2nd Sunday of Advent, C December 5, 2021
Fr. Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette
Last week I urged you work at almsgiving, prayer, and fasting in order to be blameless in holiness. The world will end and it will end in great tribulation. The difference between our being victims on that day and our being victors on that day is this holiness. Please recall, however, that I warned you not to take up these sacred practices – almsgiving, prayer, and fasting – as proof of your own strength but as cooperation with grace, because it is grace that saves us.
And St. Paul picks up that very theme in the second reading, his letter to the Philippians. Paul often seems aggressive, challenging, and critical of those he is writing to. Here, however, he speaks with hope and encouragement saying, “I am confident… that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.” This is at the heart of the Catholic paradox. Our deeds, our actions, our decisions matter and they matter on an eternal scale. At the same time however, we cannot earn our salvation and our works do not save us. No, God himself is at work within us and it is His work that saves us. Indeed, our good deeds – if they are truly good – are really manifestations of God’s work in us. That’s what we mean by grace.
God is at work in us. By faith, we are given the gift of salvation. Faith is itself a gift of grace and having faith opens us to more grace. That grace, if it is truly accepted, unfolds in righteousness, in good works, in holiness in our lives. Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are both ways to open ourselves to grace and the fruit of grace already in us.
How can this be? A common analogy for this is a pencil. When you take a pencil and write with it, what is writing, you or the pencil? The answer is both. A person and a pencil work at different levels of reality. A pencil is an object, an instrument. A person has intelligence and free will. The pencil, in a physical sense, is writing. The person, in the sense of making choices, is writing. Just as a person is above a pencil, so God is above us. He works in us so that both He and We are doing good works. Just as we do not give the pencil credit for a beautiful poem, we do not give ourselves credit for a righteous life. Yet, just as a pencil may be more or less effective, write more or less smoothly, so we can cooperate more or less with God’s good work in us.
So, give alms. Pray. Fast. Make the choice, but when you do, remember that the point is God’s work within you and through you, not your own power. And when you fail, when you fall short, do not fret! Pencils break, people sin. God is not surprised at your sin or weakness. We shouldn’t be either. We don’t settle for sin! We don’t excuse it, but we also shouldn’t dramatize it as if it’s some big surprise that I, a broken and sinful human being, fell into sin again.
No, the right response is “ah well, Lord, I’m sorry. See how much more grace I need?” And then ask for grace, seek out grace, try again. Armed with the knowledge of how you fell into sin, take steps to avoid it. John the Baptist cries out in the desert, “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be made low.” Fill in the valleys of weakness with more prayer, more sacraments. Lower the mountains of temptation by avoiding tempting situations or getting rid of things that get you into trouble. Maybe don’t sit around too long after coffee because you know it’s going to become a gossip session. Maybe trade in a smartphone for a dumb one. Maybe just go to bed on time instead of surfing the internet. Oh, and go to confession. I’m pretty easy in confession, especially if you haven’t been in a while. And lots of other priests are the same way.
And know that you are not alone. God is at work in you, but he’s also at work in all his people. St. Paul is praying for us! As are all the saints. And this is his prayer: that we be “pure and blameless for the day of Christ.” How? By praying that “your love may increase ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception, to discern what is of value.” Three things: an increase in love, and increase in knowledge, and an increase in discernment.
An increase in love: love means to will the good of the other. It’s simple, really. Pick another person, do something genuinely good for them that doesn’t benefit you. Bonus points if it’s a little difficult or uncomfortable for you. The great thing here is that you can take something already in your life and transform it. Often enough, we get to choose who and how we help: volunteering, making donations and so on. Yet, a huge part of human existence is that there are many things beyond our control: weather and illness and family and disasters and such. It is an act of love to choose to do something good for another person. It is also an act of love to take something you didn’t choose and then make the choice to embrace it… to say “I didn’t choose this, but if I could, I would rechoose it for love of this person.” That is a profound act of surrender to God’s providence and a powerful imitation of Jesus Christ in the garden: “not my will, but yours be done.”
An increase in knowledge: knowledge of God is the point here. I don’t have something new to add, only to re-emphasize what I’ve said a dozen times before: read scripture, read theological books, join a bible study, subscribe to podcasts, watch videos. We already have Come Lord Jesus, we’re starting a video series in January, and I’ll try to provide resources for any needs you tell me about, but you do have to tell me.
An increase in discernment: Knowing God’s will in a given moment is powerful. We all have the ability to develop a spiritual sense, to learn to hear God’s word and recognize nudges of the Holy Spirit. How do we develop this spiritual sense? Spend some time every day in quiet prayer. Read scripture often. And start doing what God has already told you. Keep the commandments, obey the precepts of the Church. If you disobey his voice on the outside, you shouldn’t be surprised you don’t recognize his voice on the inside. And that’s a tragedy, because that’s where God is: inside. He made you. He longs to dwell in you, to work from the inside, by grace, to fill you with his light and glory to make you holy. It’s not your work, it’s His, we have only to cooperate.
“The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.” Has done, and will continue to do, if you let him.