Deacon Tom Writes,
Advent: Getting Right With God
“Repent, the kingdom of God is
at hand,” (MT 3:2 ) John tells us.
Repent from what? There was a book out in the ’70s that was very popular. It
was called, “I’m OK, You’re OK”
by Dr. Thomas Harris. Catchy title isn’t it! It gives us the sense that all is
well; I don’t need any fixing. And, by the way, you are OK too! Oh, if only
that were true. I think we know in our hearts that nothing could be further
from the truth.
We are all sinners. As St. Paul penned, “All have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God”. Rom 3:23 We
carry the scars and wounds of those numerous times when we have wronged God,
others and ourselves by not living up
to the to the high standards Jesus taught us. The memory of those failures
festers deep within our innermost being. Our psyches are damaged as a
consequence of the guilt those sins have spawned with us. We have much need to
repent, but our pride often gets in the way and prevents us from coming to
grips with the sinfulness of our thoughts, words and deeds, and even for those
things that we should have done but failed to do.
In search of a remedy to their troubled consciences, the people of
antiquity went out into the desert to hear John preach and to be baptized. In
the solitude and isolation of the stark desert, people were able to grasp the
notion that they needed to repent, to change the direction and focus of their
lives in order to experience a spiritual rebirth as children of God.
This awareness of our sinfulness for the wrongs we have done or the
good that we have failed to do is a prerequisite for us to prepare ourselves
for the coming of the Christ Child into our lives. We need to be like John who
testified, “He must increase; I must increase”.
John 3:30 That is, we must empty ourselves of our own self-centeredness,
ambitions and desires in order that we may be filled with the desire, the
willingness and the passion to do God’s Will, to be the instrument of his joy,
peace and hope in our world today.
These few remaining weeks of Advent are a special time to reflect on
the way we treat others and ourselves. It is a time to get right with God, to turn away from sinful behavior and await the
new life that God has in store for us, an abundant life and one promised to last
forever.
Enjoy the day!
Deacon Tom
Thank you for this reflection. It has helped me today. God Bless you.
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