by Fr. Bel R. San Luis, SVD
The story is told about a commanding officer of a ship who saw, through a foggy night at sea, what appeared to be the lights of another ship heading directly toward him.
He instructed his signalman to contact the other ship by light with this message: “Change your course 10 degrees to the north. I am an admiral.”
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“Message received,” came the reply, “but you must change your course to the south.” This infurated the admiral. He signalled back, “I am a battleship, so change your course to the north or else…” To which came the reply: “I am a lighthouse. Change your course…..or else!
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In the gospel reading this 2nd Sunday of Advent, John the Baptist’s message to all fogbound creatures is: “Change your course. Reform your lives. The reign of God is at hand.” Unless you change your course to God’s course, you are headed to perdition.
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Also, the gospel reading for this Sunday has a note of urgency. John the Baptist asserts, “Even now the axe is laid to the root of the tree. Every tree that is not fruitful will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”
John the Baptist may be saying to us in contemporary words thus: “If you’re thinking of making a Christmas confession, do it now. If you’re planning to be reconciled with someone, now’s the time. If you’re considering to do good to your less fortunate brethren, don’t dilly-dally. Do it now.”
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There is an ancient story about three devils who were arguing over the best way to destroy the souls of people in the world.
The first demon says: “Let’s tell all the Christians that the Bible is all a fable.” “No, that will not do,” the second devil said: “Let me go and I will tell them that there is no heaven nor hell. Take away the fear of punishment and the man will not believe.”
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The third demon says, “There is one better way. Tell the Christians that there is a God, that the Bible is inspired, that the Bible is true, that there is heaven and hell. Yes, but I’ll tell them there is NO HURRY; there is always a tomorrow.” But then all is too late.
And all the devils agreed and they sent him.
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Why wait until a sickness strikes before you get rid of some bad habit like excessive smoking or drinking, cursing or gossiping, or watching TV too much?
Advent is an opportune time to welcome Christ into our lives by bearing fruits of good deeds. “Every tree that is not fruitful,” John the Baptist warns, “will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”
Let’s heed the warning of John the Baptist and not end up being “thrown into the fire.”
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THE LIGHER SIDE. An ill-prepared college student taking an economics exam just before Christmas vacation wrote on his paper, “Only God knows the answers to these questions!”
The professor graded the papers and wrote this note: “God gets 100, you get 0. Merry Christmas!”
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Thank the men who urinate on the ground. They spread PISS on earth.
