Sunday, December 9, Second Week in Advent
Sunday, December 9, Second Week in Advent
Sunday, December 9, Second Week in Advent
We all want to “re-form” ourselves from time to time.
New Year’s Resolutions are an example of our desire to change. Advent is also a time when we thing about reform – it’s the beginning of a new Church year, and we’re coming upon the end of another calendar year.
We usually try to reform ourselves by using our own resources…like a self-help program.
In a way, John the Baptist preached that kind of reform. He spoke forcefully about the need for reform…and then people had to figure out how to do it.
But the reform Jesus talks about is never based on our own initiative or our own resources. We turn to Jesus – not to our own self-help plan.
For starters, I need to turn to the Lord to find out what I should reform. My own list can be a fairly stock one, and fairly superficial: lose weight, stop smoking, cut down on my drinking, etc. Maybe I should do those things, but maybe that isn’t where I should start.
What would happen if I turned to the Lord first and asked, “Lord what is it you want me to change in my life? It might be something I haven’t thought about.
I don’t know what the Lord would say, but I do know that I ought to give the Lord a chance to say it.
Advent isn’t a self-help program. It’s a time when we try to open ourselves more fully to the Lord.