First reading: Isaiah 40:1-5,9-11
Psalm: Ps 85:9-14
Epistle: 2 Peter 3:8-14
Gospel: Mark 1:1-8

—Prepare the way of the Lord,—¨
make straight his paths.——¨

By water, the Holy Chrism, and the decent of the Holy Spirit we are consecrated, each and every one of us, to proclaim the Lord, to prepare the world so that each and every person might desire to receive Him. It is an awesome and formidable task and I think we are a little afraid of it. Our fears might be related to having a particularly low opinion of our abilities. They may even relate to the ultimate fear, the fear that Jesus is right.

As to our low opinion of our abilities, that’s probably a good thing. If we fail in humility we just might think that that we can move forward, saying whatever we will, without the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Church. That, of course, is a big problem in this day and age. We lack in humility, in thinking that it is some sort of insult to subject ourselves to the guidance of the Church, of Holy Scripture, and the promptings of the Holy Spirit. If we truly think ourselves unworthy we step out of false pride, out of self-reliance. We cast our hope on the Lord and the grace of the Holy Spirit. Isaiah gives us God’s command:

Fear not to cry out
and say to the cities of Judah:—¨
Here is your God!—¨
Here comes with power—¨
the Lord GOD,—¨
who rules by his strong arm;—¨
here is his reward with him,—¨
his recompense before him.—¨

We must not fear. We have to place our reliance on God and trust in the Gospel of His Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We have to take up Jesus’ charge to us and we have to get out there, knowing we ourselves are incapable, but that God will give us the strength and the words we need.

We sit here week after week, many of us since childhood, and we listen to the Gospel. We know the things we are to proclaim. Love God, love each other, come to God through our Lord and Savior for He is the way, truth, and life.

Jesus has given us numerous examples in regard to fear. We must not fear living our lives as faithful witnesses. We are not to fear the consequences of our witness, but are to rejoice in them, because the consequence of witness is eternal life. So do not fear. Listen to these words, words which we will hear in the coming Christmas season. Jesus tells us:

But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechari’ah, for your prayer is heard— (Luke 1:13)

And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary— (Luke 1:30)

An angel of the Lord appeared to [Joseph] in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear (Matthew 1:20)

And the angel said to them, “Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people (Luke 2:10)

And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men.”
And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him. (Luke 5:10-11)

Do not be afraid, but get up and do as the Lord asks. Like Simon Peter, Andrew the First Called, and the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John, we have to take up the mantle, casting ourselves entirely into the hands of Jesus. He will give us all we need so that His word might be proclaimed.

Brothers and sisters,

We may fear that Jesus is right. That thought, that truth, which is an ultimate truth, forces us to face the reality of our lives, and our bodily death. The Holy Apostles continually urged their flocks to focus on the ultimate reality. Now some people got lazy, thinking they wouldn’t have to do anything because Jesus’ second coming was right around the corner. We still have those people with us, the ones awaiting the rapture, the millennialists, the doomsday cults. Saint Peter was speaking to those people, reminding them:

Do not ignore this one fact, beloved,
that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years
and a thousand years like one day.—¨
The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard —delay,——¨
but he is patient with you,—¨
not wishing that any should perish—¨
but that all should come to repentance.

He goes on to remind them that:

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief,—¨
and then the heavens will pass away with a mighty roar—¨
and the elements will be dissolved by fire,—¨
and the earth and everything done on it will be found out.

Because that day will come we cannot wait. We must set aside time each and every day to focus on our advent. We are in a constant state of preparation, a state of waiting. In that state we must live as the Apostle details when he says:

what sort of persons ought you to be,—¨
conducting yourselves in holiness and devotion,—¨
waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God

With Peter, we await new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.—¨

Friends,

We await the new heaves and the new earth, the new and eternal Jerusalem. In our waiting, our anticipation, in the midst of this on-going advent, we need to focus on our mission. We must reach each and every person, without fear, and with the words the Holy Spirit will give us. We must reach out to those who do not know Christ, who hate Him, who run from Him, who think they have been hurt by Him and His people. We must do so, not through criticism and demands, but in the love of Christ Jesus. We must reach them in their homes and businesses. We must be the first to open the door of welcome.

When we reach out, when we minister, when we follow the example of John and go out into the wilderness of a world that does not know or love God, we are doing what God asks of us:

Go up on to a high mountain,—¨
Zion, herald of glad tidings;—¨
cry out at the top of your voice,—¨
Jerusalem, herald of good news!—¨
Fear not to cry out—¨
and say to the cities of Judah:—¨
Here is your God!—¨

Go forth without fear, with a sense of immediacy — living in our on-going advent. Do not despair and leave apathy behind. Go and tell. Here is our God. He waits for you. Come to Him and find all you need.

Amen.