Advent has a way of inviting us to look backward rather than forward. We pull out old decorations and old traditions that trigger old memories. We remember past Christmases and tell stories that define us and others in our family. And sometimes, without meaning to, the stories we remember about ourselves are the ones we thought we’d outgrown, the ones we hoped others, and God, might have forgotten. Our pasts have a way of defining us, comforting us, and embarrassing us.
Some Jews of Jesus’ time had, at least in public, more selective memories. They felt justified and empowered because of who they were, and ignored or justified the negative things they had done. Then John the Baptist stepped onto the scene.
John doesn’t preach nostalgia or reassure people by reminding them of their spiritual résumés. He does just the opposite. “Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor,’” he warns in Matthew 3. God, John insists, isn’t impressed by lineage, labels, or the weight of our past.
Stones can become children of Abraham if God so desires. That’s both unsettling and liberating.
It’s unsettling because it tells us that God isn’t impressed by the fact that our parents were “good Christian people,” that we grew up in the church, or that others believe the carefully crafted identity we present to the world. It’s liberating because God doesn’t define us by our failures, lapses, or imperfections. Advent may invite us to look at the past, but its purpose is to encourage us to focus on the future … God’s future for us and our world.
John calls us to repent — not as punishment for our past, but as preparation for our future. It’s not about shame or regret; it’s about beginning again. The Messiah isn’t coming to dwell in history books. He’s coming to plant something new.
Jesus’ birth changes everything.
Advent reminds us that God is always leaning toward the future, inviting us to do the same. The question Advent leaves us with isn’t, “Who have you been and what have you done?” but “Who are you today and what are you doing now?”
Prayer: God of new beginnings, we so often define ourselves by our past—our mistakes, our successes, our regrets, our labels. Thank you for reminding me that you aren’t concerned by what has been,
but care deeply about what I can be. Help me turn toward you with an open heart, ready to receive the grace of limitless fresh starts. Plant in me your hope and joy, that I may welcome your coming with a life made new. Amen.
