Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica, Atchison, Kansas

December 8, 2007
Reflection for the Vigil of the Second Sunday of Advent 2007 (Year A)
Matthew 3:1:12

Cecilia Olson, OSB

Hearing this Gospel, I picture one of those good ole Baptist revival meetings with John the Baptist as the flamboyant preacher persuading the assembly with a little fire, hell and brimstone!

One sentence in particular spoke to me in this passage. It was when John, like a prophet in the Old Testament, pointed his finger at the curious crowd and said: “Give some evidence that you mean to reform.” He wasn’t talking about eating locusts and practicing extreme self-denial. He wasn’t interested in the exterior of a person, but the interior. John’s words were a summons to give evidence to a radical change of heart; a conversion, a total turning, a metanoia experience. I found myself reflecting on the evidence I give to such a change of heart and the evidence we give as a monastic community. Do people see me – and us - as persons whose lives are transformed by faith in a God who shares fully in our humanity? Through our monastic profession, we have vowed to give evidence that we hold fast to a distinct vision toward life. Those who encounter us expect to see that this vision makes all the difference in what we do and in what we don’t do. In a keynote address a few weeks ago at the National Formation Conference, Carol Zinn, a Sister of St. Joseph, echoed John the Baptist’s challenge as she called women and men religious to be an energizing and unifying fire in a world too often consumed by the destructive fire of violence and materialism. In her words: “..this is no time for apathy, lethargy, excuses or for immaturity of thought and action.”

When a woman enters our community, we look for evidence that she is seeking this distinct monastic vision and is open to the interior changes such a vision will demand. We would be justifiably concerned if she was resistant to these demands and, if this attitude persisted, we would conclude that monastic life is not for her. Must the same not also be true for each of us? Must we not also constantly be open to embracing the gifts and the demands that accompany the common life? “Give some evidence that you mean to reform”! The fact that the Pharisees and Sadducees could trace their ancestors back to Abraham was no automatic ticket to holiness and John was not hesitant to confront their duplicity and mixed motives. My guess is that John would tell us that the fact we are Benedictines and members of this community is no guarantee to our holiness, but simply an environment and structure in which we can to give personal and communal evidence that we live what our words profess. John reminded the Sadducees that they could not give evidence of God’s reign as long as they were held captive by their elitism and smug separateness; we in turn cannot give evidence of God’s reign when held captive by our prejudices, anger and fears. Sister Joan Chittister in her talk “Remember the Vision; Embrace the Dream” published in the most recent Benedictines, says: “ The question is: “Have we been seized by Jesus or simply employed in some kind of social service system till we retire? If we really think this life of ours is beautiful, if we really want people to join us, we have to stand for something worth joining. What have you questioned lately – and who knows it? For whom has your community spoken lately – and who knows it? What have you stood for lately so that having seen you standing, others may find the heart to stand as well?”

John the Baptist lived with a mindfulness of eternity; he lived with a sense of “holy urgency” and a generous amount of impatience with those who focused on what was shallow and trivial. Do we live with that same mindfulness and urgency? Life passes quickly and we cannot bring back wasted years.

The television show “Extreme Makeover” focuses on the total transformation of a house for a family with exceptional needs. The change is dramatic. This gospel challenges us to a much greater transformation. We are called to an extreme makeover of the heart which only happens when we strive to cast off our deeds of darkness and open our eyes to the light that comes from God. It is only then that we can give evidence both individually and communally that Christ is enfleshed in us and that the reign of God is truly here.

Desmond Tutu says it well: “We believe we are in fact the image of our Creator. Our response must be to live up to that amazing potential.”

© 2007 Benedictine Sisters
Mount St. Scholastica
Atchison, Kansas