave us alone. We might hide from Him and we might run away from Him but no body could escape from His love and kindness. Our God will approach us with His compassion and love and He will fill us with lights in the day and hope in the night.
　

The question today is what was John about? And why did he do what he did?
John the Baptist is the very voice of Advent- the voice of the coming of the Lord to intervene in the relationship between God and ourselves. What he said was not merely a word about Jesus, it was the gospel, and it was the beginning of the Good News for the world.
The words of John still inspires those who want to walk with Jesus, who want to find their way out of the wilderness and into the promised land.
There is an old Chinese proverb tells us that a journey of a thousand miles must begin with one step. John came to point out what that step must be. He pointed out that the way of the Lord must be prepared, and that way is not simply a highway in the desert but rather it is a highway in our hearts.
There is a story about a man who went to a spiritual Master and said, “Master, I want to find happiness. In search of happiness, I studied the scriptures and visited all the holy places and did everything according to the commandment of God. But I could not find happiness, what should I do?” At this point, the master began to serve him tea. He poured the man’s cup full and then kept on pouring and pouring. Since the cup was full, tea began to run on the floor. The man then stopped the master and said, “My cup is full. Please stop pouring”. Then the master looked at him and said, “Like this cup, you are full of your own opinions and speculations. And how can I show the way unless you first empty your cup?’

How can we welcome Christ, how can we enter the Promised Land with Him, if we have no place in our hearts for Him?
John the Baptist came to prepare the place for Jesus the Lord.
The message of John the Baptist was, “Repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins”. Repent: What does the word repent mean? Repent means to turn around, to change direction. It means to face a new way and have the courage to leave behind the old way.
And be baptized for the forgiveness of sins
Conclusion: As we celebrate the second Sunday in Advent, we are called to become John the Baptist, we are called to prepare the way of the lord helping others to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of their sins. It is our duty to help them to know the love and kindness of god and it is our duty to help them to know the real meaning of divine forgiveness. So as we celebrate advent, let us prepare the way to welcome Christ our saviour in our hearts. Amen.

Advent-1 (B)

First Advent-B
Good morning every one, today the Holy Catholic Church celebrates a new liturgical season called ‘Advent’. Advent simply means ‘coming’. We are celebrating the coming of Christ the Lord. We are anxiously waiting for His coming. As He promised to His apostles and all the people, He would come again. He will be coming to judge and give us life that will never end.
Today’s gospel invites us to keep awake. Christ is coming and we have to keep awake to welcome Him.
Once while a priest was preaching his homily, noticed a man sound asleep. As the priest preached louder and louder, the sounder the man slept and at point the priest stopped preaching and looked at the man next to him and said, ‘would you please wake him up” The man said to the priest and said, “wake him up yourself. You put him to sleep”.
Keep awake the Lord is coming. Keeping awake is a process. we keep awake ourselves by prayer, fasting and works of mercy. Yes, we not only come to church to pray but we continue our prayers throughout our life. We Catholics do our daily prayers, family prayers, individual prayer and recite rosary and novenas and different prayers and intercessions. We ask Blessed Virgin Mary and other saints to intercede for our needs.
Keeping awake is a process and we keep ourselves awake by living according to our call.
We are all called to different sacrament life. Some are called to consecrated life such as priests, religious and others are called matrimonial life. The sacrament of matrimony takes you closer to Christ our Lord. As we live according to our call, we keep ourselves awake.
keep awake the Lord is coming. Keeping awake is a process. we keep ourselves awake by helping other, I mean, putting our faith into practice.
Once during a battle between Christians and Muslims, a Christian soldier was giving water to wounded Muslim soldiers as they were suffering without water under the hot sun. And he was brought before the king and accused of being a traitor. The king heard the charges and looked at the soldier for explanation. The soldier then looked at the king and said, “when I was walking through the battlefields, I saw no Muslims and no Christians, only the face of Christ in every man”. The king then calmly said, ‘Continue what you are doing”. Dear friends, the Lord is coming and with hope we should continue to help those who are in need.
Keep awake. Keeping ourselves awake is a process. Why should we keep awake because the Lord is coming not as an appointed time but in an unexpected time. It could be today or tomorrow or some day. But He is coming as he promised. So let us keep awake and welcome the Lord. On that day, we will be judged and be given life that will never end.

Conclusion: The season of Advent invites us to keep awake and welcome the Lord who is going to come in an unexpected time. So let us keep awake by putting our faith into practice. Amen.