Sunday
Homily
"Brothers and Sisters in Christ"
(00-SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT)December 10, 2000
Readings: Baruch 5:1-9; Phill. 1:4-6, 8-11
Gospel: Luke 3:1-6
Pietri Bandinelli was an attractive young man. He sang in the Cathedral Choir in Milan. Leonardo da Vinci chose him to be his model for Jesus in his famous painting "The Last Supper." Years later, Leonardo da Vinci had not yet finished the famous painting and was looking for a model for Judas. He found the perfect man. The man was depraved and vicious looking. While he was painting the face of Judas, Leonardo da Vinci paused and he thought he had met the man once before. So he asked him: "Have we met before?" "Yes," the man replied. "I was your model for Jesus. I was an altar boy and sang in the choir. Life was good then, but much has happened in my life since. I want to make a change in my life and return to God."
The theme of today's second Sunday of Advent is "repentance, change and reconciliation." That is the centerpiece of the preaching of John the Baptist in today's Gospel lesson. "Make ready the way of the Lord, clear him a straight path. Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be leveled. The windings shall be made straight and the rough ways smooth, and all mankind shall see the salvation of God." John uses these prophetic words of prophet Isaiah in calling people to straighten out their lives and clear the obstacles of sin to receive the Messiah.
To repent means to make straight the winding path of our bad habits. To repent means to give a new direction to our by leveling the mountains and hills of our false pride, false superiority and our better-than-thou attitude. To change means to find our way back to Jesus by straightening our mixed up priorities and unnecessary preoccupations. To reconcile means to smooth our rough, angry and revengeful ways and create a better relationship with God and with one another. To repent, to change, to reconcile means to examine our consciences and see how much we have drifted from our Christian values since last Christmas and give a new beginning to our lives by finding our way back to Jesus.
Friends, the whole message today is about personal transformation. It is about making a difference in our lives by returning to the way of holiness preached and practiced by Jesus. The message today is about giving God a chance to renew us and save us. Amen