Is 40:1-5, 9-11; 2 Pt 3:8-14; Mk 1:1-8
The gospel of Mark begins with an introduction about John the Baptist, the one to prepare the way of the Savior, as foretold by the prophet Isaiah: “I am sending you my messenger ahead of you to prepare your way. Let the people hear the voice calling in the desert: Prepare the way of the Lord, level His paths” (Is 40:3).
John preached a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. He established his credibility by living a simple, prayerful life in the desert. “John was clothed in camel’s hair and wore a leather jacket. His food was locusts and honey” (Mk 1:6). There was nothing extravagant in this man. Moreover, John the Baptist was a humble servant of God. He had neither illusions nor delusions as to his real identity. He was fully aware that he was just a voice crying out in the desert and that someone more powerful was to come after him.
During the season of Advent, the Church reechoes John’s call of repentance to all of us. We need to turn away from sin and straighten out our life. The Church wishes us readiness and a clear conscience as we await the coming of the Lord. St. Peter, in the second reading, reminds us: The Lord gives us time to prepare “because he does not want anyone to perish, but that all may come to conversion”. Confession and a genuine resolve to avoid occasions of sin will surely prepare us to celebrate meaningfully the Christmas Season.
The simplicity of John’s life should inspire us to put material possessions in their rightful place. We will use them only when they serve our needs and the needs of the poor. We will aspire for them only when they make us healthier and holier. But when material possessions start to disturb our relationship with God, with others and with creation, we must lose no time to detach ourselves from them. All things will vanish and they are not worth our tears as we wait for the day of the Lord’s coming (2 Pt 3:11).
If material possessions are starting to bother us now, why don’t we dispose some of them to benefit the poor and the less fortunate? This generous act would mean so much to us and to others as we approach the day of the Lord’s birth.
There was once a poor shoemaker who was always in a good mood. He was so happy that he sang from morning to night. There were always children standing at his window and listening to him sing.
Next door to him lived a very rich man. He spent entire nights counting his money, and then went to bed in the morning. But he could not sleep because of the shoemaker’s singing. One day he figured out how he could keep the shoemaker from singing.
So he invited the shoemaker to come over and see him. He did. To his great surprise, the rich man gave him a little bag filled with gold coins. Never in his life had he ever seen so much money. He counted it all out carefully, and the children watched him. It was so much that the shoemaker was afraid to let it out of sight and so he took it along to bed at night. But even there he kept thinking about the money and could not sleep.
So then he got up and took the bag of money up to the attic. But on second thought he was afraid it was not safe there. So the next morning he brought the money downstairs again.
He then thought of hiding it in the fireplace. “But I’ll just put it in the chicken coop. No one would look for it there,” he decided.
But he was still nervous about the money and so he dug a deep hole in the garden and hid it there. He was so preoccupied with the money that he never got back to making shoes. Nor could he sing anymore. He was so worried that he could not produce a single note. And worst of all, the children did not come around to visit him any longer.
Finally the shoemaker was so unhappy that he dug up the money and hurried back to his neighbor with it. “Please take this money back,” he said. “Worry about it has made me sick, and even my friends do not come to see me anymore I would rather be a shoemaker, like I was.”
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