Unexpected teacher

The scripture passages for the second Sunday of Advent present the biblical figure of John the Baptist.  Here are some thoughts about the wisdom we can learn from this often-forgotten but truly holy man.

Prepare the way

Yesterday morning, in preparation for this evening’s turkey dinner, I was peeling and cutting onions.  After I’d made my way through a bag of the little devils (and what felt like a dozen tissues), the tears dried up, and I began to think:  each of us has a personality, and as the years of our lives go by, we discover different facets of our lives – almost like peeling through the layers of an onion.  As each layer of our personalities is removed, fresh discoveries come to light.

One such discovery occurred for me during the year that I spent living with the parish community at Saint Andrew the Apostle in Sudbury.  I was there for an internship year, prior to ordination.  The point of that exercise was to expose myself to the realities of living in a parish, including as many aspects of the life of a diocesan priest as was possible.  From time to time – usually once a month or so – there would be one-on-one meetings between my supervisor (the pastor) and me.  During these encounters, we discussed my experiences and any insights they had revealed.  

On one such occasion, I remember beginning the session with an observation: I explained to my supervisor that the people in the parish were absolutely wonderful, and I truly wanted to serve them well, but I found that I got very uptight whenever the doorbell would ring.  You see, deep down, I’m actually very shy.  After some discussion about the situation, I found myself saying: I get nervous because I don’t know who is on the other side of the door.  I can still remember his words to this day: You might be nervous about opening the door, but when you do, when you invite others into your life, you will discover that they are often the ones who will love you in return, and they will be the best sources of support for your priesthood.

Each person who enters the doors of this church brings with him or her a story that has been lived.  Perhaps we are joyful, and want to share our joy with God and with others; perhaps we are excited and want God and others to join in our anticipation; perhaps we are enduring trial and need the support and understanding that is offered here.  Whatever the case, God calls to us today:  take off your sorrow and affliction … and put on the beauty of God’s glory, put on the robe of righteousness … for God will show your splendour everywhere (Bar 5:1-4).

God’s lessons are taught in some of the most unexpected places; divine wisdom comes to us as a result of some of the most surprising situations.  Even in the hill country of Judea, the word of God came to John, the son of Zechariah in the wilderness (Lk 3:2), a word that he certainly did not expect, a word that earned him more than his fair share of derision, a word that no one seemed to hear.  Yet concern about not being accepted didn’t stop him.  Even today, the words of the gospel can sometimes seem to be the voice of one crying in the wilderness, yet we must never lose sight of our call to prepare the way of the Lord (Lk 3:4).

We do this by breaking down the walls that confine us, by answering the door when someone knocks, and by inviting them into our lives.  If we dare to do this, and if we dare to share with them the joy that we ourselves have discovered on our own journey of discipleship, we will soon discover the best sources of support and love in return. 

Like Saint Paul, let us give thanks to God for all those who support us in our faith, constantly praying with joy for all of them (Phil 1:3-4) and trust always that the one who began this good work among us will bring it to completion (Phil 1:6).