Following is the prepared text from Bishop Olmsted’s homily for the 2nd Sunday of Advent.
Comforted by the Lord
December 6, 2020
“Comfort, give comfort to my people… Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and proclaim to her that her …guilt is expiated.”
A deep hunger for comfort began early in a man’s life. As a little child, he was fascinated with music and overflowed with creativity and talent. He could sing and play a variety of instruments. New melodies came to him, seemingly out of nowhere. Already in his early teens, he became the Cathedral organist in his hometown of Halle, Germany. He wrote compositions for the organ and even for an orchestra. By his early 20s, he was already making a name for himself in Italy, and by his late 20s taking England by storm. But no matter what he did or how much popular acclaim he won, he could not please his father, who openly made known his disdain for music and his disapproval of his son’s chosen profession. The young man’s name was George Frederic Handel—one of the best-known composers of the 18th century.
Handel’s interior struggle with the painful opposition of his father may explain the exquisite beauty of his most famous composition THE MESSIAH, in particular the opening hymn that begins with the words from the Prophet Isaiah, “Comfort Ye, Comfort ye, my people.”
It’s as if these words of the Lord passed through Handel’s heart before he set them to music. What most pained him, he eventually discovered, was not his father’s disapproval but the festering wound created by his own bitter resentment. This had been hurting far more than the attitude of his father. Moreover, it was preventing Handel from seeing his earthly father in the light of God’s mercy, and from seeing the love of his heavenly Father in the light of Christ.
Handel’s need for God’s comfort, and our own need for it as well, are bountifully provided by Jesus on the Cross. And this great Mystery of mercy is made present every time that we celebrate the Eucharist. It’s good to recall that Handel did not write THE MESSIAH to entertain people. He wrote it to give praise and thanks to God, and to assist those like us who long for the comfort and mercy of the Lord.
As we celebrate the Eucharist in Advent 2020, Jesus says to us, “Fear not, little flock, the Father wants to give you the Kingdom.” He does not remove suffering from our lives. He does something better. He removes our resentment and despair. He gives us confident assurance that we can find consolation and peace at the wood of His Crib and the wood of His Cross.
In our Second Reading today, Peter tells us to use our time to turn to God in faith because (2 Pet 3:11): “…the day of the Lord will come like a thief.” At first, these words may frighten us, not bring us consolation. But for good reason, similar words are found prominently throughout the New Testament. For example, St Paul writes to the Thessalonians (I Thess 5:2): “You yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief at night…” And in the Book of Revelation, (16:15), the Risen Lord says, “Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who watches and keeps… ready.”
Our Lord employs this startling image to remind us of how quickly He can come to us, with transforming power, to turn our lives around, to bring us back to Him, no matter how far we may have strayed from His presence. In the blink of an eye, all will be changed. As St. Peter writes (2 Pt 3:9), “…with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day.”
Jesus comes to us as a thief because there is much that needs to be taken away to make room for His truth and love. For example, many years ago, a woman came to me for help. Her life was in shambles due to bad decisions, failed relationships, addictive habits, and on and on. In every way, she had hit rock bottom. However, in the depths of her misery, after drifting from one tragedy to another, she allowed the Lord to break into her life and steal her despair. When I met her, she still needed help from God to turn her life completely around, but her despair was gone! With that new freedom in her heart, she dared to hope and to long for the consoling yet severe mercy of God. What a blessing for this woman that Christ came as a thief to steal her despair and replace it with consolation.
At the end of today’s Gospel passage, John the Baptist says (Mk 1:7-8), “One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of His sandals. I have baptized you with water; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Doctors can treat our physical and psychological symptoms but only the Holy Spirit can heal the wounds of our souls. Only the Lord can come, like a good thief, to steal our guilt and shame, and to replace it with His consoling love. God gave Handel a whole new sense of his dignity as a beloved son of God. In grateful response, he celebrated this divine consolation in music that still inspires us today.
Each Advent, the voice of John the Baptist cries out in the desert, “Prepare the way of the Lord’.” Let us be grateful for this voice and invite the Lord to take away our foolish pride, to destroy all that keeps us from living in His light, and to replace all despair with hope.
