What great deeds the Lord worked for us, indeed we were glad. (Psalm 126: 3.) God has done great things on the earth, especially among and for the sake of mankind. He created the world and all that exists within and without. And he sustains the world out of love, by his power. The great deeds of the Lord in the midst of mankind include the happenings of our everyday life. But most often, when we acclaim the great deeds of God, we refer to miracles or events and phenomena we consider extraordinary – miracles. And we praise God for these particular deeds and relish them in the moment; like the Israelites (Psalm 107).
The liturgy today calls on us to recall the great deeds, the blessings of God in our lives. And then ask ourselves why? Why does God do these things in our lives? What is the purpose and end point? In the first reading, Baruch tells of the glorious return of the Israelites from exile, a return that they could not conceive. God leads them in this glorious return. Then he charges through John in the gospel to make his path straight. Yet it is God who gives the command, as Baruch tells, and the mountains, hills, valleys and trees give way and level up. The exile from Jerusalem for the old Israel is the exile from the presence of God (a state without grace) for the new Israel.
It is the exile of sin. We have sinned, we have rejected God, and frequently too. And like the Israelites, we often feel overwhelmed by our sins and give up hope on conquering them; we cannot conceive a way out of this exile of sin by ourselves. And then we ask, how can we rightly receive the Lord at his coming, how can we make his path straight? The Lord reminds us, in our despair, of those many blessings he worked for us in our daily ordinary lives, how we go out to work – carry seeds in tears – and return with blessings – sheaves – to cater for our daily lives and cares. It is in that same fashion that he will deliver us from the exile of our sins. God calms every fear and worry. He cares and provides for us, taking away our troubles in life which constitute the valleys, hills, mountains and trees that would often make us give in to temptation and sin, and hinder us from seeing the salvation of God.
The care and provision of the Lord that we recount most often as his great deeds and works in our lives are only mechanisms and means by which the Lord fixes our focus on his true purpose and mighty deed; our salvation, as the Psalm 126 beautifully describes. This great deed of our salvation finds it’s fulfilment and fulness in Christ – Immanuel – whose coming we expect at Christmas and prepare for in this period of Advent. So, through the voice of the Baptist, we are called again to repentance, that we may receive forgiveness through the mercy and righteousness of God, who then makes us righteous. Only then, as Baruch points out, can we share in the light of God’s glory and follow him with joy. In our repentance, we are called to cooperate with the grace of God and allow his power to bring to completion, as Paul prays in the second reading, the good work of redemption he has started in each one of us on the day when Christ comes again.
It is in repentance that we will know the power, love and mercy of God, discern his ways properly and follow; choosing what is pure and holy every step of the way, thereby bearing fruits of love and righteousness. God speaks to us today; no matter the depth of our sins, we should not lose hope. If we heed the call to repent, he will save us. Let us not focus on God’s material providence and lose sight of his salvific providence. This is because, the end of all the marvelous things he does in our lives is that one great deed and purpose; the salvation of souls. May we find joy and gladness in our repentance and salvation in the presence of God, in this life and the next. Amen.
