The 2nd Sunday of Advent - Preparing for Salvation

It snowed here in Winchester today, which gave me a lot of time to ponder the themes found in our readings for the 2nd Sunday of Advent. Tomorrow is also the Feast of St. Nicholas. Millions of people know who Santa Claus is, even if they don't know that Santa Claus is really St. Nicholas mispronounced in English from the Dutch, Sinter Klaas. How does all this relate to John the Baptist, you ask? Well, John called people to repent and turn to God; he wanted them to live life in a way that displayed the faith they claimed, or wanted to claim, for themselves. St. Nick was a man, who became a bishop, who lived in such away that he is still remembered today, by many who know little about the Christian faith...this is of course not a good thing one hand...but on the other hand, it shows what living our faith can do...how it can prepare the way for others to learn about the love of God. Many people celebrate Christmas because of Santa Claus - it is our job to work with the secular nature of our culture and link it back to God and to the faith that gave us Christmas...that gave us Jesus Christ.