Advent - Chanukah: Season of the Divine Light

On this Second Sunday of Advent, we read these words that John the Baptist cited from the Book of Isaiah (40:3)- Prepare the way for the Lord! (Luke 3:4) And, Handel also used this for his famous Oratorio, "Messiah".

Upon being reminded to remain vigilant in our preparation for the arrival of the Messiah (in reality, it is Parousia, but in memory, it is Christmas) on the First Sunday of Advent, we are now know that preparing for the arrival of Christ means to make the way for the Lord to come.

Today, at sundown, it is also the beginning of the 8-day celebration of Chanuka in the Jewish tradition. It is the festival of miraculous light kept burning in the temple, symbolizing God's providence and the Jewish victory over the Greek invaders in 165 BC. With their joy, thanksgiving and praising to God, they rededicated the Temple to God. So, this Second Sunday of Advent is also the beginning of the Jewish festival of light and Temple rededication.

Advent is also a season of light to Christians, as the world gets brighter and brighter as Christ comes nearer and nearer to us. So, both Christians and Jews share our delight in God's light.

So, our Advent challenge to ourselves is: How well are we constructing the way of the Lord, who is the light to the world? Are we removing all the obstacles to the light to reach us? What are these obstacles that block Christ the light?

It is our sins that we may not recognize or we refuse to get rid of.

For us to make the way of the Lord, we must re-examine our heart, repent, and make new clean heart. That is why the liturgical color for Advent (except for the Gaudete Sunday, which is the Third Sunday of Advent) is purple, as it is during the Lenten season.

Let us make sure that the way of the Lord we make has the best light conductivity, as we remove our sins!