Second Sunday of Advent Lk 3,1-6

Invitation to the trip (Luke 3: 1-6)
God invited me to follow him.

Someone likened our lives to the road. God has invited us to embark on our way of life through our parents. None of us gave our lives, and none of us asked about the world. Our life is a gift we have received from God. We should be grateful for the gift and take care of the gift. We are aware of this at the beginning of this year’s liturgical year. A person’s life is said to have died or given up if he knew what to expect from fear and hardship.
The Lord Jesus knew of human misery and therefore accepted man’s nature. “He renounced himself, took the nature of a servant, became like people; and according to outward appearance he was considered a man” (Phil. 2: 7). He showed us the way, for he declared, “I am the way” (Jn 14: 6). Before leaving for the Father, the Apostles said, “And ye shall know the way where I go” (Jn 14: 4). His predecessor, St. John the Baptist, also invites us to follow Jesus.

“Prepare the way of the Lord, level his paths! Every valley is filled and every hill and hill is reduced. What is crooked will be straight, and what is bumpy will be a smooth path. And every flesh shall see the salvation of God” (Lk 3: 4-6; Isaiah 40: 3-5).

With these words, taken over by John the Baptist from the prophet Isaiah, the immediate history of salvation begins. They point to excellent care in locating those events from all over the world. The scriptures here do not serve with images, symbols, but with historical facts and precisely established chronology. The first of these facts is that God addresses his word to John, who is called to be a prophet and accepts a special mission. This will integrate into the historical series of prophetic tasks, both in terms of way of life and taking the assignment, which corresponds to the great prediction of the prophet Isaiah. Prophetic words are fulfilled in John. His special mission can also be seen in what John does, that is, in baptism. The prophets before him also called the nation to repentance. Through immersion in the waters of the Jordan, people bear public witness that they want to live differently: the purged wish to embark on the path of repentance. Jesus Christ began a new work in us and finished the job. The more faithfully we fulfil Jesus’ words, the greater the reward awaits us at his second coming. Therefore, the actual words of the prophet Isaiah, which John the Baptist reminds us: “Prepare the way of the Lord, level his paths! Every valley is filled, and every hill and hill is reduced. What is crooked will be straight, and what is bumpy will be a smooth path. And every flesh shall see the salvation of God” (Lk 3: 4-6; Isaiah 40: 3-5). It is a challenge to embark on the life path of the Lord, which will end for the whole world at the end of time. We understand liturgical Advent as a time of preparation for Christmas, a time of joyful anticipation, but also a time of joyful repentance. Seeing this in the apostle Paul’s call to the Philippians: “Brethren, rejoice in the Lord continually. I repeat: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all people. The Lord is near” (Philippians 4: 4-5).

On the path of life, one is aware of one’s constant transformation. A small child grows into a larger child, a teenager, then a man or a woman, and finally old age comes. Man has aged since his conception. When we realize that we have reason and free will, we become responsible for our thoughts, words, and actions. And that makes us significantly different from other living or non-living nature. We realize that our lives are not a coincidence, that we live at all, that we live today, that we are what we are, and that we realize that we are rightly accountable to the world and that we will also be responsible to God for our manifestations in life. Imagine a potter who takes the clay made into his hands, puts it on a potter’s wheel, which he sets in motion, and at the same time transforms the clay into a particular object, such as a jug, vase, or candlestick. It is always just clay, let it be in the state of preparation for formation, whether the rough shape of the object begins to form from clay, and it is clay even when the project finishes, decorates. Even then, it is clay when the subject already serves its purpose. And it is clay even when we break an object, destroy it and only shards remain after it when it is difficult to know what the bits come from.

We must realize that man is human before he is born. When we connect the first cells of a man and a woman, we talk about a new person. Although we do not yet see a man with the naked eye at that time, he is already a man who has his soul; he already has in himself – as geneticists say – encoded everything that the eyes will see much later, until man’s death. It has had its way since its inception. No one can make a statement of destruction, of murder, because no one has given him this power. Therefore, one does not have the right to consciously and voluntarily end one’s life in any life situation. Likewise, none of the people has a right over human life, only God.
That is why we realize the importance of our way of life, the responsibility for everything that happens when we use reason and free will. An unborn child has rights that his parents cannot deny him, not a stranger, like a doctor. Therefore, an adult should also fulfil the obligations that society imposes on him when they are not against the will of God. A man should always do God’s will on his way of life. God did not give a man much power to perform abortion or euthanasia in the name of his science, life.

On the contrary, God asks each person to live on the path of life so that he will always do God’s will. God wants us to always be in touch with our God. They lived in friendship with him. When we have departed from the path God has given us by sin, we are to remove sin, that is, to level the sidewall, to fill the valley, to reduce every hill and hill, and to make a bumpy path smooth (cf. Lk 3: 4-6). Repentance, confession of our sins, a life of prayer, acts of Christian physical and spiritual mercy, faithful obedience to the commandments of God and the Church are our assurance that we are friends of God, brothers, and sisters in Christ.

Advent reminds us of the great trust that God Himself shows us on our journey through life. He trusts us. We can indicate this in the story of David Wilkerson from his book The Cross and the Dagger.
It’s his story of what he survived among young people in the New York underworld gangs. He also talks about Nick, who came to a religious meeting with his team. Nick recalls, “We came to the meeting with the intention of making the preacher perfect … A woman in the stadium was playing organ, and I told the boys to step on their feet and shout to start doing something. A young woman came out on stage and began to sing. I started whistling and everyone laughed. The events went the way I wanted, and I was satisfied. Finally, the preacher came out and, before his speech, called those present to charity. I thought he wanted to sneer like everyone else. He said: “I ask the gang members to collect alms themselves. Then let them go behind the curtain and come to the podium.” I thought he was unaware of something. Everyone knew that behind the curtain was a door, and it was open. “Six volunteers, please,” he said. I was on my feet at that moment. I identified six boys and they came to him. I intended to make him a good day or make a fool of him. We wanted to start now, but he delayed us and prayed for a long time. I wanted to laugh. The whole area belonged to us. When I thought someone gave a small amount, I stood with him until he gave more. Everyone knew who Nick was. Then we all met behind the curtain. The door was there – and open. Some in the audience began to laugh. They knew what we were planning. My boys were waiting for the signal to leave. But I stood. Suddenly I understood. That preacher believed me. This has never happened to me before.” The preacher’s behaviour impressed the boy, the gang leader, so much that not only did they hand over all the money raised, but it was also the beginning of a change in his life. Thus, in Nick’s life began a new journey, the journey to the Lord or the return, to which he invites St. John Baptist. Nick realized that the preacher trusted him. That changed his life.

God also trusts us. It’s Advent. Waiting time. A time of change, improvement of the goal, and meaning of our lives. God trusts us. We realize this is a fantastic thing. God trusts me. God gives me hope. God loves me.

When we compare our lives to the path, it is clear that it is easier to walk or travel straight. Anyone who chooses a highway will not take fourth-class roads because the route is safer, faster, or more pleasant. When do we realize that God is our goal and not the ordinary? Who would be so foolish as to give priority to a plan of lower quality? And that is why, during the Eucharistic Sacrifice, we ask for mercy from Christ, foretold by John the Baptist.