Second Sunday of Advent - Two-Minute Homily: Fr Jack Ho

0:00 The Gospel this weekend begins in a peculiar way. 0:04 We hear a list of dates, names and places 0:07 that seem pretty irrelevant to us. 0:09 Some 2000 years after the birth of Jesus, 0:13 we are interested in Jesus, 0:15 not who the governors and the tetrarchs were; 0:18 and even less so, some ancient geography. 0:21 But these details reveal something crucial to us about Jesus, 0:25 He is not an abstract God. 0:28 Jesus weaves His action and His presence 0:31 into the very fabric of our lives. 0:33 He is not a myth. 0:35 His birth was an event that actually took place in history. 0:38 He is present in the personal history of you and me. 0:42 Our God is a God who wants to be involved in our lives. 0:46 Our God is one who enjoys a personal relationship with us 0:50 and not a mere distant deity. 0:52 The season of Advent is a season of hope. 0:56 In the midst of a world suffering from the ravages of war, 0:59 hunger, violence, persecution and indifference; 1:02 in the midst of the struggles of daily life 1:05 when all seems to be falling apart. 1:08 We once again hear the consoling message of John the Baptist 1:12 crying out in the wilderness of our own time, 1:15 “Prepare the way of the Lord.” 1:18 We prepare Christ’s coming 1:20 by allowing Him to be born daily in our lives. 1:24 In the words of an 18th century poet Alexander Pope, 1:28 “What does it profit me if Jesus is born in thousands of Christmas Cribs all over the world 1:33 but not in my own heart?” 1:36 Indeed, Jesus wants to enter into our heart, 1:39 He wants to enter into our story, 1:42 to bring us love, to bring us mercy and peace. 1:45 Not just for us to keep as private treasures, 1:48 but so that we can in turn give to others as well. 1:51 “Prepare the way of the Lord.” 1:53 The life of John the Baptist 2000 years ago 1:56 can be summed up in the image of a finger pointing towards the One who is coming, 2:01 Jesus Christ. 2:03 This Advent, 2:04 let us also be that pointing finger in today’s world. 2:07 In a world where fingers are often pointed 2:10 to condemn and to hate; 2:12 let ours be a finger pointing towards a beautiful story of God 2:16 entering our world to share in our journey. 2:20 A finger pointing towards Jesus Christ, 2:22 who is our waiting and our hope.