On this Second Sunday of Advent, the Gospel presents to us the impassioned presence of St. John the Baptist – in the desert alone, dressed in camel’s hair, eating insects and wild honey – proclaiming the coming of the Lord. What John the Baptist lived, we are called to live; his entire life was an expectation and preparation for the coming of the Christ, and our lives are to be oriented toward Christ’s coming as well.

St. John’s certainty that his role was to “prepare the way of the Lord,” to be the messenger crying out to others that there is preparation to be done, marked his whole life. He knew God’s will for him and embraced it humbly and energetically, never becoming confused by his own ideas or desires, but giving himself over completely to his God-given task.

But he also did this with understanding and knowledge, which were certainly guided by the Holy Spirit. John was not some wild zealot living primitively in the desert without any refined comprehension of the whole picture. Indeed, the locus of his ministry was part of the message! Just as at the time of the Exodus the Israelites wandered 40 years in the desert and then crossed the Jordan into the Promised Land, so John situated himself in the desert and invited the people to a new Exodus, bringing them through baptism in the same river Jordan into a new freedom. The first time, the Promised Land was Canaan, flowing with milk and honey; this time, the Promised Land would be the Messiah, who would baptize them with the Holy Spirit. The first Exodus freed them from slavery in Egypt; this time, they were called to repentance, to be freed from slavery to sin.

Christ’s life will likewise trace the path of ancient Israel, beginning with time in the desert. And we are called during Advent to stir up the thirst and longing of a desert wanderer in search of the Promised Land, the Kingdom of the Messiah, in the certain knowledge that we cannot be free except for His coming. This “coming” is threefold, and we must be ever open to all three: 1) His coming as an infant in Bethlehem; 2) His coming to each of us, every day; 3) His triumphant coming at the end of time.

Whether you use an Advent wreath, hymns, special prayers (like the St Andrew Christmas Novena), or particular practices to keep focused on the “reason for the season”, try each day to consider how you have opened yourself to each of the “3 comings” of Christ in your home and in your heart. You might spend just one minute at the end of the day considering each of these; by Christmas, your heart will be wide and welcoming for the coming of the Savior!

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