“One day, old Thierno asked me to serve him a glass of water. When I served it to him, I realised the water wasn’t clean. So I said to him, ‘Old Thierno, give me back the water, I’ll get another glass.’ He held my hand and motioned for me to sit down. Then he asked me, ‘Is it the water that’s dirty, or is it the glass you served me in?’ On second thoughts, I realised the water came from a new bottle I had just opened myself. So, it couldn’t be the water; it had to be the glass. Thierno looked at me and said that this nuance is something that society as a whole does today. Many people think the water is dirty, when in reality the container itself is dirty from the outset.
Many people criticise religion, when in reality the teachings have always been the same, but the people who receive these teachings within themselves are dirty and obscure. Our hearts are the problem. Our hearts are sick and dehumanised, and people do not realise it. How can you expect anything positive or constructive to come from a sick heart? And then we blame God, we blame others, when in reality the problem lies within us, inside us. If a container is not clean, you can put anything in it; the container will make it dirty, no matter how valuable what you put in it is.” (Story adapted by Jean-Paul Guibila from the book by Monique Mazars, A cœur ouvert, Sirius Editions, 2025)
And where do we fit into all this?
The Word of God on this second Sunday of Advent calls us to clear away the obstacles in our hearts. The story of old Thierno reminds us that Advent invites us to be and to act from a clean vessel, that is, from a pure heart nourished by prayer, constant conversion, and active love.
The season of Advent, a time of joyful waiting, helps us understand that this waiting is not the same as inaction and that we should not think we are already saved because we are Christians, or even missionaries. ‘Be converted,’ Saint John exhorts us.
This waiting is the dynamic search for God’s mercy; it is the conversion of the heart; it is the search for the presence of the Lord who has come, who is coming and who will come. The season of Advent, in short, is ‘a conversion that passes from the heart to actions and consequently to the entire life of the Christian’ (Saint John Paul II).
Hope (the theme of the Jubilee Year) fills us with life and consolation, and above all with the certainty of our redemption, accomplished in Jesus Christ. But to wait worthily for the coming of our Redeemer, we must prepare our ‘glass or receptacle,’ that is, our soul. This is why the Gospel puts this urgent invitation into the mouth of John the Baptist, echoing the messianic proclamation of the prophet Isaiah: ‘A voice cries out in the wilderness: prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths’ (Mt 3:3; Is 40:3).
Preparing the way of the Lord means walking a path of conversion (which is above all a personal questioning) through a life of grace, prayer, and worthy reception of the sacraments; through humility, charity, service, forgiveness, generosity in our relationships with our fellow human beings, and a sincere search for God in all circumstances. Moving from installation to uninstallation, from “I” to “we”, with Jesus as our compass.
For our personal reflection and prayer
Old Thierno, in line with the Word of God for this second Sunday of Advent, invites us to introspection: before questioning (challenging) others, let us question ourselves. Let us ask ourselves what kind of vessel we want to be before we seek to receive Jesus, who is born in our hearts. Before proclaiming the Master, let us take off our sandals and be humble, for we are but a small pencil that He uses to write His message of love for humanity. This is the price we must pay to help fulfil the first reading of this second Sunday of Advent (Is 11:1-10).
If we want Jesus to find us well disposed, we must practice authentic Christian living; this means ‘bearing the fruits of conversion’; we must open our hearts wide to Christ, banishing all selfishness, pride and sectarianism from ourselves, breaking down the walls of division, hatred and sectarianism so that He can be born in our souls and in our daily lives as we prepare for the feast of Christmas. His grace is sufficient for us if we believe in it and cooperate with that same grace. As disciples of Christ, we should take up and live out the invitation of John the Baptist, who invites us individually and collectively to be bridges of peace, justice, love and reconciliation for ourselves and for the world. In doing so, we will make the kingdom of God present in human society.
Happy Advent.
By: Jean-Paul Guibila, M.Afr.