Homily for 2nd Sunday of Advent; December 6th.

Let’s get ready to rumble!!! Everyone who has ever tuned in to a big professional fight or special sporting event has heard this announcement. And the man responsible for this well known announcement is Michael Buffer. Never really heard of him have you? This is not surprising as Michael always understood that he should never overshadow the bold proclamation of the big event.

That reminds me of perhaps the most famous announcer in recent memory; a man who’s trademark introduction was heard by millions of Americans every night. And this announcer truly understood his role; to boldly proclaim the real star of the show. So this announcer is most known for the famous: “here’s Johnny!!!” Ed McMahon proclaimed the arrival of Johnny Carson almost every night on TV for nearly 30 years.

Maybe some of us have been in the role of announcing the arrival of an important guest or introducing someone to a group of people? Perhaps in our jobs or civic involvement we have been given the task to announce the guest speaker.

As people of faith, do we announce boldly the coming of our Savior? Do our lives proclaim that we boldly follow Jesus?

Today, we are introduced to a pretty important figure in salvation history; not the one who is to come, but the one who came to announce Him. Of course, I am speaking of John the Baptist, of whom we hear about in today’s Gospel. Every year on the second Sunday of Advent, we hear of John the Baptist. Why? What is so important about his role? What do we know of this John the Baptist?

Of course we remember that John is the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth; he is a cousin of Jesus. He auditioned for his role as his cousin’s proclaimer when he leapt for joy in his mother’s womb upon the arrival of Mary, visiting her cousin Elizabeth and carrying Jesus in her own womb at the time. John went on to live in the desert; the wilderness and proclaimed a baptism of repentance. John plays a central role in our Advent liturgy as we recall Christ’s first coming at Christmas and His definitive second coming at the end of history. We will recall that John was believed to be the Messiah by many. But John never allowed such foolish talk. He always pointed to Jesus.

Luke emphasizes all of this by recalling Isaiah’s prophecy concerning John and the role he was sent to perform. These eloquent words from the Old Testament prophet give us clues as to what we are to do. We are to prepare the way, to level the hills, to straighten the crooked roads and make smooth the rough paths. These are more than mere words or flowery imagery. Literally, all kings in the time of Isaiah traveled on rough roads and dangerous routes. To make the king’s journey safer, servants were sent out ahead of the king to clear a way and eliminate obstacles. John is the one sent to clear the way for the King of Kings. His mission was to prepare the way for the Lord. We pray this every morning in our liturgy of the hours; from the Canticle of Zechariah: “you my child shall be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way”.

For us, we then are called too to fill in our spiritual potholes, to knock down those obstacles to our personal relationship with God, to make a straight path to God’s abundant grace that awaits us and to help others to follow along that same path.

And we are called as well to be that bold announcer. Yes, we too can be a Michael Buffer, an Ed McMahon, dare I say a John the Baptist. Do our words and actions match up? In other words, do we boldly proclaim Christ but put Him away when we are at work, running our errands or watching a close football game with our buddies? Do we boldly proclaim Christ because we like the attention we receive when we do so? Like an Ed McMahon or a John the Baptist, do we truly accept our role as being humble servants? Do we truly wish to serve Christ and show that service by our service to one another? Do we lift our brother and sister not just in prayer but in their need?

As we prepare to journey through the remainder of Advent, and as we prepare to approach the King in the Eucharist that awaits us today, may we truly get ready to rumble as we announce here’s Johnny; John the Baptist that is; as we prepare the way of the Lord!