The Unauthorized Homily

By Bill Dunn

A commentary on the Scripture readings from the Sunday Lectionary

(Scripture readings for Sunday, December 10th: Baruch 5:1-9; Philippians 1:4-6, 8-11; Luke 3:1-6)

THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION IN THE WORLD

In this week’s gospel reading, Luke describes John the Baptist’s rather unusual ministry. John traveled through the whole region of the Jordan, and as foretold by the prophet Isaiah, he was, “A voice of one crying out in the desert: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord.’”

John’s main purpose was to get people to prepare for the coming of the Messiah. He proclaimed “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”

The main purpose of the Advent season is very similar: to get us to prepare to celebrate the coming of Christ.

If no one alerts people to the coming of the Lord—if no one prompts them to prepare and be ready—then when He does come, they most likely will miss it.

God gave John the Baptist a very important mission when He inspired him to be the herald announcing the coming of the Lord. We, the family of the church, also have an important mission to announce to our families and friends that the Messiah is coming.

I admit, this whole Christmas season thing can get pretty repetitive and tedious. (When you were a kid, didn’t it seem like you had to wait 10 years for the next Christmas, but now as an adult, it seems like Christmas rolls around every 10 minutes?) It’s easy to go through the motions or focus exclusively on the secular aspects of the holiday.

But if we don’t reinforce the true meaning of Christmas, year after year, along with the true meaning of Easter, year after year, then our loved ones and friends may grow up ignorant of the identity of Jesus, and as a result, will be completely in the dark at the most crucial moment in life.

Recently I re-discovered a wonderful book. It is titled Fundamentals of the Faith (1988, Ignatius Press) by Dr. Peter Kreeft, a professor of philosophy at Boston College. It’s been a number of years since I pulled this one off the ol’ bookshelf, and I had forgotten what an insightful book it truly is.

In his chapter on Heaven, Kreeft explains that the most important question we will ever face is: “What must I do to be saved?”

In other words, how do we get to Heaven? What is the entrance ticket to the eternal hereafter? At that most crucial moment in life—that is, at the moment of death—we will find out whether we had the right answer, and it is most definitely a pass-fail test.

Kreeft says, “I am horrified to report that I’ve asked this question of hundreds of Catholic college students, and far fewer than half have known the answer. This means that the Church’s religious education has been not a failure but an inexcusable disaster. Most reply either ‘God is good to everybody’ or ‘I’m basically a good person.’”

He continues, “If anyone out there is unsure of the correct answer, then for the love of God get out your Bible and study for your finals! To save you time—since you may die while reaching for your Bible—I will quote God’s scandalously simple answer to the most important question in the world, how to get to Heaven: ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved’ (Acts 16:31).”

When it comes to this most important question in the world, our modern culture tends to take two approaches: we either ignore it completely or over-complicate it.

Many people are so focused on the present, they don’t have time to think about the end of their lives, let alone next week. It’s that Scarlett O’Hara “Fiddle dee dee, I’ll think about it tomorrow” attitude. Unfortunately, tomorrow often comes, as St. Paul said, “Like a thief in the night,” catching us totally by surprise. At that point, it will be too late.

Others are really convinced, deep down inside, that they will never have to face death. I’m not sure how they’ve reached this conclusion since the data from the last 5,000 years of recorded human history offers the following results – Death: 100%. Avoiding death: 0%.

On the other hand, some people confuse the whole issue, insisting that a series of complicated rituals, rosaries, and rites are required to “earn” our way into Heaven. Well, a lot of these things can be a beneficial boost to our spiritual lives, but they are not the ticket to Heaven.

Let’s take Kreeft’s advice this week. Let’s grab our Bibles and discover God’s scandalously simple answer to the most important question in the world. As it says in the one verse that summarizes all of Scripture, John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

That is the entire reason we prepare during Advent for the coming of Christmas Day. That is the message we must pass on to our families and friends.

©2006