John the Baptist makes his appearance in today’s Gospel as he does every Advent. We might call him the “bridge” that leads to the New Testament. I think most of us would have a hard time embracing him. There he is, in the desert, a gaunt figure in a dirty camel’s hair coat following a diet of “locusts and wild honey”…not exactly someone you would invite to dinner. But Our Lord said, “there is no man born of woman greater than John” and so it is important for us to learn from him.
The Gospels present him as having a commanding presence and a powerful message, a message that is disconcerting because of its demand that one’s life must radically change. He told people not what they wanted to hear, but what they needed to hear. He would speak “truth to power” and it cost him his life.
Yet, St. Mark relates the amazing fact that despite John’s serious and somber message, people flocked to hear him. They were willing to acknowledge their sins and be baptized. People were attracted to his message because it spoke to their hearts, their deepest longings, and desires. The people who ventured into the desert, like us, sought a point of reference, they knew their failures, the hurt they had caused, and wanted to begin again.
We have that opportunity in the Sacrament of Penance. Our vanity, pride, and fear so often get in the way of making a good confession. Perhaps this Advent, St. John is calling us to overcome that fear…to have the humility and courage to make a good confession.
Many people wince or shudder at the prospect of going to confession, especially if they have put it off for a long time. There are lots of reasons for that, I am sure—too many to speak of them now. But I would like to suggest a few “tips” to make the experience a positive one:
Don’t excuse or explain your sins away:
Yes, I did thus and so, but let me explain…my wife, my husband, my child caused me to do it.
Confess your own sins and not the sins of others.
We are there for ourselves…no need to bring others into it.
Don’t make confession an act of self-torture.
Confess your sins simply, clearly without belaboring the point. Tell the sin and not the story. Going on about a sin only increases one’s level of anxiety.
Finally, don’t agonize over the procedure or format.
Simply say, “Can you help me, Father, I’ve forgotten how to proceed” and he will help you.
The people of St. John’s time were deeply moved and converted by his message. They were drawn to the path of new life, of new beginnings. I am very much encouraged by what Pope Benedict said:
“Holiness does not consist in not making mistakes or never sinning. Holiness grows with capacity for conversion, repentance, willingness to begin again, and above all with the capacity for reconciliation and forgiveness.”
This is the call of the Baptist. It is the call of Advent.
