“Dear friends in Jesus, one day a lady came to the late psychologist, a newspaper columnist, Dr. George Crane seeking rewards from her husband. This is what she told him, ‘I not only want to get rid of him, but also want to get even with him. Before I divorce him I want to hurt him as much as he has hurt me.’ Dr. Crane thought for a while and thought of this brilliant advice. This is what he said, ‘Go home and act as if you really love your husband. Tell him how much he means to you. Praise him for every decent quality he has. Go out of your way to be as kind, generous and considerate as possible. Spare no adverse to please him. Make him believe you really love him and once he’s convinced of your love for him, drop the bomb. Tell him you are getting a divorce. That I’m sure would hurt him a lot and helps you get even before you get your divorce.’ She was so happy with his advice that she implemented it right away. She began showing him love and making him happy in every way she could. She stood by him in good times and in bad. She made sure he lacked nothing whatever. She made him a priority. She made his happiness, her happiness. She gave herself completely to him. About two months later, Dr. Crane called her and asked, ‘How close are you to your divorce? Have you dropped the bomb yet?’
‘What divorce?’ She shot back. ‘My loving actions for two months deepened my love for him and now I do really love him.’
Dear friends in Jesus, repeated actions can help us form habits. If we repeat good actions over a period of time we form good habits and if we repeat bad actions we form bad habits. The season of Advent is a God given opportunity for us to form some good habits as well as strengthen some of the good habits we already have by practicing them over and over again. These will be our gifts to Jesus when he comes to visit us on the day of Christmas. Today’s readings give us an insight into some of the habits we can cultivate and deepen in this holy season of Advent. The Gospel says, ‘The Word of God came to John, the son of Zehariah, in the wilderness.’ Notice where John the Baptist is. He’s in the wilderness. That is where he lives and that is what he calls his home. The wilderness, this dear friends is the first habit we’ve got to cultivate in this holy season of Advent. We got to go daily into the wilderness. To be in the wilderness is to be alone with God. It means to leave everything behind for a while, our jobs, our families, our problems, our concerns, our surroundings and focus our attention on God and God alone and what happens when we are in the wilderness with God every day of this season of Advent. As in the case with John the Baptist, the Word of God comes to us revealing who we are and what we should do in life. It comes to us revealing who God is, what His will is and how detrimental sin is. Wilderness is also the opposite of civilization. John the Baptist turned his back on the civilized villages, towns and cities and fell in love with the uncivilized wilderness. Do you know the reason why he preferred to be uncivilized? It is because he feared civilization would pull him away from his faith in God. This dear friends is another habit we can cultivate in this season of Advent to be wary of the world of civilization which reduces Christmas of a holiday season and deprive it of its holiness.
In the first reading we see the prophet Baruch making a difference in the life of Jerusalem by filling it with hope. Jerusalem is very sad because her children are taken away as exiles to Babylon. She’s so sad that she stops eating, drinking and adorning herself with ornaments. Mourned with pity, Baruch comforts her with his consoling words. ‘O Jerusalem,’ he says, ‘Take off your garments of sorrow and put on the garments of joy. Stand up on the heights and look to the east. You have no reason to be sad anymore. The Lord God is thinking of you. He is bringing back your children from their slavery.’ The words of Baruch give joy to Jerusalem. Sad Jerusalem becomes happy Jerusalem because of the comforting words of the prophet. This dear friends is another habit we’ve got to cultivate and practice in this holy season of Advent, making a difference in someone else’s life by filling them with hope. Decide to make at least one person happy before the end of this holy season of Advent.
In the second reading we hear St. Paul praying for the Christian community at Philippi. He prays that they grow in love and knowledge. He prays that they have the ability to choose what is right. By his prayers, St. Paul could bring about a change in their lives. The Bible tells us that the Christians of Philippi never lost their faith, hope, charity, unity and joy despite their persecutions. This dear friends is another habit we can practice in this season of Advent, praying for Christians all over the world so that their faith grows stronger withstanding the gravitation of the world around. Let us pray today that God helps us cultivate these good habits as our preparation for Christmas. Amen.”