They had nothing to lose. . .do you?

2^nd Week of Advent (Th)

Fr. Philip Neri Powell OP

St. Dominic Priory, NOLA

The Kingdom of Heaven is so great that those eager to enter do so violently. John's baptism of repentance and his preaching of the advent of the Kingdom stirs in some a passion to receive all the Father promises. This passion for entering the Kingdom is matched by those who oppose the Kingdom, those who see the advent of the Christ as a threat to their position and power in the world. Theirs too is a violent reaction. Rome fears a king who will oppose the Empire. The Temple fears a Messiah who will challenge its religious monopoly. The Pharisees fear a Preacher who will rival their popularity. Only those with nothing to lose and nothing to hide storm the Kingdom's gate, clamoring for admission. Christ is that gate. Leaving all their sins behind in the waters of baptism, these little ones walk freely into the Kingdom. Their ears heard; their eyes saw. And they were saved. How did they come to hear and see? They had nothing. They were nothing. Nothing in the world, no attachments; nothing to bind them to power, money, or ideology. Once their sins were washed away, they were left with nothing more than a fulfilled desire to be with Christ. If you and I cannot see or hear, who or what blinds us, deafens us? Who or what do we need to lose so to long for the Kingdom of God? 

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