2nd Sunday of Advent: The Most Important Announcer

Anytime someone important enters the room, someone is appointed to announce their entrance.  When a senior naval officer enters the bridge, the chief of the boat will usually, in a firm and loud voice say, “Officer on the bridge,” other times, “Officer on deck.”  When we watch the Supreme Court or any court room for that matter, the bailiff enters first and he or she in a loud and firm voice will say, “Please rise for the Honorable . . . such and such.”  When the President enters the House, an announcer comes out first, and he or she as well in a loud and firm voice says, “Ladies and Gentleman the President of the United States.”  We do the same for a bishop, cardinal, and for the Holy Father of course.  Now, the person who is responsible for making the announcement cannot be a timid person with a low manner of speaking, but someone who grabs the attention of those in the room quickly, for instance, “Officer on DECK!”  The more important the person being announced the greater the responsibility of the announcer to get everyone’s attention.  

Today in our 2^nd Sunday of Advent we celebrate John the Baptist as the man who would be the person making the greatest announcement the world has ever known or heard.  His announcement was, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand!  Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight His paths.”  “Behold the Lamb of God, the Savior of the world!”

John the Baptist’s announcement was clearly the greatest announcement ever made and therefore God had to choose someone who could make that announcement clearly and with conviction, who better than John.  We know that John was dedicated to the Lord from an early age.  Tradition has it that he went into the desert to live as a hermit, there were hermit type of Jewish religious communities at the time, one group known as the Essenes, who may have been many groups but referred to with a general title.  John lived very simply, Scripture says, “on curds, honey, and locusts.”  John was a very serious man with very deep convictions.  When he finally came from out of the desert to begin the announcing, he held nothing back.

        

There were two important announcements, the first, “Repent.”  And trust me, John came yelling and shouting, this man was not a timid or quiet type of fellow, rather he grabbed people’s attention because he spoke Truth to them, the truth that as human beings we are wounded and that wound can only be healed by accepting God’s mercy, he was not afraid to call us sinners.  The second important announcement was to make straight the paths of the Lord.  This was not to be taken literally, as in, “move out of the way so He can get by,” but rather, to be taken spiritually, as in, “clear out your heart so that the Lord can move freely within you.”

        

As we continue this Advent season we are to make ready for the Lord, both through repentance but also in clearing up all the junk that his filled our lives, this means all our sins as well as the desires and wants of this world and to make a perfect resting place in our hearts for Christ.  We have examples of this all around us; take a look at all the statues in the Church.  These men and women understood what St. John the Baptist was yelling and screaming about and they repented and put their house in order.  But they also did something else; they also became John the Baptist because they too went forward to announce Jesus.  So, we should not simply just listen to John, but we must also become brave as he was brave and announce the Truth and why we wait in great expectation for that Truth to be born on December 25^th.  Again, not just the 25^th of December, but for the Truth to be born in my heart each and every day so that like John, I too will be worthy to announce, “Behold, the Lamb of God.”