Our Gospel reading from Luke starts out in a strange way. He mentions people like Lysanias and places like Trachonitis. Why does he do that? It was a way of showing the difference between before and after. Just as our country memorializes 1776, or parents recall the year in which they had their first child, there is a life-changing difference between what came before and what came after the arrival of the Word made Flesh.
Each reading ultimately directs our focus onto the future. Baruch, in the first reading, looks forward to the time when Jerusalem is restored in glory. Paul looks ahead to the day of Christ Jesus, the time of the Second Coming. In Luke, John the Baptist calls everyone to prepare for the coming of the Lord, when salvation will come to all people.
The Christmas season is usually busy with a long list of things that we need to do before Christmas. The question might be, is repentance for the forgiveness of sins on that list? This is exactly what John the Baptist called for in preparation for the coming of the Lord. How are valleys filled in, mountains made low, paths made straight, and rough ways smoothed? Let us repent of the wrongs we have done or failed to do and seek forgiveness of our sins so as to properly prepare a place for our Lord to be born into our lives.
Love, Peace, Joy,
Fr. Bob
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