THE BETHLEHEM CANDLE: A SYMBOL OF PEACE

Simply put, repentance and reconciliation are basic requirements to welcome Christ at Christmas.

Today we light the second candle of the Advent wreath, which is known as the Bethlehem Candle, a symbol of peace. Like the prophecy Candle, the Bethlehem Candle is purple in colour, which liturgically signifies repentance and royalty. This Candle helps us recall the preparation Mary and Joseph made before the birth of Jesus Christ, travelling from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the first population census, in order to fulfill the words of the prophet.

The parents of Jesus lived in Nazareth, but God wanted His promises to be fulfilled and so used the Emperor Caesar Augustus, who issued a decree that a census be taken of the entire Roman world. This made Joseph go up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David (his ancestral town), to register with Mary who was betrothed to him and was expecting a child (Luke 2:1-7). God had earlier spoken through His prophet Micah saying, “But you O Bethlehem, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times” (Micah 5:2).

In a time like ours we hear the sounds of war around the world, the liturgy of today reminds us that peace is not the absence of war. There are many that need peace of mind. Forgiveness and true repentance bring peace and leaves us ready to welcome the Lord whenever He comes. In view of this, we hear the voices of two great prophets foretelling the coming of the Son (Incarnation) and emphasizing on the same theme, “Prepare the way for the Lord…” In a different manner, St. Peter calls it “The day of the Lord” (1Pt 3:10). Certainly, we know Christ will come again in majesty (Parousia), but how soon and how prepared are we?

Last Sunday, the Prophet Isaiah brought to us hope in Christ’ coming when the prophet prayed that God tears down the heavens and come down quickly to save the heart broken people of Israel, which was realized in the incarnation (God took flesh and dwells among us). Through the prophet, God speaks to us this week saying, “Comfort my people, comfort them. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended…” (Is. 40:1).  God wants His messengers to speak comfort to His people. Comfort comes with tender words spoken to the heart like a young man wooing his girl (Gen 34:3).

At the point of distress, suppression, intimidation and oppression like the case of our dear country Nigeria, what the people want to hear are consoling words from the ministers of God, passing through their exiles, both bloody and un-bloody war in life. So many hearts are full of hurts and it is important for these hurting hearts to hear a word of comfort from God’s ministers. In as much as we may never lack audience when we preach to broken hearts, in no way should we deceive God’s people. Rather, let it be in the heart of every minister that “God will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arms, he will carry them in his bosom and gently lead those that are with young” (Is. 40:11). Whoever does not love or have the flock at heart cannot keep to these words. God’s messengers must speak to the heart.

Interestingly in the first reading is the voice that cries in the wilderness, “Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God” (Is 40:3). In some developed cities where roads pass through rocks as needle passes through cloths, such construction could give us a better view of this passage. The idea is that whatever seems to be wrong with the road must be corrected. It takes an expert in engineering to construct such roads, penetrating rocks to construct road or tunnel. There is something much more than this; it is the construction of the road to the hearts, a heart that knows how to love and forgive. The heart is where the real preparation of advent must take place. The heart is the Bethlehem, the manger where Christ will be born on Christmas day. Even if the heart is as terrible as Nigerian roads, it can be constructed.

Similarly in the Gospel, the last prophet before Christ, John the Baptist speaks of this preparation while preaching a baptism of repentance and forgiveness of sins. He cited Isaiah, the great prophet of old saying, “Prepare the way for the Lord, make his path straight” (Mk 1:3). Simply put, repentance and reconciliation are basic requirements to welcome Christ at Christmas. This is what Advent is all about, preparing us to receive Christ. This is what the prophets Isaiah and John emphasized on when they spoke of the coming of Christ and His Incarnation. This is what the Apostle Peter meant when he spoke of the coming of Christ in majesty, the day of the Lord like a thief.

St. Peter in the second reading tells us “The Lord is not slow about His promise as some count slowness, but is forbearing towards you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance…” (2Peter 3:9). He assures us that Christ will certainly come. God will keep His promise, and without delay according to His timing. Man’s timing is “Chronos,” that is, sequential while the process of calculating God’s timing is “Kairos,” that is, timeless or ageless; it is a moment or period. Biblically, Kairos is considered as the time required for conversion or repentance.  It is on this note that Peter said, God does not wish that any should perish but that all should reach repentance. Christ also affirmed this when he said, “…the kingdom of God is close at hand, repent and believe the good news” (Mark 1:15). At this point, Peter reveals to us some of God’s glorious and loving heart. That Christ has not returned in majesty is that all should come to repentance because God is not willing that any should perish. Peter’s statements reflect God’s heart of love for the world in John 3:16, and his compassionate sorrow even in the righteous judgment of the wicked just as Ezekiel 33:11 “I have no interest in the death of the wicked…”

The two great prophets: Isaiah and John the Baptist emphatically urges us to “Prepare the way for the Lord…” Let us not get carried away with the flashy things that come with the season of Christmas and miss the true meaning of it. Of course, this is the time to light the candle of peace in our hearts, it is the time to care for the broken hearted and the time to be brothers and sisters to each other. It is the time to reconcile ourselves with God and man, for reconciliation bring peace. Maranatha!

Happy Sunday!

Fr. Ken Dogbo, OSJ