THE VOICE THAT IS WITHIN

SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Bar 5: 1 – 9 / Ps 126 / Phil. 1: 4 – 6. 8 – 11 / Lk 3: 1 – 6

The world is very noisy today. Why? Because we are hearing a lot of voices. If you stay at home, you always hear the demanding voice of your wives or the angry voice of your husbands. If we go to work, then, we also hear the voices of our strict bosses or the annoying voices of our customers and clients. If we open our television sets, then all the more we hear a lot of voices from the fiery voice of Miriam to the “beastmode” voice of Rody. The world is very noisy today because of the many voices which you and I are hearing every day.

In our Gospel today, Luke is setting the stage of Jesus’ coming. He enumerated to us seven powerful voices in both secular (Ceasar, Pontius Pilate, Herod, Philip, Lysanias) and religious (Annas and Caiphas) worlds. These voices were very powerful because they were able to create history. However, in the second part of the Gospel, Luke introduces to us an unfamiliar yet another powerful voice – “ a voice of one crying out in the desert: Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths!” – the voice of John the Baptist. It was powerful not because of its might and influence but its message -  repent and believe in the Gospel for the Savior is about to arrive. His voice echoed the coming of Jesus who changed both history and humanity.

As I said earlier, we are very noisy today because of the many voices which we are hearing. However, we must not forget that deep inside us is another voice like that of John the Baptist which calls us to always choose good and avoid evil – the voice of our conscience. Pope Francis reminds us that we “must learn to listen to our conscience because it is the interior space in which we can listen to and hear the truth, the good, the voice of God. It is the inner place of our relationship with Him, who speaks to our heart and helps us to discern, to understand the path we ought to take, and once the decision is made, to move forward, to remain faithful.” There is much evil in our world, in our families, and in our communities because we have failed to listen to the voice of our conscience.

My dear friends, this is the reason for this season of Advent – that as we wait for the Lord, we prepare our hearts by checking on our conscience today. Do we still listen to that voice within which calls us to repent and to forgive? Or do we simply listen to our own ego which always seeks its own interest?

Last February 11, 2013, everyone was shocked when the German Shepherd of the Catholic Church, Benedict XVI announced that he will resign as pope at the end of February because of advanced age. We were shocked because we never heard of a pope who resigned from office. The last pope to resign was Gregory XII in 1415. We were shocked because why did he resign from an office that carries with it power, fame, and influence. But Pope Francis a few months after commented that such act of Benedict XVI was an example of someone who listens well to his conscience. Benedict XVI was someone who after discerning well that inner voice was humble enough to follow such a transforming voice.

It’s December 5, 2015. It is exactly 20 days to go before Christmas Day. For sure, we are hearing a lot of voices – the voices of the carolers who sang the same song every year; the voices of our mga kinugos nga nagpadungog dungog na sa ilang pinaskuhan; and the many voices in shopping malls and anywhere we go to today. I hope and pray that amidst these voices, we still can find time to listen to that voice within us that is always calling us to repent, to forgive, and to always choose the true, the good, and the beautiful -  our conscience. Amen.

 Photo taken from newphilly.org