(First Sunday of Advent (B): This homily was given on December 3, 2023 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I., by Fr. Raymond Suriani. Read Isaiah 63:26b-17, 19b; 64:2-7; Psalm 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 13:33-37.)
[For the audio version of this homily, click here: First Sunday of Advent 2023]
Way
back in the late 1960s there was a program on television called "The Time
Tunnel". It was all about the
adventures of two scientists who had discovered a way to travel through time. On every program they would find themselves
in a different historical situation—either in the past or in the future.
Well during this past week I happened to catch an old Time Tunnel episode online. And it brought back a lot of pleasant memories, because this was one of my favorite programs when I was in grammar school. I always found the idea of traveling through time intriguing. Perhaps a lot of people do. But anyway, on this particular episode the two scientists found themselves on the Titanic (of all places)—in the middle of the North Atlantic on the day when that famous ship hit an iceberg and sank.
Now if you woke up one day and found yourself in that situation, I’m sure you would do exactly what the two scientists tried to do: you would desperately try to convince the Captain of the ship that you knew what was going to happen. You would tell him to turn the ship to the south—to warmer waters—in order to avoid disaster. The Captain, of course, would think you were out of your mind and would probably put you under arrest, which is exactly what happened to the two scientists!
And so the ship struck the iceberg, just as they had predicted.
To me there's a very important spiritual lesson to be learned here, and the lesson is that you cannot rewrite history. As much as you might like to, you can't. As much as the two Time Tunnel scientists wanted to rewrite the story of the Titanic, they were unable to do it.
And this is true of all history: the history of the world, our family history and our personal history. It cannot be changed; no aspect of any of it can be changed. Which from one standpoint, at least, is not very good news, because there are experiences we have all had in our lives that we wish we never had.
I know some of you in this church this morning have fought in wars. You've lived through some violent, frightening situations you wish you had never experienced. All of us have seen relatives and friends die. I'm sure there's a part of us that wishes we could rewrite some of those stories. I know that I would not have had my parents pass away at such young ages, 46 and 60. I would have changed some of the other circumstances surrounding their deaths.
And then there are the sins we've committed. If we truly are growing in our relationship with Jesus we will deeply regret some of the things we have done in the past, and some of the things we should have done that we didn't do in the past. For example, I am sure that after his conversion St. Augustine wished he could rewrite the history of his first 30 or so years, which were filled with self-indulgence and sexual promiscuity. I am sure that after his conversion St. Paul wished he could wipe away all the terrible things he had done to Christians. I'm sure he wished he could rewrite the history of the stoning of St. Stephen.
Remember, Paul was an accomplice to that murder. He stood there approvingly while the others threw the rocks. I'm sure St. Peter always wished he could rewrite the story of Holy Thursday night—minus his three denials of Jesus. But he couldn't; they couldn't; none of us can.
And this is something we must accept—especially if we want to be ready to meet Jesus on Judgment Day.
Jesus tells us in today's gospel to be ready for his second coming always. Because when that moment arrives—when Jesus comes for us either at the end of our lives or at the end of time—we will not be able to rewrite our personal history. There is no reincarnation. The Bible is very explicit about that (read Hebrews 9:27).
There are no second chances! You don't come back as a frog, or a cow, or as your favorite movie star or sports hero. Our earthly history ends when the Lord comes for us, and that history is the basis on which we will be judged.
Of course, there's another dimension to all this, and this is something we also must be clear about. Yes, it's true, you can't rewrite your past history. Yes, it's true, you can't rewrite your history at the end of your earthly life.
But, until you take your last breath, you can choose to MAKE history! You can choose to make history with the Lord. In other words you don't have to be shackled by your past, whatever your past might be.
If your past is filled with sin, you can choose to let God in and be washed clean of your offences by making a sincere, honest confession.
When we repent of our sins in that great sacrament and receive the absolution of the priest it's as if we never committed the sin. I hope you realize that. Even though God knows we did it, it never comes between us and him again.
All of us need to make that kind of history with the Lord. Even if we are not in serious sin.
If your past is filled with pain you can choose to allow God to help you deal with that pain; you can choose to allow him to teach you and strengthen you in and through the suffering, and you can choose to let the Lord bring good out of your pain. If you choose to do those things, believe me, you will make great history with the Lord.
Fr. Najim and I had the privilege of watching someone make some crucial history with the Lord a couple of weeks ago. After the 10:30a.m. Mass that day I happened to strike up a conversation in the vestibule with a woman who used to be a parishioner of St. Pius. One of her sons was an altar server here when I first came to the parish in 1988. She was in town because her husband was in Westerly Hospital in the final days of his life. She said to me at one point that the hospital chaplain had mentioned Baptism to her husband when he visited him the day before (her husband had never been baptized). So I went to the hospital after Mass and asked him point blank, “Would you like to be baptized?” He said, “Yes”—enthusiastically.
So I came back to the rectory, told Fr. Najim what happened, and the two of us went back to the hospital. And there, surrounded by his wife (who was crying tears of joy) and his 3 sons, this man was baptized by Fr. Najim (which, among other things brought him forgiveness for every single sin he had ever committed in his entire life!). Fr. Najim then confirmed him and gave him his first Communion; and I gave him the sacrament of the sick. Five days later, he died. Five days later, the Lord called him home.
I
think he was ready.
That’s called making decisive history with the Lord—history with eternal consequences: history with eternal, GLORIOUS consequences!
If I were to sum up the Lord's message to us today on this first Sunday of Advent it would be as follows (and please try to hear this as addressed to you personally): "My son, my daughter—don't try to do what you cannot do. Don't try to change what you cannot change. Don't spend your life in a fantasy world, wishing you had a time tunnel to take you back 2 years or 4 years or 40 years. Focus all your attention on MAKING HISTORY with me in the present moment, by allowing me to forgive you of the sins of the past; by allowing me to heal you of the hurts of the past; by allowing me to strengthen you; by allowing me to teach you. Begin doing this today, begin doing it this Advent. And don't stop until we see each other face to face."