There were a slew of really good animated Disney movies in the 90s and early 2000s, and one of my favorites from that era is “The Emperor’s New Groove.” Beyond its quirky sense of humor and great voice acting, I love this movie because at its core, it is a story about the Emperor’s change of heart.
For those who haven’t seen it, the movie follows a selfish young emperor named Kuzco who is planning to evict an entire village for the sake of building himself a summer resort. Through the machinations of an ex-advisor who hates him, Emperor Kuzco finds himself outcast in the wilderness and transformed into a llama. In order to return to his palace and break the spell, he must rely on the help of Pacha, the leader of the very village he plans to destroy! Pacha agrees to help Kuzco, with the understanding that if he does, Kuzco will spare his village.
A turning point comes when Kuzco tries to abandon Pacha and break his promise. They start fighting with each other on a rickety little bridge, which of course collapses, sending them tumbling into a huge gorge. Wedged together in a narrow space, they must help each other climb to safety. But once they are at the top of the gorge, the ground begins to give way beneath Pacha and he is about to fall to his death when Kuzco leaps into action and pulls him to safety. Then Pacha starts trying to get Kuzco to admit that he did a good thing, and that there is some good in him. Kuzco protests, but Pacha says, “Hey, you coulda let me fall.” And Kuzco angrily replies, “C’mon, nobody’s that heartless.”
But in saying this, Kuzco is suddenly struck by how heartless he actually had been with Kuzco up till then, and now he has a true change of heart. From this point, Kuzco realizes the value of his new friend Pacha and starts acting in the best interests of his friend.
So why talk about an emperor’s change of heart as we celebrate this second Sunday of Advent? Kuzco reminds us of the importance of the lesson from St. John the Baptist, the lesson of repentance which bears fruit in our lives. St. John the Baptist is such a fiery and passionate figure because he has given his all to prepare the way for the coming Messiah. This is evidenced by his very simple life in the desert–eating bugs and honey and wearing rough clothing made of camel’s hair. St. John had a heart detached from worldly pleasures because he knew that his baptism prepared the way for a King whose kingdom is beyond this world, who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire!
So when St. John the Baptist saw the Pharisees and Sadducees coming out to publicly declare their repentance through his baptism, he challenged them to “produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance.” His words sought to motivate these religious leaders to let go of their hypocrisy–outwardly announcing repentance without trying to actually live it out. The Pharisees and Sadducees were in danger of resisting the inward work of God that John meant to bring about through his ritual bath of baptism.
I pray that St. John the Baptist’s challenge calls out to each of us in our own hearts this day. We wear purple in Advent and Lent because both of these seasons afford us the opportunity for repentance and reconciliation through the grace of Jesus. Too often, we go through our lives spending so much time trying to bear worldly fruit that our hearts lose track of the spiritual fruit we are made to bear. So the Church gives us this penitential season to remind us of Who and What we are made for. We are made to welcome the coming of Christ, just like St. John the Baptist and all of those who received his baptism of repentance to prepare their hearts more fully for Him. Already, with the repentance John preached, Jesus’ grace was preparing people’s hearts to be set on fire with the Holy Spirit.
We are in an even better place than those whom St. John scolded in the Gospel today, because we have had the opportunity to encounter the One whose sandals St. John wasn’t worthy to carry. Jesus has come to each of us, inviting us to live in the newness and goodness of His grace. For those of us who have been baptized, the fire of the Holy Spirit, which St. John points forward to, is already in our hearts. But too often we let those flames cool, dim, and even go out.
For us, the call is similar to the Baptist’s challenge to the Pharisees and Sadducees–to bear fruit as Disciples of Jesus. Our fruitfulness will blossom the more we lean into repentance and reconciliation. The privileged place for this is in the Confessional, where we can bravely bare our wrongs before the Merciful Judge and receive His healing and grace to live more fully in Him. That is how we can live out this Season of Advent well, by welcoming the coming of Christ into our hearts through a deeper spirit of repentance. The more we allow God to set us on a new path through the Sacraments, the more He will amaze us by causing the fruits of the Spirit to spring forth in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. How awesome will this time of year be if we, as a parish family, open our hearts more fully to the Holy Spirit to let Him bear more of these fruits in us! Come Holy Spirit!
Think back to our friend Kuzco. His turning point came when the generous self-giving love of another freed him to respond with his own love. Pacha’s love helped Kuzco repent of the selfishness that had cut off his heart from others. This turning point then helped him to bear much fruit through loving action. When we come to God, especially in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, this is exactly the opportunity we have. Face to face with His abundant, overflowing mercy, all we need to do is let in this overwhelming love to change our hearts. Change of heart leads to changes in how we live. True repentance and reconciliation leads to lives of fruitfulness. So let’s take that opportunity during this season to more fully lean into repentance so that as we approach Christmas, our lives will bear more fruit in loving action for God and others.
+ Heavenly Father, help us be more aware of our need for your love in the Advent Season. Jesus, help our hearts repent from those things that separate us from Your love. Holy Spirit, please open us more and more to your fire, especially in the Sacraments, so that our lives will bear abundant fruit through your work in us. We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen. +