Second Sunday of Advent

Readings: Isaiah 11. 1-10; Psalm 72. 1-7; Romans 15. 4-13; Matthew 3. 1-12 (view all)

I wonder how your Christmas preparations are going so far? Have you put your tree up? (It’s wonderful to see the amazing tree decorated here at St Edeyrn’s.) And how is your Christmas shopping going? Are you pretty much sorted, or haven’t yet even begun?

Each year, for me, Christmas seems to sneak up on me. We’re coming up to the beginning of December one second, and then suddenly there are only a couple of weeks left in which to sort everything. Of course, everything seems even more of a blur this year because of our new arrival, Thea.

The season of Advent in the Church calendar invites us, not just to prepare our houses, our pantries and our gifts ready for Christmas, but to also give some thought to preparing our hearts as well for the arrival of Christ.

The task given to John the Baptist, who appears in this morning’s gospel reading for the first time this Advent, is to “Prepare the way of the Lord” amongst the people. And in today’s collect, which we’ve just prayed together, we asked for God to ‘purify our hearts and minds’ in order that ‘we might be ready to receive him [Christ], who is our Lord and our God.’

So what does it mean for us to prepare our hearts and minds this Advent? And how can we, as Christ’s Church, be ‘ready to receive him’ when he appears?

I wonder if you are familiar with the famous song, ‘What if God was one of us?’, sung originally by Joan Osborne in the nineties, and then later covered by Prince among others.

A recurring question which often occurs to people is just that — ‘if Jesus were to appear in today’s world, how would we respond?’ Would his message prove popular amongst people in today’s world? Or would people think he was insane and have him placed in a secure hospital, or locked up in prison for breaching the peace?

There is, of course, a third option which I fear might actually be most likely — that if Jesus appears and walked among us today, it is just possible that our world may not even notice him at all. That we would be far too distracted by the busy pace of our world to give him our attention. That he would be just one voice among many others, particularly in this election season, who are all promising, persuading that their plan is the right one for our future. That we would be far too distracted by everything else which is going on in our live.

Because we live in a world which is full of things which are designed to distract and subdue our attention. It was famously suggested by Karl Marx that ‘religion is the opiate of the masses’, that is, a distraction to subdue and pacify, but our world today is full of so many different shiny distractions that I’m not sure religion can even claim that central a position.

In contrast to the commercialised, secular form of Christmas which our society celebrates, Advent, on the other hand, is a call to stop and wait. To strip away our distractions and take inventory of the state of our hearts and minds, the state of our souls.

The season of Advent prompts us to ask this question — how ready are we to receive Jesus in our lives?

This is what is behind the central word in the message of John the Baptist, and later Jesus himself — the word, ‘Repent’. ‘Repent’, John tells the people, ‘for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’ In other words, ‘Stop! Look! Put down your phone, your tablets and your other devices and turn your attention here! Don’t miss the incredible thing which God is doing right here, right now!’

This is a plea for attention, but it is also a plea for a deeper level of engagement. A challenge to re-assess our lives and bring our priorities in line with God’s. An encouragement to those whom the prophet, Isaiah, calls the poor and the meek, and a difficult message for the powerful and the self-righteous.

For those who, like the Pharisees and Sadducees whom John addresses, appear to