ADVENT II [C]: Bar.5:1-9; Phil. 1:3-6, 8-11; Lk. 3:1-6

Let me begin with a quiz. Who was the tetrarch of Abilene? You will have to look back the reading again if you want to answer that. Why did St Luke put out a list of names and places that seem pretty irrelevant to us? Twenty centuries after the fact, we are interested in Jesus, not in tetrarchs and obsolete geography. But these details reveal something crucial about Jesus: he is not an abstract God. He weaves his action and presence into the fabric of ours. He is not a myth. Some people today try to attack Christianity by saying Jesus was not a historical person. To them these historical facts which Luke mentions in this gospel cannot be disproved. Or the Historical records of Jewish historian Josephus or Greek Historian Tacitus mentions Jesus as someone who lived and was crucified during the time of Pontius Pilate. Bart Ehrman, an agnostic, but a noted N.T Scholar and used to be professor at Chapell Hill, North Carolina, though he rejects the virgin birth of Christ, he strongly defends the historicity of Christ.

Jesus takes up his stance on the crossroads of everyone’s personal history and addresses us there. Jesus Christ is a God who wants to be involved in our lives; he wants our friendship. Pope Benedict XVI made this same point during an Advent speech in 2006: “In these days the liturgy constantly reminds us that ‘God comes’ to visit his people, to dwell in the midst of men and women and to form with them a communion of love and life: a family”

In today’s Second Reading, St Paul makes the same point in one of the most memorable, beautiful, and powerful phrases of the entire New Testament:

“"I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus."

God doesn't create us and then forget about us, like some kind of divine architect or watchmaker. He gives us the gift of life, and then he accompanies us, gently trying to guide us into a deeper and deeper friendship with him, never giving up on us. Nothing about our lives is indifferent to him, because we aren’t indifferent to him.

Maybe the most glaring evidence of God's desire to be involved in our lives is the sacrament of the Eucharist. Every Mass, when Jesus becomes truly present in the Eucharist, is like another Bethlehem, another Christmas.

Through the Eucharist, Jesus continues to accompany and nourish his people, staying involved in their lives, even in the most unlikely of places.

We all believe that God wants to be involved in our lives. And yet, sometimes it feels as if he is pretty far away. Sometimes, in the face of economic difficulties, sickness, and so many other kinds of suffering, it seems hard to find him. But we can actually get better at finding God's hand in all things, even our crosses, if we do three things. First, we need to have an honest, regular prayer life. Too often we only pray to God when we are in trouble.

We need to recommit ourselves to daily, personal prayer, even if it's only for 10 or 15 minutes. If we learn to converse with God every day, we will be much more likely to hear his voice on the terrible days.

Second, we need to take the crucifix seriously. It is no coincidence that the crucifix is the central image of our religion. God chose to save us by sharing in human suffering. We need to look often at the crucifix, and contemplate it, and teach ourselves to remember that suffering is not outside of God's plan of salvation, but an essential part of it.

And third, we need to help others carry their crosses. The devil's favorite tactic is to make us think so much about ourselves that we lose sight of the bigger picture. When we go out of our comfort zone to support, console, and encourage those who are suffering even more than we are, we break the devil's spell.

This week, if each of us chooses just one of those three tactics, I can guarantee that we will all gather again for Mass next week having had a deeper experience of God's involvement in our lives. And along with that experience will come a bigger share of Advent joy. He wants to come again spiritually this Christmas, to let us experience more fully the grace of his salvation.

And he will come again at the end of history to bring his plan of salvation to its final fulfillment. This is our God, a God who is lovingly and powerfully involved in our world and our lives.

Today’s First Reading also reminds us that we should rejoice because we are “remembered by a caring God.”

As we continue with this Advent Mass, we should thank God for reminding us of his action in our lives, of his goodness and power.

Maybe, part of our preparation for Christmas can be spreading the good news, being living signs of God's involvement in the world, reminding others that God wants to be involved in their lives, no matter what they may have done, just as God has reminded us.