----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Raymond ......
Sent: Sun, 5 December, 2010 16:49:08
Subject: Advent
2ND SUNDAY ADVENT 2010
The secular world prepares for Christmas in its own worldly way. This is a way that does have its value though. It keeps men’s minds focused on the birth of the Saviour as being something momentous. They may not believe in it, they may object to it, but they can’t just ignore it. There are so many signs and sounds of celebration going on all around them every day in this holy season. The fact that so many people have for so long thought of it as something special in the history of our race is a very powerful message in itself. Since that first Christmas Morn the celebration of it has spread and continues to spread relentlessly through all time and in every place. So, even though we may lament the secularisation of the Christmas story, it can be said that there is something providential about it. The very ‘humanity’ of the festivities; the goodwill; the family reunions; the sharing of gifts; all these things ensure that the memory of Christmas will endure, and it gives to each new generation the opportunity to ask itself: “Where does all this come from? What is it all about?”
Is this all part of the Spirit’s promise to bring us in due time to the fullness of truth? Even those who have not been raised in good Christian backgrounds have, in this way, the opportunity at some time in their lives to “Stumble on its meaning” – to be nudged and tripped up, you might say, by a loving Providence. No one is better at the skills of marketing than the Spirit of God.
But, however we may come to our own personal awareness of the Christmas story, there eventually comes the moment when it challenges us. There comes the time when we realise that only the pure of heart can really approach the cave of Bethlehem. We must prepare ourselves spiritually for it. And the very first step in our preparation for our encounter with the Word of God Incarnate is described for us in the preaching of John the Baptist in today’s Gospel: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand”. No other aspect of the annual celebration of the Christmas Event has any lasting value if that one essential condition is absent. We must be truly sorry for our sins and come to Bethlehem with a love that is humble, pure and sincere.
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