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2nd Sunday of Advent

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Dec. 10, 2017 Fr. Tom Wilson, Pastor

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the older I get the more I reflect on that tremendous gift and the and the quality of time and as much as I know in my empirical mind that 60 seconds when I was 5 years how old is 60 seconds when I'm no longer 5 years old is exactly the same the lived experience is actually quite difference the lived experience is quite different 60 seconds seems a lot longer 5 years old that then it does now and I suspect for most of us that are beginning to to get on in years the the reality of of time having an accelerated property to it is it probably pretty real and even though we know empirically that it doesn't go any faster one minute doesn't go any faster than any other but the truth is that that gift of time it truly is it truly is a gift and a particularly in this in his address season it's a it's an opportunity to reflect on it in terms of in terms of what we actually do with that gift that God has given us and there were three and counters that I had this week that that brought up that hole that whole idea of that whole idea of time right the the other the first one I was watching TV and I saw I saw an ad and the the precept of the ad was that time was really the only the truly scarce and limited resource that any of us has okay you're probably argue that a little bit but that was the that that was a precept and then the whole idea is that because time is so limited for us it then it is so scarce we need to be very very careful and prudent about how we use that precious gift of time and of course their suggestion was that that that precious gift of time that we've been giving should be used on there cruise ship that would be a great way to to use our precious gift of time right the second one was there was a relatively famous person from my pre-teen years that that that I need a couple of weeks ago and I'm one of his children his daughter was was saying as as he was dying among his last words were so much wasted time so much wasted time and then finally last week in Father Chad's homily he he mentioned the reality of the reality of time as he is he entered us into the Advent season reminding us that we celebrate the end of the in the fullness of time G is birth taking on human flesh coming into the the reality of human existence in time at his at his birth and then the fact that he will come again and that her Advent is really it's about celebrating the first, being prepared for the second coming but he also reminded us of the importance of what we call the middle coming of Jesus that he actually hit he we celebrate the birth we prepare for that we prepare for his return but the truth is there's a third coming that middle way in which it comes to us really every single day he comes to us every single day in the end in our sacramental life of the church he comes to us in the UK he comes to us with the with the gift of healing in the sacrament of the anointing he comes to us in the reality of our own baptisms he comes to us in the in the gig the gift of being forgiven of our sins in the in soccer confession right he comes in this economy is in this in this middle way right and that end in the truth is our readings today particularly our second reading focus on that gift of time they also focus on the fact that frankly as human beings we can get really distracted with in it we can really get distracted right when when St Peter tells us a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day in the life of God he's reminding us that in fact God exists outside of time and When we struggle and ask these questions about what God knows and when that's a very very human and Earthly question because we only know things high point A to point B right God knows them all the time right and in so he he exists outside of time but Peter is obviously addressing this question to his community because people are wondering what's going on he was supposed to come back much sooner than this right and they probably are grumbling slightly about what they're calling delay but it's Peter mentions to it to his people it is not delay is not delay when a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day in fact if it seems like delay it's only his patients it is only his patients that has him delaying if you were precisely so that we can be prepared so that we can be prepared to receive him completely totally and fully into our hearts and that that in fact that time but time that we have been given is a precious gift and why might take exception with the with a particular ad that says that we should use all of that that precious time to go on a cruise ship or that it's the only scarce resource we have it is true it is limited and one of the one of the realities is we don't know exactly how much there is and we never will until the end and so that gift of time then he does become a precious resource that we aren't that we are to use and to use for glory of God had to use a specially to prepare our own Hearts to receive him right in his goodness God gives us the tools to be ready to to be ready to receive our first reading and Arthur Drive are Our Gospel reading today remind us of that that time that God gives us his meant to be used as a as an opportunity for repentance to prepare our hearts to straighten the path to the so that the Lord can fit into our hearts as John the Baptist is out in the in in the desert he is reminding people that he's giving them the invitation to repent to receive baptism of repentance and forgiveness of sins right in order to prepare to receive Jesus he's not the Messiah he makes it absolutely clear but the Messiah desires them to be ready to take it to meet him and so there in is the is the invitation it to repentance it's at its asking all of us to be humble enough to acknowledge that there are things in our life that have to be difference that have to change right he doesn't ask us to do it by our will power he comes in that middle way particularly in the sacrament of reconciliation where he where he invites us into simply and humbly acknowledge our sins and to receive the gift of mercy and then have our it's ready to receive him I heard a great line on the on the radio this week and it's absolutely theologically correct might sound over simplified at times but it's absolutely theologically correct in understanding the sacrament of reconciliation nation and what he said was that the that the truth is that any one of us any one of us on the face of the Earth anyone of us in this church this morning are simply one good confession away from becoming a saint one good confession away from becoming a saint and it is absolutely true it is absolutely true that Jesus coming in that middle way giving us the free gift of Mercy simply for us to acknowledge need for repentance and his ability and desire to forgive and receiving the gift of absolution makes the Saints at least for a while at least for a while and it's a tremendous gift and the truth is in that gift and the gift of the call to repentance a lot of people don't use that the gift nearly as much as we as we could or probably should and I don't know exactly why that is maybe in fact they're probably be maybe it's a bad experience in the human reality of the sacrament at some point maybe it's the reality of Pride maybe it's even a little bit of nervousness about the ritual at South who knows it really doesn't matter it really doesn't matter because it who says that Jesus is there and wants us to receive his Mercy we're having we have our advent reconciliation day on Wednesday right we're going to have priest all over the church from 2 in the afternoon till 8 in the evening for assault to be able to receive that that gift right and there's there's some materials in the back of the church at the connection table if you if you want to review and in and get a little bit prepared before you come there also online on our website and Facebook all these all these tools to help us take to get ready right and trust me we don't bite okay we don't we don't bite we are there to to be the instrument of Jesus Christ to to give to give the gift of Mercy in the Third Way that Jesus comes to us in that middle way so there are Hearts can be fully prepared to celebrate his birth and too and to be prepared for his glorious return God gives us the gift of time in the most imp Morton thing that we can do with at times to prepare our hearts to receive Jesus to receive Jesus I know and I deal with a lot of people that sometimes worry about the the reality of mercy and forgiveness in the truth is if we use the sack more often we wouldn't worry about it we wouldn't worry about it we would just know that we were in the in the grace of God and and and ready when that went when the time came but the truth is that as God gives us at precious precious precious cast of time but doesn't move any faster from one minute to the next but may feel like it alright the better we use it the better we are prepared for the Lord the better than off that we will be and we will not waste any of it that he is given to us

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