Never Unprepared
Homily on the Second Sunday of Advent, 7 Dec 2025, Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, Cebu
When the magnitude 6.9 earthquake shook Cebu last Sept, 30, we were all caught unprepared. Almost everyone was in panic mode from Northern Cebu down to Metro Cebu and the surrounding islands, everyone rushing out of their houses and tall buildings trembling with fear for their lives. Several hours later images of severely damaged churches, houses, buildings and infrastructures went viral on social media including the number of casualties on human lives. Earthquakes strike when we least expect and when we are not prepared we can be among the dead.
When typhoon Tino hit Cebu last Nov. 4, we were again caught unprepared. Most of us prepared for the strong winds having learned from the lessons of typhoon Odette. Unexpectedly however, it was the flash floods that caused the largest devastation and the highest number of casualties. When typhoons strike our land we can never predict what will happen, and if we are not sufficiently prepared we can be among the dead.
“Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.” This is what St John the Baptist is shouting out today as we approach Christmas.
It is good for us to revisit the proper context of this gospel passage. The situation at that time when John the Baptist began his preaching was no different from ours. Many people at that time were suffering mostly because of the Roman forces that occupied their land and imposed heavy taxes, which were never used for the benefit of the Jewish people. And so many Jews tried to resist the foreign government, but unfortunately, those activists were quickly arrested, imprisoned, executed and killed.
In the meantime, the Jewish religious laws were rigorously strict too, and those who broke any of their laws were punished either with expulsion from the community or death by stoning. Sad to say, those who suffered the most from all these pressures were the poor, the sick, and the persons with disability. Hence, many Jews at that time really felt the real need of a Savior who would redeem them from all those evils; a Messiah who would restore their freedom and re-establish the peace, happiness and prosperity they had been longing for.
The good news is this: God sent John the Baptist to his people. Moved by the Spirit, this prophet came out publicly to proclaim a message of hope and salvation. But he was not the promised Messiah. He was just a voice in the desert who felt the urgency to prepare the people for the coming of the long awaited Messiah. For John the Baptist, being a Jew, especially being part of God’s chosen people, was not enough for one to be saved when the Redeemer-Messiah comes. And so, he proclaimed this message in the desert: everyone should repent from their sins and be cleansed inwardly by undergoing baptism; should humbly acknowledge their sinfulness and open their hearts to meet their divine Savior.
Today John the Baptist addresses the same words to us. He invites us all to leave the comfort of our private and quiet lives, and to journey together to welcome the Lord who is coming to meet us. More concretely he calls us to rewire our minds and reformat our hearts. He wants us to undergo a cleansing ritual that really washes away our sins and to shift to a lifestyle that is much simpler but more perfectly conformed to God’s will.
Furthermore, he is telling us that if today we find ourselves down, depressed or in a bad shape, if we have been suffering much, it could be because of our very own wrong choices, wrong decisions, and wrong doings. For the longest time we have been burdened and stressed by typhoons, flash floods and many other problems mostly caused by human selfishness, pride, environmental neglect, inordinate attachments and by our insatiable craving for earthly pleasures, worldly power and dishonest wealth. It is high time that we submit ourselves to the real “Life Coach” and divine Shepherd of our souls and allow the Lord to reconfigure our lives according to his will and wonderful plan.
In the first reading today, the prophet Isaiah shares his dream that one day this world will be totally changed & transformed, and humankind shall win the final victory against all evil! In his vision of a new world, he described for us what he saw in amazement: “The wolf shall be a guest of the lamb; the leopard shall lie down with the kid; the calf and the young lion shall browse together with a little child to guide them; the lion shall eat hay like the ox; the baby shall play by the cobra’s den. There shall be no harm or ruin on my holy mountain…” In other words, God gave him a vision of a world in perfect balance and harmony.
In the second reading, Isaiah’s vision became St Paul’s fervent prayer intention. He wrote in his letter to the Romans: “May we live in perfect harmony with one another according to the spirit of Christ Jesus.”
Just like the prophet Isaiah and the apostle Paul, we too have the same dream and prayerful intention – a home at peace and a world in perfect harmony; a world where all wars, conflict and division no longer exist; where corruption is finally overcome by integrity, and all evil is conquered by GOOD. In this new world, there will be no more BBM, DDS and Kakampink. However, we should know that we cannot have this dream realized if we insist always on our own self-centered desires, egoistic plans and obsessions that do not consider the well-being of others, nor care for the greater good of the much larger community of humankind.
We cannot force God to change this world if we ourselves choose to remain unchanged. Change can take place only if it begins with ourselves, only when we make a resolute decision to reform our lives… and be the change we want to see in others and in society.
Brothers and sisters Advent is not simply a time of passively waiting for the Savior to come. On the contrary it calls us to wake up from our slumber, prepare ourselves spiritually and be ready to welcome the Lord. Our beloved Archbishop Abet Uy told us last Sunday in his homily at Sto Nino Basilica “Pagmata na, kay nakawatan na kamo!” Let us wake up now for we have already been robbed by thieves… yes, trillions of pesos, hard-earned by workers and taxpayers, are being stolen by the very same leaders who spent millions and billions to win the recent and past elections. To our government leaders and public servants who have been involved in corruption, John the Baptist is crying out to you too “Wake up now, for your soul has already been stolen away by the evil one.”
Hence, today’s liturgy presents to us three groups of people who exemplify what real Advent is all about. These people did not remain passively waiting for the Savior to come, but rather, they got up from the comfort of their homes and palaces and journeyed together towards the place where the Messiah was to be born.
The first group was a couple no other than St Joseph and the Bl. Virgin Mary. Together they made the long journey from their home in Nazareth to Bethlehem, the City of David. Through them the Savior of the world was born. The second group was the poor shepherds who, upon hearing a choir of angels singing, journeyed together toward the manger where Christ was born. And last bu not the least, the third group were the Magi who allowed themselves to be guided by a bright star. They travelled together from the east towards the birthplace of the new born King of the Jews.
Just like St. Joseph and the Blessed Virgin Mary, and just like the shepherds and the Magi, we Christians are called to make this journey together as a Church not only towards the place where Jesus is to be born this Christmas, but above all towards the promised land called heaven, our true home and final destination at the end of time.
Let us do this by making a good confession despite our busy schedule. Let us spend some prayerful ME time and consider how our lives can be conformed more and more to God’s will and plan, how we can show more respect to authority, be more patient when we suffer, and be more sensitive to the needs and feeling of others, and be more charitable to the poor, the sick, the suffering particularly the victims of the recent calamities.
To the young people who are here, you are encouraged to continue honouring your parents and the elderly. Offer to them the sacrifice of respect and obedience. But above all do not be afraid to give your YES to God who is calling you to a greater service in the Church as Salesians, consecrated priests, brothers or sisters.
And more importantly on top of all these let us allow Jesus to change us and configure us to his image and likeness through the Holy Communion we will receive, until our hearts become exactly like his own. This I believe is the perfect way of preparing for Christmas. Certainly when Jesus comes again and finds us seriously occupied with this endeavour we will altogether win the golden prize of redemption that we have been longing for. We shall no longer be caught unprepared. GiGsss!
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