Lk. 3:1-6
Dr. Alexis Carrel was a well-known genius and giant in the field of medical science. He became instrumental in pioneering blood vessel surgery and organ transplantation in animals, which paved the way for organ transplantation in human beings. He developed the heart pump, making bypass surgery possible. He received the Nobel Prize in 1912 for his significant contribution to medical science. He always remained an agnostic. In 1902, he was assigned a mission to accompany Patience who were making a pilgrimage from Lyons to Lourdes in the white train. There was a twenty-three-year-old girl, Ms. Marie Bailly, who was dying of tubercular peritonitis. Her situation remained critical and Carrel administered her morphine to prevent her death during the journey. When Bailly was taken to the grotto and baths, she was literally dyeing. They washed her swollen abdomen thrice with water. She started to experience a miraculous cure. By evening, she could sit up on her bed, talking, eating and not vomiting at all. The next day, she got dressed by herself without anyone’s help and started her train journey back to Lyons. When she reached Lyons after her twenty-four hour journey, She was perfectly healthy. She took a taxi by herself and went home. Seeing her healthy, neither her family members nor her neighbours could believe it. Dr. Alexis, who witnessed and experienced this recovery, did not have words to explain, other than to acknowledge that what he witnessed was a miracle. After a long investigation in 1942, he witnessed his faith in Christ and the church…
We are on the second Sunday of Advent. The season of Advent is an opportune time to reflect and see our personal relationship with the person of Christ. Amidst the busy schedules of our lives, we never pose this question to ourselves concerning our relationship with Christ. Yes, we tend to pose this question to our fellow sojourners rather than to ourselves. Conversion is a conscious choice that we make when we realise that our hearts do not remain close to the person of Christ. Through this process of conversion, we try to grow deeper in our love for Jesus. Very few people willingly undertake this inward journey, recognise their need for conversion, and try to grow in their relationship with Jesus. The gospel of the day begins by quoting well-known historical and charismatic leaders such as King Herod and his brother Philip, Pontius Pilate, High Priest Caiaphas, and Annas. Though these efficient and well-known leaders were there at that time, the Word of God came to John the Baptist with the mission of preparing the Israelites for their long-awaited Messiah. All these leaders were in need of conversion. Anyhow, they never lend their ears to the prophetic words of John, and finally, all these people, one way or another, become instruments for condemning their Messiah to crucifixion.
John the Baptist exhorted the people of Israel to watch four aspects of their lives. Some of the Israelites were experiencing the valley of emptiness like Pilate. They had the desire to know the truth, but an inner emptiness took the upper hand, and they lived a passive life. At the end, Pilate asks Jesus, “What is the truth?” He, in fact, failed to recognise Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life. Do we exhibit an indifference towards God and our fellow brethren? Our emptiness can be filled only by Jesus and his words, which help us to grow in love, as St. Paul exhorts the Philippians. Thus, we may become blameless and righteous on the day of the Lord.
The second exhortation is to make every mountain and hill low. The rulers, like Herod and Philip, were in the mountains of their pride. Their pride blinded their eyes, and they considered themselves equal to God. At the end, when Jesus comes before Herod, he could have saved him since he was a Jewish king, but he used his power to mock and abuse Jesus. Are we affected by pride, which makes us think that we are self-sufficient and don’t need God? We need to come down from the mountain of pride to encounter Jesus in our hearts. In today’s first reading, we see through the prophet Baruch that God demands Israelites shed their pride by making low the lofty mountains.
The third and the fourth aspects are exhortations to make winding ways straight and smoothen the rough ways. The high priest, Caiaphas, was the son-in-law of Annas. Annas was no longer a high priest, but he was still powerful. The Romans forced him to change and installed Caiaphas as high priest. Though Caiaphas knows it, he accepts this spiritual leadership out of his craze for power, and finally he makes the prophecy that it is good that one man dies for the entire nation. Do we accept any means to justify our ends? Do we use our power for service or impose our authority on others? We need to keep a check on our winding ways by living a life rooted in Christian values.
Dear friends, as we reflect on today’s gospel through these historical figures, let us also reflect on our own interior life and recognise the stumbling blocks that hinder our relationship with the person of Jesus. Let us lend our ears to the Word of God and all the Word of God to transform these stumbling blocks into stepping stones in our deep relationship with the person of Jesus. May this season of advent help us to make an inward journey and let us prepare the way of the Lord in our hearts by making a conscious choice of Christ in all the moments of our life, like John the Baptist.