By: The Rev. David P. Byer
Every year at this time, the Second Sunday of Advent, the Church asks us to hear John the Baptist. We hear the voice of one crying out in the wilderness. St. John does not, however, speak of a particular day. He speaks of a particular way – “the way of the Lord.”
He does not speak about getting things ready. Instead, he speaks about getting ourselves ready. While the world announces preparation for a holiday, John announces preparation for a way. John’s message interrupts the circumstances of our life. His
message disrupts the patterns and habits of our life within our family, social circumstances, business transactions, and consumer activities. John’s message is always a message of hope and promise. The word of God comes in every time, place, and circumstance offering a new way, a new life, a new world. This is not simply a description of the geography of the wilderness. It is, rather, a description of our inner landscape. Each of us could name the ups and downs, the highs and lows, the mountains and valleys of our life. We could recount the crooked paths on which we got lost and the rough ways on which we stumbled and fell. With prophetic foresight these words describe the possibilities that our life and world can be different – the low places are filled, the high places are made low, the crooked is made straight, and the rough is made smooth.
Human life is the way of the Lord. God does not come in a theoretical sense. He comes incarnate as a human being. God comes in, through, and by human life – including yours and mine. So if our life is the way of the Lord then St John calls us to prepare our life, to
repent. Repentance is not focused on condemnation and judgment, guilt and remorse, or even saying, “I’m sorry.” We repent, not because we are bad or defective, but because we are loved. God’s love and desire for us are the basis of every call for repentance. It
begins with examining our lives and discovering the patterns and habits of thinking, speaking, acting, relating, and living as if God were not present and active in our lives.
They are patterns that blind us. These patterns and habits distort reality, impoverishing our relationships and ultimately destroying love. They are things like anger, pride, fear, greed, the need for approval, perfectionism, being judgmental, gossip, the need to control
or be right, individualism, self-hatred, and despair. Insight to these patterns and habits by itself is not enough. We must then turn away from these old and deadening ways.
Repentance is about getting our patterns and habits turned around and heading in a new direction. It means a change of mind and heart. The U-turn of repentance involves both a turning away from something and a turning toward something else. It is about turning our gaze back toward God and choosing life, even when the possibilities seem hopeless and we feel abandoned and empty. When we turn our gaze back to God we once again reclaim our true life, and we become remolded in love, compassion, forgiveness, justice, mercy, and peace. Choosing life is a way of life, a way of being where we find ourselves truly preparing the way of the Lord.