Advent Reflection
A New Dignity and a New Beginning By Very Rev. Anthony Lickteig,
Episcopal Vicar for Clergy, Secretary for Ministerial Leadership
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” Matthew 3:2
A New Dignity and a New Beginning
This 2nd Sunday of Advent, the figure of John the Baptist suddenly appears, with a striking message, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”. These words can sound jarring to us, perhaps because we would rightly be offended if a stranger were to begin criticizing us in a very personal way. We do not like to hear someone telling us we have failed in some area of our life. So why did so many in the Gospel respond to John the Baptist’s call? Perhaps it was because they were yearning for a fresh start.
We all have experiences of personal failure, when we did something we shouldn’t have done, or failed to do something we should have done. And this failure weighs heavily on us. But John the Baptist’s cry to repent means that there is a way out of our failures. It is not by denying or avoiding them, but by acknowledging them. Because our God is not a Father who criticizes us, but when we come to him in humility and truth, gives us a fresh start by forgiving us. He assures us that our sins and failures do not have the last word, and they do not have to define us.
In the Christmas hymn, “O Holy Night”, we sing “Long lay the world in sin and error pining, till He appeared and the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!” We all yearn for a fresh start and a way out of our failures. Through the birth of Jesus at Christmas, God gives us both – a new dignity and a new beginning. This Advent, we can prepare to receive those gifts by humbly acknowledging how much we, and our world, need them.
Written by Very Rev. Anthony Lickteig
Episcopal Vicar for Clergy and Secretary for Ministerial Leadership for The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington
