Dec
5

Second Sunday of Advent Year A December 5th, 2010

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Dear Parishioners,

God at the window

There was a little boy visiting his grandparents on their farm. He was given a slingshot to play out in the woods. But he could never hit the target. Little discouraged, he headed back home for the evening tea. As he was walking back, he saw grandma’s pet duck. Just out of impulse, he let the sling fly; it hit the duck on the head, and killed.

He was shocked and grieved, after lunch, grandma called Mary to wash the dishes. But she said, “Grandma, Johnny said that he wanted to help you in the kitchen.” Then she turned towards Johnny and whispered to him, “Remember the duck.” And Johnny did the dishes.

In the evening grandpa called the children to go for fishing. Grandma said, “Sorry, I want Mary to help me to make the dinner.” Then Mary smiled and said, “Well grandma, Johnny told me that he would like to help you to prepare the dinner.” Then she turned towards Johnny and whispered, “Remember the duck.” Mary went for fishing and Johnny stayed back to help grandma tp prepare the dinner.

After many days of doing his chores and his sister’s, he could not stand it any longer. He went and confessed to his grandma that he had killed the duck. Grandma knelt down and hugged his and said, “Sweetheart! I know that you killed the duck. I was standing at the window and saw everything. But because I love you, I had forgiven you. I was just wondering how long you would allow Mary to make you a slave of you.”

Johnny’s confession led to his liberation. When we confess we do not tell God what He does not know. He knows everything, because he was standing at the window. Our failure to confess enslaves.

In today’s Gospel, John the Baptist called the people to produce fruits fit for repentance. He warned the people, “Even now the axe is laid to the root of the tree, so that any tree which fails to produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown on the fire.” Today I invite you to consider the cause of fruitlessness, the consequence of fruitlessness and the escape from fruitlessness. Fruitlessness results due to lack of repentance. Fruitlessness may result from the refusal to change or still worse, from non-admission of sin. Anything that is fruitless always invited disaster:

“A rod that lies useless invited rusting;
A book that is unread for long invited bookworms;
A house that is uninhabited invited dilapidation;
A life that is fruitless invited condemnation.”

As in nature, so in life, uselessness always invites disaster.

We need to confess and come out of it. Let us confess and cast out the fruits of anxiety, fear and sleeplessness .God has forgiven us, for He was standing at the window. We only need to repent, confess and thus bear good fruits in our lives.