In last Sunday’s readings, we were invited to be vigilant and to have faith and hope in the midst of disasters in the natural world.
Today — for this second Sunday of Advent — we are invited now to welcome the human disruption of Saint John the Baptist.
Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate, Herod — leaders are usually also symbols of the control and maintenance of the system. John the Baptist is a symbol of the disruption of our personal system.
Nobody wants to have problems in their personal relationship, their families. No one wants to have an illness. No one wants to lose their job.
But sometimes, when our personal world experiences disaster, when we have faith, we ask the tough questions about our lives. And we make changes: about priorities, about the need for reconciliation, justice and purpose.
Sometimes our lives find their true purpose and strength and meaning after a big disruption. May our hearts always be open — especially in difficult times — to the timeless message of conversion from John the Baptist, who always leads us to Christ.