2019년 12월 8일 대림 제2주일(인권 주일)
오늘의 복음 : http://info.catholic.or.kr/missa/default.asp
제1독서
이사야서. 11,1-10
그날 1 이사이의 그루터기에서 햇순이 돋아나고 그 뿌리에서 새싹이 움트리라.
2 그 위에 주님의 영이 머무르리니
지혜와 슬기의 영, 경륜과 용맹의 영, 지식의 영과 주님을 경외함이다.
3 그는 주님을 경외함으로 흐뭇해하리라.
그는 자기 눈에 보이는 대로 판결하지 않고
자기 귀에 들리는 대로 심판하지 않으리라.
4 힘없는 이들을 정의로 재판하고 이 땅의 가련한 이들을 정당하게 심판하리라.
그는 자기 입에서 나오는 막대로 무뢰배를 내리치고
자기 입술에서 나오는 바람으로 악인을 죽이리라.
5 정의가 그의 허리를 두르는 띠가 되고 신의가 그의 몸을 두르는 띠가 되리라.
6 늑대가 새끼 양과 함께 살고 표범이 새끼 염소와 함께 지내리라.
송아지가 새끼 사자와 더불어 살쪄 가고 어린아이가 그들을 몰고 다니리라.
7 암소와 곰이 나란히 풀을 뜯고 그 새끼들이 함께 지내리라.
사자가 소처럼 여물을 먹고 8 젖먹이가 독사 굴 위에서 장난하며
젖 떨어진 아이가 살무사 굴에 손을 디밀리라.
9 나의 거룩한 산 어디에서도 사람들은 악하게도 패덕하게도 행동하지 않으리니
바다를 덮는 물처럼 땅이 주님을 앎으로 가득할 것이기 때문이다.
10 그날에 이러한 일이 일어나리라.
이사이의 뿌리가 민족들의 깃발로 세워져
겨레들이 그에게 찾아들고 그의 거처는 영광스럽게 되리라.
제1독서
로마서. 15,4-9
형제 여러분, 4 성경에 미리 기록된 것은 우리를 가르치려고 기록된 것입니다.
그래서 우리는 성경에서 인내를 배우고 위로를 받아 희망을 간직하게 됩니다.
5 인내와 위로의 하느님께서
여러분이 그리스도 예수님의 뜻에 따라 서로 뜻을 같이하게 하시어,
6 한마음 한목소리로 우리 주 예수 그리스도의 아버지 하느님을
찬양하게 되기를 빕니다.
7 그러므로 그리스도께서 여러분을 기꺼이 받아들이신 것처럼,
여러분도 하느님의 영광을 위하여 서로 기꺼이 받아들이십시오.
8 나는 단언합니다.
그리스도께서는 하느님께서 진실하심을 드러내시려고
할례 받은 이들의 종이 되셨습니다.
그것은 조상들이 받은 약속을 확인하시고,
9 다른 민족들은 자비하신 하느님을 찬양하게 하시려는 것이었습니다.
이는 성경에 기록된 그대로입니다.
“그러기에 제가 민족들 가운데에서 당신을 찬송하고
당신 이름에 찬미 노래 바칩니다.”
복음
마태오. 3,1-12
1 그 무렵 세례자 요한이 나타나 유다 광야에서 이렇게 선포하였다.
2 “회개하여라. 하늘 나라가 가까이 왔다.”
3 요한은 이사야 예언자가 말한 바로 그 사람이다.
이사야는 이렇게 말하였다.
“광야에서 외치는 이의 소리.
‘너희는 주님의 길을 마련하여라. 그분의 길을 곧게 내어라.’”
4 요한은 낙타 털로 된 옷을 입고 허리에 가죽 띠를 둘렀다.
그의 음식은 메뚜기와 들꿀이었다.
5 그때에 예루살렘과 온 유다와 요르단 부근 지방의 모든 사람이 그에게 나아가,
6 자기 죄를 고백하며 요르단 강에서 그에게 세례를 받았다.
7 그러나 요한은 많은 바리사이와 사두가이가
자기에게 세례를 받으러 오는 것을 보고, 그들에게 말하였다.
“독사의 자식들아, 다가오는 진노를 피하라고 누가 너희에게 일러 주더냐?
8 회개에 합당한 열매를 맺어라.
9 그리고 ‘우리는 아브라함을 조상으로 모시고 있다.’고 말할 생각일랑 하지 마라.
내가 너희에게 말하는데,
하느님께서는 이 돌들로도 아브라함의 자녀들을 만드실 수 있다.
10 도끼가 이미 나무뿌리에 닿아 있다.
좋은 열매를 맺지 않는 나무는 모두 찍혀서 불 속에 던져진다.
11 나는 너희를 회개시키려고 물로 세례를 준다.
그러나 내 뒤에 오시는 분은 나보다 더 큰 능력을 지니신 분이시다.
나는 그분의 신발을 들고 다닐 자격조차 없다.
그분께서는 너희에게 성령과 불로 세례를 주실 것이다.
12 또 손에 키를 드시고 당신의 타작마당을 깨끗이 하시어,
알곡은 곳간에 모아들이시고 쭉정이는 꺼지지 않는 불에 태워 버리실 것이다.”
December 8, 2019
Second Sunday of Advent
Daily Mass : http://www.catholictv.com/shows/daily-mass
Reading 1
On that day, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse,
and from his roots a bud shall blossom.
The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him:
a spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
a spirit of counsel and of strength,
a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD,
and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD.
Not by appearance shall he judge,
nor by hearsay shall he decide,
but he shall judge the poor with justice,
and decide aright for the land’s afflicted.
He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.
Justice shall be the band around his waist,
and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.
Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
the calf and the young lion shall browse together,
with a little child to guide them.
The cow and the bear shall be neighbors,
together their young shall rest;
the lion shall eat hay like the ox.
The baby shall play by the cobra’s den,
and the child lay his hand on the adder’s lair.
There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD,
as water covers the sea.
On that day, the root of Jesse,
set up as a signal for the nations,
the Gentiles shall seek out,
for his dwelling shall be glorious.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (cf. 7)Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king’s son;
he shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
Justice shall flower in his days,
and profound peace, till the moon be no more.
May he rule from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out,
and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.
He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;
the lives of the poor he shall save.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
May his name be blessed forever;
as long as the sun his name shall remain.
In him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed;
all the nations shall proclaim his happiness.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
Reading 2
Brothers and sisters:
Whatever was written previously was written for our instruction,
that by endurance and by the encouragement of the Scriptures
we might have hope.
May the God of endurance and encouragement
grant you to think in harmony with one another,
in keeping with Christ Jesus,
that with one accord you may with one voice
glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Welcome one another, then, as Christ welcomed you,
for the glory of God.
For I say that Christ became a minister of the circumcised
to show God’s truthfulness,
to confirm the promises to the patriarchs,
but so that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy.
As it is written:
Therefore, I will praise you among the Gentiles
and sing praises to your name.
Gospel
John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea
and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said:
A voice of one crying out in the desert,
Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.
John wore clothing made of camel’s hair
and had a leather belt around his waist.
His food was locusts and wild honey.
At that time Jerusalem, all Judea,
and the whole region around the Jordan
were going out to him
and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River
as they acknowledged their sins.
When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees
coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers!
Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance.
And do not presume to say to yourselves,
‘We have Abraham as our father.’
For I tell you,
God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones.
Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees.
Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit
will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
I am baptizing you with water, for repentance,
but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I.
I am not worthy to carry his sandals.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
His winnowing fan is in his hand.
He will clear his threshing floor
and gather his wheat into his barn,
but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
http://evangeli.net/gospel/tomorrow
«Let it be seen that you are serious in your conversion»
Fr. Walter Hugo PERELLÓ
(Rafaela, Argentina)
Today, St. Matthew's Gospel presents us with John the Baptist inviting us to conversion: «the Kingdom of heaven is now at hand!» (Mt 3,2)
Many people went to him looking to be baptized and «confessing their sins» (Mt 3,6). But from the whole crowd, John fixes in on some individuals in particular, the Pharisees and the Sadducees, as much in need of conversion as they were obstinate in the denial of such a necessity. It is to them that the Baptist directs the words «Let it be seen that you are serious in your conversion» (Mt 3,8).
Having started Advent, a time of joyful anticipation, we find ourselves listening to John's exhortation, which wakes us to the fact that this wait is not a passive “quietism”, nor that we should think that we are already saved by the mere virtue of being Christians. This anticipation, this wait, is the dynamic searching for the mercy of God, it is the conversion of the heart, it is the search for the presence of the Lord who came, who comes and who will come again.
Advent, in reality is «conversion that crosses over from the heart into action and, consequently, to the eternal life of the Christian» (Saint John Paul II).
We should make good use of this opportune time which the Lord has given us to renovate our option for Jesus Christ, ridding ourselves of all the things that may be in our hearts and our lives that impede us from receiving him properly. The voice of the Baptist still resounds in the desert of our times: «Prepare a way for the Lord; make his paths straight» (Mt 3, 3)
Just as John was seen as a “voice crying in the wilderness”, we Christians are invited by the Lord to be voices that proclaim to our fellow man the desire for a vigilant wait «Prepare the ways, the Saviour approaches and we come out, pilgrims, to meet the Lord. Come, Lord, set us free, come to redeem your people; purify our lives and don't delay» (Hymn of Advent, The Liturgy of the Hours).
http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
This reflection will be coming soon. Until then, here is a reflection from Carol Zuegner on this Sunday in 2013.
We are in a time of waiting, of anticipation, of hope. And the words of Isaiah in the first reading are such vivid representations of that hope: a world where the poor and afflicted are judged with justice. We won’t be judged by our appearances and the world will be infused with a spirit of wisdom and understanding, of counsel and strength. We all want to see a world where the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb and the leopard shall lie down with the kid. These beautiful words instill hope in all of us that the world could be a better place. The images we envision seem beyond our control: How can I help the cow and the bear be neighbors? As these words are a signal to nations, the words are also a signal to my own heart. What can I do to infuse my own corner of the world with a spirit of wisdom and understanding? How can I show a spirit of counsel and strength? In the morning, when I dress, I can make justice a band around my waist and buckle the belt of faithfulness on my hips. I can stop myself from judging by appearances, instead looking beyond what’s on the outside. We all are afflicted and need the grace of God and each other. I can look beyond myself to others.
The Gospel reminds us that we are all crying out in the desert. We need to prepare the way of the Lord. We are reminded that we can count on God’s forgiveness, but we have to act, we have to “produce good fruit as evidence of our repentance.” This is how we make straight our paths, by asking God for forgiveness and hope. We can buckle that belt of faithfulness on our hips and live out the Gospel. We are waiting for the birth of Jesus, but the birth of what he means in our lives can bloom and flourish every day. It takes work and mindfulness to show that spirit of wisdom and understanding, but the God of endurance and encouragement will work with us. Our time of hope can be a time of making straight the paths to our own hearts.
http://www.presentationministries.com/obob/obob.asp
ADVENT TO THE MAX | ||
| "...a herald's voice in the desert: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight His paths.' " �Matthew 3:3 | ||
The purpose of Advent is to prepare the way of the Lord, Who is coming to us in a new personal way this Christmas season. But there are different kinds and degrees of preparation. The Church teaches with John the Baptist that our preparation for Christ's coming this Christmas needs to be very extensive. We even need a baptism of repentance, that is, to be immersed in repentance (see Mt 3:11). Our preparation for Christ this Christmas is comparable to a major excavation where mountains are made low and the fill dirt is used to fill in the valleys so as to make a rough road smooth and a crooked road straight (Lk 3:5). While the world gives us the picture of Santa Claus with a bag of presents, the Church presents the scene of the wild prophet, John the Baptist, driving a Komatsu super earth-mover to bury our sins. Very few of us believe that Christmas is so great and we are so sinful as to require such an earthquake of preparation. However, the Church is right. We need a big Advent to have a true Christmas. | ||
| Prayer: Father, send the Holy Spirit so that I will not minimize but maximize Advent. | ||
| Promise: "The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord." —Is 11:2 | ||
| Praise: "God freed him from death's bitter pangs, however, and raised him up again, for it was impossible that death should keep its hold on him" (Acts 2:24). Alleluia! |
http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/
John points to the coming of Christ and his kingdom
What kind of Messiah did God promise to send to his people and how would he bring God's kingdom to them? The prophet Isaiah foresaw the day when God would raise up a Messianic King long after King David's throne had been overthrown and vacant for centuries. God promised that he would raise up a new king from the stump of Jesse, the father of King David (Isaiah 11:1). This messianic king would rule forever because the Spirit of God would rest upon him and remain with him (Isaiah 11:2).
Isaiah's prophecy of the Messiah
Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would be equipped with the gifts of the Spirit - with wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and fear of the Lord (Isaiah 11:2 - for an explanation of the gifts see this helpful article). This king would establish the kingdom of God, not by force of human will and military power, but by offering his life as the atoning sacrifice for the sin of the world. Through his death on the cross, Jesus, the true Messiah King, would defeat Satan, overcome death, and win pardon and reconciliation for sinners. God's plan of redemption included not only the Jewish people but all the nations of the earth as well. Through his death and resurrection Jesus makes us citizens of heaven and friends of God. The Lord Jesus wants us to live in joyful hope and confident expectation that he will come again to fully establish his kingdom of righteousness and peace.
John the Baptist's prophecy of the Messiah
Why did John the Baptist prophesy that the Messiah would come and "baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire" (Matthew 3:11)? Fire in biblical times was often associated with God's presence and with his action in the lives of his people. God sometimes manifested his presence by use of fire, such as the burning bush which was not consumed when God spoke to Moses (Exodus 3:2). The image of fire was also used to symbolize God's glory (Ezekiel 1:4, 13), his protective presence (2 Kings 6:17), his holiness (Deuteronomy 4:24), righteous judgment (Zechariah 13:9), and his wrath against sin (Isaiah 66:15-16). Fire was also used as a sign of the Holy Spirit's power and presence (Matthew 3:11). When the Holy Spirit was poured out on the day of Pentecost, tongues of fire appeared over the heads of the apostles and disciples of Jesus (Acts 2:3). The fire of the Holy Spirit purifies and cleanses us of sin, and it inspires a reverent fear of God and of his word in us. Do you want to be on fire for God and for the return of the Lord Jesus when he comes again in his glory?
John pointed others to the coming of Christ and his kingdom
John the Baptist's life was fueled by one burning passion - to point others to Jesus Christ and to the coming of his kingdom. Who is John the Baptist and what is the significance of his message for our lives? Scripture tells us that John was filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb (Luke 1:15, 41) by Christ himself, whom Mary had just conceived by the Holy Spirit. When Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth John lept in her womb as they were filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:41). Like the prophets of the Old Testament, John devoted his entire life to prayer and the word of God. He was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness where he was tested and grew in the word of God. John's clothing was reminiscent of the prophet Elijah (see Kings 1:8). The Holy Spirit prepared John for the mission entrusted to him as forerunner of the Messiah, Jesus Christ - the Word of God who became man for our salvation (John 1:1,14). John pointed to Jesus as the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world by offering his life on the cross as the atoning sacrifice for our sins and the sin of the world (John 1:29).
John broke the prophetic silence of the previous centuries when he began to speak the word of God to the people of Israel. His message was similar to the message of the Old Testament prophets who chided the people of God for their unfaithfulness and who tried to awaken true repentance in them. Among a people unconcerned with the things of God, it was his work to awaken their interest, unsettle them from their complacency, and arouse in them enough good will to recognize and receive Christ when he came. Are you eager to hear God's word and to be changed by it through the power of the Holy Spirit?
A new era of God's restoration begins
Jesus tells us that John the Baptist was more than a prophet (Luke 7:26). John was the voice of the Consoler who is coming (John 1:23; Isaiah 40:1-3). He completed the cycle of prophets begun by Elijah (Matthew 11:13-14). What the prophets had carefully searched for and angels longed to see, now came to completion as John made the way ready for the coming of the Messiah, God's Anointed Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. With John the Baptist, the Holy Spirit begins the restoration to the human race of the "divine likeness", prefiguring what would be achieved with and in the Lord Jesus.
John's baptism was for repentance - turning away from sin and taking on a new way of life according to God's word. Our baptism in Jesus Christ by water and the Spirit results in a new birth and entry into God's kingdom as his beloved sons and daughters (John 3:5). The Lord Jesus gives us the fire of his Spirit so that we may radiate the joy and truth of the Gospel to a world in desperate need of God's light and truth. His word has power to change and transform our lives that we may be lights pointing others to Christ. Like John the Baptist, we too are called to give testimony to the light and truth of Jesus Christ. Do you point others to Christ in the way you live, work, and speak?
"Lord, let your light burn brightly in my heart that I may know the joy and freedom of your kingdom. Fill me with your Holy Spirit and empower me to witness the truth of your Gospel and to point others to Jesus Christ."
Psalm 72:1-2,7-8,12-13,17
1 Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the royal son!
2 May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice!
7 In his days may righteousness flourish, and peace abound, till the moon be no more!
8 May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth!
12 For he delivers the needy when he calls, the poor and him who has no helper.
13 He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy.
17 May his name endure for ever, his fame continue as long as the sun! May men bless themselves by him, all nations call him blessed!
Daily Quote from the early church fathers: The voice of the one crying in the wilderness, by Theodoret of Cyr 393-466 A.D.
"The true consolation, the genuine comfort and the real deliverance from the iniquities of humankind is the incarnation of our God and Savior. Now the first who acted as herald of this event was the inspired John the Baptist. Accordingly, the prophetic text proclaims the realities that relate to him in advance, for that is what the three blessed Evangelists have taught us and that the most divine Mark has even made the prologue of his work. As for the inspired John, whom the Pharisees asked whether he himself was the Christ, he declared on his part: 'I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord' as the prophet Isaiah said (John 1:23; Isaiah 40:30); I am not God the Word but a voice, for it is as a herald that I am announcing God the Word, who is incarnate. Moreover, he refers to the Gentiles as the 'untrodden [land]' because they have not yet received the prophetic stamp." (excerpt from COMMENTARY on ISAIAH 12.40.3)
http://www.homilies.net/
2 Advent
Second Sunday of Advent - A Cycle - Matthew 3:1-12
A millionaire announced to Mark Twain, "Before I die, I will go to the Holy Land. I will climb Mount Sinai and read aloud the Ten Commandments." Twain observed, "I have a better idea. You could stay home and keep them."
I introduce this homily on sin with an illustration from a layman precisely because many people do not like priests speaking on sin. Many Catholics no longer buy into the concept of personal sin.
We live our lives in an era which has dry cleaned sin away. How else can one explain that so few of us go to Confession?
Eg, a university professor was arrested for collecting his mother's social security for six years after her death. He didn't understand what was wrong.
Nowadays you must feel guilty about feeling guilty. If you send people on a guilt trip, God help you! No one else will. You will be called a killjoy.
There is one serious problem in this scenario. Jesus and His main man, John the Baptist, speak more often of sin than of love. There are more references to sin in the New Testament than to love.
A novelist says love means you never have to say you're sorry. John the Baptist replies "Rubbish." Why else would John the Disturber have come in from the desert "proclaiming a baptism of repentance that led to forgiveness of sin?" The Gospels tell us people bought his message hook, line, and sinker, repented of their sins, and were baptized.
Today John the Baptist might well be out of a job. He might be locked up for upsetting people's peace of mind and forced to take antidepressant pills.
Young people are being deprived of education in morals by those who should know better - namely, myself, their parents, and teachers.
What message are we sending boys and girls when we allow public school teachers to demonstrate putting condoms on cucumbers and then present studies of the homosexual lifestyle? They advise students with an ear-to-ear grin to practice safe sex whatever that is.
A Catholic professor in a private college told freshmen that in ethics there is no right or wrong, only points of view. Can you imagine what John the Baptist would have to say to him? Infinitely worse, what he would say to us who tolerate this nonsense?
To airbrush sin away is to turn religion into cherry vanilla ice cream. To bury sin with socio-economic buzz words is to sell Christ out. It makes John the Baptist retch.
Good manners demand that for slight offenses we must say to God, "Excuse me." For serious offenses we must say, "Pardon me." The place to find that pardon is on our knees in the confessional. It is only when we say,"I have sinned!" that God can say, "I forgive you." (Joseph Felix)
When Peter denied Christ, he did not say he blew his cool.
He did not blame his defection on bad toilet training. Matthew's Gospel tells us "he went out and began to weep bitterly." Today, if he was caught weeping, he would be forced to take a holiday.
Judas took responsibility for his betrayal of Christ. He did not say, "Hey, give me a break. It's only my first betrayal."
The prodigal son confessed his sins saying, "Father, I have sinned against God and against you." Check it out in Luke 15:21.
The Gospel of Matthew advises us the first command Jesus spoke to a live audience was a stark one worder, "Repent!"
Christ must have taken his repentance cue from John because today's Gospel tells us the first thing the Baptizer said after walking out of the desert was not "Have a nice day!" but "Repent!" God wants us to be like John the Baptizer. He wants us to be a voice and not a whisper, a burning light and not a dying bulb.
Most of us resemble medieval oil paintings. We are covered with years of dust and grime. Confession is the only way out for us.
Some say that when God made John the Baptist, He threw the mold away. This Advent we should pick up our flashlights, find that mold, and squeeze ourselves into it.
To become a contemporary John the Baptizer would be a wonderful gift to present the Infant that we shall shortly salute. Good people are in short supply in our culture.
In this season, we celebrate not what we are nor what we were but what we could be and want to be. (AU)
Do you get the feeling that Confession should be way up there on your must-do list this Advent?
John the Baptist says to us today, "If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up space."
Frjoeshomilies.net
2 Advent
Second Sunday of Advent: Preparing for Christmas
(Please note that the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is transferred to Monday, December 9th, this year and is not a holy day of obligation.)
Last year I decided to put up my Christmas decorations in my house........on December 26th. That didn't work. So, this year I decided to get to them early. I bought a tree on Monday, let it sit in water until Thursday and then performed the most exquisite example on how not to decorate a tree on Thursday. I'm really bad at that, but then again, its better than nothing. So, I'm ahead of last year. A bit.
We all spend a lot of time getting ready for Christmas. There's the gifts, the cards, the decorating, the cooking, the visits to Santa, the children's pageants. Why do we do all this? "Well, everyone else is doing it," you might say. "We can't be the only house on the block without Christmas lights." There's some truth to that. After all we want to join those who are celebrating the birth of Jesus. The gifts are meant to be an ｅxpression of our joy in God's gift of His Son, for He so loved the world. The cards might seem insignificant, but they are really important. Perhaps there might be someone we drop a card to whose life will brighten when they hear from us. And as far as the children are concerned, we want them to be full of joy on Christmas and we need to spend time reminding them why this is a day of joy. The music specific to the Christmas season is important too. The carols get us in the mood to celebrate as they remind us what we are celebrating.
So, there is an importance to all our Christmas preparations. It would be sad, though, if we didn't do the most important preparation: preparing our souls to celebrate the coming of Jesus as one of us.
Maybe we take this granted. After all, we are all concerned Catholics. We wouldn't be here in Church if we weren't. But we do have to be careful that having so much to do in a short time we just presume that spiritually we'll be ready for Christmas.
Think about the Pharisees and the Sadducees who came to John for Baptism in today's Gospel. John is pretty rough on them. He calls them a brood of vipers. They are going through the motions of accepting his baptism of repentance, but they are not sincere. Perhaps they, as always, were concerned with putting on a show of piety. He tells them to prove that they want a change in the world by producing good fruit. He warns them that it is not enough to say that they are children of Abraham. They have to live as God's people.
The real preparation for Christmas that you and I need to make is our determination to turn from evil and sin and hatred and turn to celebrate the one who brings peace and love to the world. We have penance services and increased times for reconciliation to help us turn from sin. We have special charitable opportunities like the Advent Giving Tree and Project Thanks to help us foster love.
We do have to be careful that with all the Advent preparation we make, we don't make the mistake of Befana in a folktale of the Epiphany. Let me read it to you in poetic form:
Befana the housewife, scrubbing her pane,
Saw three old sages ride down the lane,
Saw three gray travelers pass her door,
Gaspar, Balthazar and Melchior.
"Where journey you, sirs?" she asked of them.
Balthazar answered, "To Bethlehem,
"For we have news of a marvelous thing,
Born in a stable is Christ the King."
"Give him my welcome,"
Then Gaspar smiled,
"Come with us mistress to greet the child."
"O happily, happily would I fare,
"Were my dusting through,
and I polished the stair."
Old Melchior leaned on his saddle horn,
"Then send but a gift to the small Newborn."
"O gladly, gladly, I'd send him one,
"Were the hearthstone swept
and my weaving done.
"As soon as I've baked my bread,
"I'll fetch him a pillow for his head,
"And a coverlet too," Befana said.
"When the rooms are aired and the linen dry,
‘I'll look to the babe,"
But the three rode by.
She worked for a day, and a night and a day,
Then, gifts in her hand, she took up her way.
But she never found where the Christ Child lay.
And still she wanders at Christmastide.
Houseless, whose house was all her pride.
Whose heart was tardy, whose gifts were late,
Wanders and knocks at every gate.
Crying, "Good people, let the bells begin.
"Put off your toiling and let love in."
"Put off your toiling and let love in." This is what Christmas is about: letting love in. We are going through a difficult time in the world and in our country. There are, sadly people who think that in certain circumstances bigotry and hatred are acceptable. Right wing groups like the KKK are convinced that they are being good Americans if they hate others. Those in Middle East terrorist groups express their hatred in many horrible ways. Those affected by terrorists think they have a right not only to hate those who attack them but also anyone of the terrorists' faith. More than that, some people think they have a right to hate all people from the Mideast. I was talking to a lady recently who was a Catholic rom Iraq. She told me how difficult it was for her to love when she is continually abused with hateful remarks from people so bigoted that they don't even notice the persecution Iraqi Catholics suffer. It is amazing how hatred and ignorance work hand in hand. Some people who hate act as though they are good Christians. They are not. True followers of Jesus Christ respond to His call to make the Lord's love real in the world.
The world need true Christians now more than ever. The world needs us to celebrate Love Become one of Us, with our determination to end the antagonism and hatred by removing hatred from our own lives.
The preparations we are making for Christmas are important, but nothing is more important than our efforts to Let Love In.
Let love into our lives. Let Love into our world. This is the best way, the true way, the only way that we can celebrate the Child.
Stmaryvalleybloom.org
* Available in Spanish - see Spanish Homilies
2 Advent
Walking with the Afflicted
Bottom line: Asking Mary's intercession to walk with the afflicted and lowly, I now ask you to give your full attention to our CCS witness speaker.
This year the Second Sunday of Advent falls on December 8, the traditional day of Mary's Immaculate Conception. Sometimes people confuse the Immaculate Conception of Mary with the Virginal Conception of Jesus. Let me sum up the difference:
Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Mary is his mother but he has no human father. Joseph is his guardian or foster father. Mary has a human father called Joachim and a human mother, Ann. Her conception was natural. However:
While Jesus is without sin by virtue of being God, Mary is without original sin by virtue of "prevenient grace". Like us Mary is saved by Jesus.
What the Israelites said about Judith applies to Mary:
"You are the glory of Jerusalem!
You are the great pride of Israel!
You are the great boast of our nation! " (Judith 15:9)
Even though Mary is highly exalted, she doesn't seem to spend much time with the rich and famous. She identifies with the lowly and afflicted. In her canticle she declares:
"He has shown might with his arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart.
He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly.
The hungry he has filled with good things; the rich he has sent away empty." Luke 1: 51-53
Like Mary we want to identify with the lowly. Not in some political way as if by our power we could bring about the Kingdom of God. Instead we want to walk with the afflicted - practice what Pope Francis calls "accompaniment". In our parish we do it through our St. Vincent de Paul. This Sunday we have commissioning of our St. Vincet de Paul members.
Also on the Second Sunday of Advent we have an annual presentation on Catholic Community Services. on our behalf CCS reaches out to underserved in Snohomish County and throughout the Archdiocese of Seattle.
Before introducing our CCS speaker let's recall the verse from today's Psalm:
For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out,
and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.
He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;
the lives of the poor he shall save.
Asking Mary's intercession to walk with the afflicted and lowly, I now ask you to give your full attention to our CCS witness speaker:_________________________. Amen.
Alexmcallister.co.uk
2 Advent
Second Sunday of Advent
In the middle two Sundays of Advent we hear a lot about John the Baptist. He is a very important figure in the Bible and in the history of our salvation since he uniquely bridges both the Old and New Testaments. It is not difficult to regard John the Baptist as the very last of the Old Testament Prophets and the picture painted of him in the extract from the Gospel we are presented with today certainly makes him look and sound like one of those prophets of old.
He is very much a man in the model of Ezekiel or Daniel or one of the other rather striking figures we encounter in the Old Testament. John is presented to us as an out of the ordinary kind of person, someone who lives at the very extremes of society but who like the other prophets comes with a very strong and forthright message of repentance urging the people to return to the proper observance of the laws of God.
All the trappings, such as his garment of camel hair and his diet of locusts and wild honey, mark John out as a most extraordinary person. And, although he comes across as rather severe as he proclaims his message, we find that the people respect him for his integrity and they flock to receive Baptism at his hands. The ordinary people clearly recognise that John's message is an authentic one and that it comes from God.
Although John the Baptist is presented to us much in the same way as the other Old Testament Prophets, we need to realise that he is above all the forerunner of all the New Testament witnesses to Christ. In a real sense he is, apart from Mary, one of the very first followers of Jesus.
We are not sure precisely how much of the actual content of Jesus message John accepts or is even aware of. But this is not so important because his role is to clearly point to Jesus as the Messiah, the one who was foretold. In his pointing out of Jesus and by his instruction to the people to follow Jesus John places himself at the very forefront of the disciples of Christ.
John's remarks in the text before us addressed to the Jewish leaders are quite scathing. He calls the Pharisees and Sadducees a 'brood of vipers' because they come to him for Baptism without truly repenting of their sins. He has no truck with these hypocrites and his language towards them is excoriating. He warns them that the Day of Judgement is coming and that on that day they will be answerable for their sins. John seems to equate this Day of Judgement with the actual coming of the Messiah who he says will winnow the wheat from the chaff.
John also suffered a martyr's death. In this he is like many of the Old Testament Prophets, six of whom were martyred including some of the most important; among them being Isaiah, Ezekiel and Jeremiah. This theme of martyrdom is, of course, also a hallmark of the New Testament followers of Jesus, for example we know that all of the Apostles died a martyr's death except John.
When we hear of John's martyrdom at the hands of King Herod we are not surprised. Now that his role of being a forerunner of the Messiah is complete John the Baptist is able to leave the stage wearing the crown of martyrdom. In a way it is fitting that John dies a martyr's death since in this he is able to share the same fate as his master Jesus.
It is worth looking at the first reading today since it is a beautiful and rather poetic prediction of the coming of the Messiah taken from the Book of Isaiah. It opens with the line: 'A shoot springs from the stock of Jesse.' You will all know that Jesse is the father of King David and you will be equally aware that the Messiah is foretold to come from David's house and line.
During this season in homes with children you will sometimes find Jesse Trees. These usually show pictures of the various ancestors of Jesus beginning with Jesse and sometimes showing also the various symbols associated with Jesus or other figures from the Old Testament.
Jesse trees can be pasted on to cardboard or made into mobiles or be in the form of pictures hung from a tree branch. They are good reminders of the origins of Jesus and help us to keep in touch with the themes of Advent. They are an excellent activity for children with inquiring minds since they can lead to good conversations about precisely who Jesus is and what he came to achieve.
The prophecy of Isaiah tells us about where the Messiah will spring from and he gives us also a picture of just the kind of Messiah that he will be. This picture is quite different from the one ordinarily held by the Jews of the time who thought that the Messiah would be a conquering hero who would ensure their victory over all the other races.
Actually, what Isaiah presents to us is a Messiah who will usher in a time of peace and harmony. He predicts that in the age to come all those who are presently enemies will live in friendship and peace will flourish. The 'wolf living with the lamb' and the 'calf and the lion cub feeding together' are very apt representations of the various nations of the world living together amicably.
So according to the Prophet Isaiah, the Messiah is not a warlike figure but rather one who comes to restore justice and to establish peace and tranquillity in the world. In order for us to become part of this new world we would need to seek the forgiveness of our own sins.
You can see the link here with John's Baptism of repentance, because sorrow for sin is the necessary pre-requisite for peace. Sin has caused division in the human family and it needs to be rooted out. It is only when we have openly acknowledged our sins and expressed true remorse for them that we can live peaceably with others.
In Churches throughout the world people will be coming in large numbers during the season of Advent to confess their sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. They do this in order to be able to celebrate Christmas in a truly spiritual way with their consciences cleansed of sin. But also they confess their sins because they so much want to be part of the Kingdom of God, their deepest desire is to belong to this wonderful new realm ushered in by the Messiah.
More Homilies
