Dec. 6: 2nd Sunday of Advent. 2009

John the Baptist lived during a reign of terror–a time when individual human beings were not valued at all by the King. In this time, he preached reconciliation–even, if you read the gospel closely, with the King’s and the Emperor’s soldiers who were so cruel in their time. He felt there was nothing so wrong that it couldn’t be fixed: “the crooked shall be made straight,” was his mantra. We are so fortunate to live in a gentler time, and in a nation that, while it has the problems of any sovereign state, actually values us! Yet, in our time, “religious voices” often want to divide us. Isn’t that odd? Nonetheless, the advice of St. Paul is forever helpful: “Discern what is of value;” for when we do that, we open ourselves to the Light that the prophet Baruch assures us is, ultimately, guiding us.