Defeated by their enemies, their nation and temple destroyed, many scattered in exile, the Israelites cry out to God, “Why do you let us wander, O LORD, from your ways, and harden our hearts so that we fear you not?”

They had come to realize that it was their own fault that led to their defeat. It was not God who abandoned them. It was they who had abandoned God, wandering from his ways. Now, they seem to want to blame God for letting them wander and hardening their hearts.

Do you remember how Adam blamed God for the sin of eating the apple in Genesis 3:12, “the woman whom you put here..“? We need to take ownership for our sins. God does not cause us to sin. He only delivers “us up to our guilt,” meaning He allows us to face consequences of our sins.

So why does God “let us wander“?

It is not because He decided to abandon us. He has not. He is always present with us. God does not want us to wander but He wants us to have “free will.” Why? Because He wants us to be able to love. Free will is necessary for love. For “love” is to will the good of the other. If we don’t have free will, we can’t will the good of the other.

Why do we wander?

We prefer pleasure and happiness that is immediate. We are often unwilling to wait for the entire joy of Heaven. God has good things in store for us. We need to be willing to wait. “We are sinful…all our good deeds are like polluted rags.” We need the Lord to fix us, to cleanse us of our sins by the power of Jesus’ death on the Cross for our sins.

Knowing our sins and need for God’s help, our responsorial psalm verse today begins, “Lord, make us turn to you.” God will not take our free will from us because He wants us to be able to love. However, that does not stop us from handing our free will over to him, “Lord, make us turn to you.” St. Pope John Paul II once said, “Every generation of Americans needs to know that freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought” (Pope John Paul II, “Homily of his holiness John Paul II” during his Apostolic Journey to America. Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore. October 8, 1995.  https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/homilies/1995/documents/hf_jp-ii_hom_19951008_baltimore.html. 7. ) We make the best use of our freedom when we hand it over to God.

God is the one who has the power to save us. He is the one who always takes care of what He has created if we let him. Don’t let your desires for immediate earthly pleasures stand in the way of what God has planned for you (Jeremiah 29:11), “a future of hope.”

We need to be ready for the Second Coming of Jesus. Jesus tells us, “Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come…you do not know when the lord of the house is coming.” How can we be ready if we do not know the time? The time does not matter if we always live as the Lord teaches. If we truly desire to give our free will over to him, the Lord will keep us “firm to the end.” He is the potter. We are but the clay. We must allow him to form us into what He has created us to be.

I close with these words from the opening prayer for this 1st Sunday of Advent, “Grant your faithful, we pray, almighty God, the resolve to run forth to meet your Christ with righteous deeds at his coming, so that, gathered at his right hand, they may be worthy to possess the heavenly Kingdom. Through our Lord Jesus Christ Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever.“

Peace,

Fr. Jeff