What an amazing image this offers – a road that is filled with joyful liberated captives heading home – laughing, singing, rejoicing. This psalm recalls an amazing event in the history of Israel. They had been conquered, invaded, and carried off into slavery by the Babylonian empire. For 70 long years they endured. They wept. As the psalm also mentioned, they went away in sorrow and tears.
Then, through a miraculous turn of events, they were sent home. It was a “new exodus” for them – an amazing work of God’s mercy for their entire people. Filled with gratitude, they rejoiced, laughed, and sang as they went back home.
This psalm of remembering hard times followed by God’s mercy
and deliverance is an important act of faith for one who wrote this psalm.
Truth be told, during this season of Advent, we need to
spend some time remembering God’s love, mercy, and works of deliverance for his
people. This Advent is an act of faith
for us all.
This is the season of Advent where world leaders
increasingly mention that we have entered World War III. This is the season of Advent where we hear
regularly about the increase of acts of terror. The culture of fear and death
plots and plans its advances.
Once again we consider that we have entered into the great
conflict between the gospel and the anti-gospel, the culture of life and the
culture of death. Ours is the appointed
time to engage this struggle. The
question then, becomes obvious. What can
we do?
John the Baptist shows us the way. The great prophet of the end of the last
great advent engaged same struggle.
He proclaimed a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. He was the voice of one crying out in the
desert – “prepare the way of the Lord.” His call to all of the people must also be
the call that the entire church takes up in this time. “Prepare
the way of the Lord.”this
The way of the Lord is the way of mercy. John proclaimed a baptism of repentance for
the forgiveness of sins. So it is for us
today.
We are on the eve of the year of Mercy. On December 8, the great Solemnity of the
Immaculate Conception, Pope Francis will formally open the year of Mercy for
the entire Church. The entire church
herself is called to walk in the mercy of Jesus and proclaim his mercy to the
world. And how shall we do that as the
church in Lebanon?
In a word: repentance.
All of us are called to a new level of conversion. In the face of growing darkness in the world,
all of us must run quickly to Jesus, the great font of mercy. All of us must name sin in our lives and to
renounce it through the great sacrament of mercy, the sacrament of
Penance. In this way we get to live out
the prayer of St. Paul in the 2nd reading where he wrote: “this is my prayer: that your love may
increase ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception, to
discern what is of value, so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of
Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ
for the glory and praise of God.”
Repentance, both at a personal level and at a communal level
brings about a purified church. And a
purified church is equipped to bring the mercy of Jesus to a darkened
world. Mercy prepares the way for the
coming of Christ into the world. Jesus
himself, through his church, conquers the powers of darkness and enlightens the
world.
Mercy. Oh how the
world needs mercy right now. Let us, as
the church in Central Kentucky, in union with the church throughout the world,
make the mercy of Jesus practical.
Remember the corporal works of mercy?
Feed the hungry.
Give drink to the thirsty
Clothe the naked
Shelter the homeless
Visit the sick
Visit the imprisoned
Bury the dead.
Remember the spiritual works of mercy?
Counsel the doubtful
Instruct the ignorant
Admonish sinners
Comfort the afflicted
Forgive offenses
Bear wrongs patiently
Pray for the living and the dead.
Let’s do this church!
May the words of the prophet Baruch burn in our souls during this great
Advent preparation for a new and definitive coming of Jesus’ mercy into our
world.
Church –“take off your
robe of mourning and misery – put on the splendor of glory from God forever,
wrapped in the cloak of justice from God.”
Church – “stand upon
the heights; look to the east and see your children gathered from the east and
the west at the word of the Holy One, rejoicing that they are remembered by
God.”
Church – let us take up this great mission of mercy so that
the words of the prophet Isaiah may be fulfilled in our midst and in our
generation so that “all flesh shall see
the salvation of God.”
Church – let have firm confidence that the one who begins
this good work in us will bring it to completion.
And when it is brought to completion, may the words of Psalm
126 also be found in our mouths – “the
Lord has done great things for them. The
Lord has done great things for us; we are glad indeed.”
