Second Sunday of Advent B.  December 4, 2005.  Our Lady of Grace 9:30 and 6PM.  Isaiah 40: 1-5, 9-11.  2 Peter 3: 8-14. Mark 1: 1-8.

The man was in a hurry.  He was always in a hurry.  He had started a business and it was growing rapidly.  He had a wife and three kids, and their schedules were very demanding.  He was very active in his church and he belonged to many clubs and civic organizations.  The long and short of his life was that he was busy, very, very busy.  Four days before Christmas he was flying out on a final business trip with plans to return home on Christmas Eve. As he pulled into the airport he began to feel uncomfortable, his arm ached and his stomach was upset. As he raced for the ticket window he began to sweat.  All at once he hit the floor very hard.  When he woke up there were paramedics all around him.  One of them said, “His heart stopped once, but we got it started again.  I think he is still in trouble.  His pulse is all over the map.”  The man was lying on the airport floor looking straight up at the speaker playing Christmas music over his head.   Above all the confusion around him he could hear the words of a piece from Godspell.  “Prepare ye the way of the Lord. Prepare ye the way of the Lord.”  He was sure that he was going to die four days before Christmas.  He had been unwilling to prepare for Christmas by dealing with the constant and unreasonable pressures that made up his life.  Now he was sure that he was going to die.  He began to cry, not because of the pain, but in deep frustration over the way his life seemed to be ending.  He had done many good things, but he had not given attention to the one thing that is most important – the coming of the Lord. For the first time he saw things God’s way.  He prayed that he would be given another chance to live.  Things will be different, he thought, if I am given the chance to try again.

“John the Baptist appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  People of the whole Judean countryside and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins.”  John the Baptist was a voice crying in the desert, “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.”    John the Baptist proclaimed that everyone has a new chance at life.  All that is necessary is honesty in confessing ones weaknesses, shortcomings, bad decisions and sins.  And people flocked to John in great numbers to be baptized and to begin their lives again.

A college professor was asked to speak at a military base.  A soldier named Ralph met him at the airport.  As they headed through the crowd to the baggage claim area Ralph kept disappearing.  Once he ran off to the side to help an elderly woman with her suitcase. Another time he lifted up the children of a much hassled mother so that they could see Santa Claus.  Another time he stayed behind to give directions to a traveler who barely spoke English.  The college professor was very impressed.  He said to Ralph, “Where did you learn to be so helpful?”  Ralph replied, “I learned to be helpful during my first tour of duty in Iraq.  My army unit was assigned to clear mine fields and to look for roadside bombs.  I saw several of my friends die right before my eyes.  I never knew whether the next step I took would be my last step. So, I learned to live between steps.  I learned to try to do as much good as possible before I put my foot down again to take another step. Every time I put my foot down and nothing happened it was like being born again – I was still alive and I had another chance to help others, but with no time to waste because I would have to step again very soon.”

Advent is a season of good news.  The prophet Isaiah says, “Go up on a high mountain, Zion, herald of glad tidings; cry out at the top of your voice, Jerusalem, herald of good news!   God comes with power.  He rules by his strong arm…Like a shepherd he feeds his flock; in his arms he gathers the lambs, carrying them in his bosom; and leading the mother sheep with care.”

In God’s plan for us it is never too late to begin again.  There is no sin that is unforgivable.  There is no weakness that is too shameful.  There is no bad decision that cannot be redeemed by God’s grace.  There is no person who is beyond the saving touch of God’s love.  All God expects of us is honesty, the willingness to turn from our sins and a desire to begin again.  Even if we feel trapped in our sins, discouraged by our weakness or numbed by our busyness, we can be born again to a new way of living if we greet the Lord’s coming with the eagerness and innocence of children waiting for Christmas.  The grace of Christmas has the power to make all things new.  On this Second Sunday of Advent we join with the whole Church in praying, “Come, Lord Jesus.  Do not delay.  Come and renew our lives. Come and set us free. Come, Lord Jesus, Come!”