Gospel Commentary: Repent!

By Fr. John Riley
HERALD Columnist
(From the issue of 12/7/00)

Moses called for it — the Israelites routinely attempted to stone him and harried him for 40 years in the desert. Elijah proclaimed the need for it, and the rulers of the land sought to take his life. Jeremiah handed on the message he had received — he was kidnapped and thrown down a well. Isaiah prophesied it — he was sawn in two by his king. In the age of the Old Testament, any priest or prophet who dared to echo the call to "repentance" could be relatively certain that suffering, persecution and death would not be long in their advent. Prophets do not follow the Lord’s call in hopes of receiving affirmation and job security — they seek to be true to their call and charge.

Under the new dispensation things are no different. In this week’s Gospel, we see Luke’s subdued portrait of John the Baptist — the last and greatest of the Old Testament prophets (actually he’s the "bridge" between the old covenant and the new). The priestly Sadducees dismissed him as a madman, the Pharisees attacked him, King Herod arrested and beheaded him … because John dared to call for repentance.

True repentance does not entail merely beating one’s breast, wearing sackcloth and smearing ashes on one’s forehead. Repentance is a radical conversion on every level of one’s being: physical, social, psychological, emotional and spiritual. It involves an "openness to engagement" by the teachings of the Church, the Word of God and the sacraments. We must not be satisfied merely to fulfill the letter of the law, but must seek sanctity itself — responding to the Universal Call to Holiness recently and eloquently expressed in the documents of Vatican II (especially "Lumen Gentium," chapter 5).

Every year during Advent we are reminded by the Church in Her liturgy of the opportunity to ponder and pray about our need for conversion. During this holy season we’d do well to consider the three "Ps" — the Poor, Prayer and Penance. For the Poor: consider curbing the wild buying sprees — fighting the crowds to purchase useless gifts for people who don’t need them. Take what’s saved (and perhaps a bit more) and give it to the poor.

For Prayer, why not attempt praying a decade of the rosary each evening (about a three-minute investment of our valuable time). Focus on the Joyful Mysteries. Seek a bit of quiet time in the local church or any place where solitude may be found. Ponder the first chapters of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke on Christmas Eve, instead of watching the 23rd re-run of "It’s a Wonderful Life."

For Penance, give up something small, but which you’ll miss (desserts, television, music, wine, etc.). The slight "edge" that the absence of this good thing causes is very much in accord with the spirit of anticipation that Advent seeks to foster. Most important, however, is the need to embrace the powerful mercy of God in the sacrament of penance. Whether we are lost and wandering in a state of mortal sin or merely tending towards mediocrity of the venial variety, we ourselves are strengthened by this powerful sacrament — and so is the Mystical Body of Christ. Holy seasons like Lent and Advent are opportunities wasted when a person fails to embrace Jesus’ mercy in this beautiful sacrament of His love.

The spirit of the Baptist calls for repentance down through the centuries until our own. As John, the cousin of our Lord, rejoiced in his mother’s womb and waited for the First Coming, so we look forward to the Second Coming, and rejoice as we remember the beautiful and noble simplicity of the events surrounding Jesus’ birth. Amen.

Fr. Riley is administrator at St. Louis Parish in Alexandria.

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