Brothers and sisters, it’s a privilege to speak with you today. As we come to the end of our Advent journey, the church shares with us on the Fourth Sunday of Advent a reading from the book of Hebrews.
It says, therefore when Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, ‘Here I am, it is written about me in the scroll, I have come to do your will my God.’”
The reading raises two questions for us. What does it mean to offer sacrifice? What are the sacrifices pleasing to God?
Well we hear Jesus’ words in the Gospels that He thirsts. And what does He thirst for? He thirsts for our misery, our sinfulness, our shortcomings and our wounds. This is what it means to be crucified with Christ. To offer these things that are beyond our control to Him so He can sanctify and purify us.
What does it mean to do the will of God? Well in the Gospel, Jesus says be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect. This is an awesome challenge to us because can we be as perfect as the Father?
Not on our own merits. But we enter into the Father’s perfection when we do His will. We enter into His perfection when we fully love God with our whole mind, heart, soul and strength, and we love our neighbor as ourselves. This is the perfection that our Father so desires from us. And this is what he has given us the grace to live. God bless you.