When I go back to see my parents, I usually first catch the train to Birmingham
Moor St, and as the train approaches Moor St, you get to see the work going on
in preparation for HS2.
Birmingham is the second-largest city in this country, and that provides a few
challenges. For one thing, it’s not as if there is already a convenient corridor
that can be used to put the railway into. So they’ve had to demolish a few areas
and they’re also beginning to install supports so the line can go over the top of
some of the buildings and roads below.
Central Birmingham has its nicer areas, but not everywhere is wonderful,
attractive and well-maintained. So they’ve also demolished some of the older
factories and other buildings around the new terminus for HS2. I guess
Birmingham City Council didn’t want people to arrive into the new
Birmingham Curzon Street terminal and think “what a dump!” Neither did
they want the locals to come up with the motto: “Yow aye sin a mess ‘til
yow’ve bin to Brum” (translation: “One has not seen dilapidation until one has
visited Birmingham”).
St John the Baptist makes a slightly different plea tonight/this morning. Rather
than building a high-speed railway line, we have to prepare a way for the Lord
into our hearts, which means that all the junk needs to be cleared out.
Preparing for this homily, I came across a few interesting insights into some of
the words John uses. He says, “Every valley shall be filled”, and this can be an
image for lifting up the lowly, whilst bringing mountains and hills low is an
image of bringing down the proud (see Luke 1:52). Let’s apply that to our
hearts and our lives. How can we raise the lowly? How do we get rid of the
sinful pride from our hearts? Then look at “the crooked shall become
straight”. The words refer to a path being straightened out, but “crooked” can
also mean “corrupt”. We can think of corruption in terms of bribes and dodgy
business practices, but we can extend it to what people might sometimes refer
to as “dysfunctional behaviour”, which is what all sin is, and all thought
processes that justify and promote it.
So we’ve got some converting to do! At least it’s only the second Sunday of
Advent.
On Monday we had the Mass for Len Chapman here in church, and Fr Martin
Flatman preached, having known Len and his family in his previous
incarnation as their Anglican parish priest (Len was a recent convert to the
Catholic faith). One of the things Fr Martin was saying in the course of his
homily was that people sometimes say they can’t think of what sins they might
have committed or what they need to confess. Often, it’s not something that we
have done, but it’s where we’ve failed to hit the mark, what we’ve failed to do
or where we haven’t quite met the standard. I guess especially when we’re
feeling tired and worn out, that is when we are most likely to want to cut
corners, and that’s when we trip up.
There’s also a bit more going on in these descriptions of filling in valleys and
lowering hills and mountains. The Gospel is talking about making a way for
the Lord, whilst the first reading is about a road leading slaves from their place
of captivity back to their homeland, with God walking ahead of them. Sin is a
form of captivity and slavery. Does not Our Lord say in John 8:34: “I tell you
most solemnly, everyone who commits sin is a slave”? If you were a literal
slave, say, in the Roman Empire, you could try to make the best of it, accept
your situation, be grateful that you had somewhere to live and food to eat, and
ignore the other inconveniences. And as a slave, living among other slaves,
this is just “normal” life. Being set free could be disconcerting. What would
you do with your freedom? Where would you live? Where would you find
work? What if you couldn’t find a job or somewhere to live that you could
afford? Maybe freedom’s not worth thinking about. And what would your
friends think? It’s a bit like the story of an eagle that lays and egg among the
chickens. All the chicks hatch out, and the eagle egg hatches too, and the
young eagle learns to behave like all the others do. Then one day, she looks up
and sees and eagle flying overhead. “Look at that” she says. To which, one of
the others replies: “Don’t get any ideas. You’re a chicken, so keep on
pecking.” Society can condition us to acting in ways that are contrary to the
fact that we are children of God, and doing something different can be
daunting. Conversion means leaving behind some ways that are familiar, and
embarking on a new path, one of true freedom, allowing us to be the people
God is calling us to be.
The building of HS2 into Birmingham has meant that some of the old and
derelict buildings just had to go. For the Lord, our hearts need some
preparation too.
Curious about exploring things further? If you would like to ask further questions about the topics raised in these homilies (or maybe think it wasn’t explained too well!), please feel free to e-mail Fr Michael at stjoseph.thame@rcaob.org.uk