2nd Sunday of Advent ~ Year A

Spiritual Reflection

2nd Sunday of Advent ~ Year A (pdf)

“The One who is coming after me is mightier than I am.” Mt: 3:11

One must accept being imperfect, accept being a son for a long time, before becoming a true guide and spiritual father to others. We need to be wary of people who take themselves too seriously and desire to help us too much by cultivating their “idealized image.” Often, these persons need to dominate through admiration and their false perfection. Nothing reinforces them more than to be a model. If we desire to be a true model as master and spiritual guide, we can observe Saint John the Baptist. He is the true model of a spiritual guide: humble because intelligent, transparent as an imperfect and limited being, and joyful not to be the “Bridegroom,” but unaffectedly, “the friend of the Bridegroom.” He detaches himself from his own disciples to direct them toward Jesus.

We are all possessive toward those we like to help, and the most dominating of us are those who think themselves humble and without expectations from others. To think of oneself as perfect is the worst thing. It is not easy to let go and to free people by detaching oneself. It is not always good to be perceived as a model. Then, others could idealize us and, in this way, oblige us to wear a mask that hides our weaknesses and imperfections. A popular proverb says: “One must not take oneself for another.” John the Baptist does not take himself for another. When asked if he were the Christ, he answered: “I am not He. Another one is ‘I am.’” …Certain persons infatuated by their narcissistic selves – not purified through the nights of the senses and the spirit – believe themselves to be light, and desire that others follow them. Only one is the Christ, only one is the Savior. No one can truly give without having learned to receive for a long time, no one can call himself master if he has not first been a disciple for a long time, no one can claim the right to be obeyed if he himself has not obeyed another. No one can be an adult if he has not first been a true child. No one can become a spiritual father without accepting to be a son for a long time…

This is the authentic joy of a spiritual master, or simply a good therapist, or more simply a good father or mother of a family. As with Abraham, one must accept to sacrifice our Isaac, one must refuse to manage others, even our natural or spiritual sons and daughters. One needs to be imperfect and not idealized by others in such a way that they believe us to be the savior of their lives or their group or community. This is the drama of certain founders who, at a certain moment, want to monopolize their community and stop thinking of themselves as “useless servants” whom God desires to use, but who now must disappear so that this child (their community) may grow to mature adulthood. There is grieving when others leave. It is not always easy to accept that the other grows up and might forget us. To accept this without complaining or feeling victimized is certainly a sign of great humility and true spiritual fatherhood. “He must increase; I must decrease” (Jn 3:30), said John the Baptist. One day, possibly, this other that you have helped for many years may not remember all that he owes you, simply because you have done what you needed to do and the other became himself. What you have given him has now become his own good and substance, and not yours anymore. You gave him life, and now he must live. The ideal would be that the other does better than ourselves. That is our joy.

André Daigneault, The Long journey to Serenity, pp. 19-20

 References from the Catechism of the Catholic Church

520 In all of his life Jesus presents himself as our model. He is "the perfect man", 191 who invites us to become his disciples and follow him. In humbling himself, he has given us an example to imitate, through his prayer he draws us to pray, and by his poverty he calls us to accept freely the privation and persecutions that may come our way. 192 

2544 Jesus enjoins his disciples to prefer him to everything and everyone, and bids them "renounce all that [they have]" for his sake and that of the Gospel. 335 Shortly before his passion he gave them the example of the poor widow of Jerusalem who, out of her poverty, gave all that she had to live on. 336 The precept of detachment from riches is obligatory for entrance into the Kingdom of heaven.

Questions for Reflection

1.          In what situation do I struggle to accept my imperfections and what is my usual reaction?
2.          Considering I might interpret that I have been overlooked or forgotten as another grows into adulthood or spiritual maturity, how do I want to respond to God’s will?
3.          In what way can I invite Mary to be my model and help to align with the words and example of St John the Baptist in today’s Gospel? 

Prayer after Sharing

Thank you, God, for allowing me to see the truth about my weaknesses and how it calls upon the abyss of your merciful Love.