The Second Sunday of Advent (Year A)
A Homily - 2022.12.04
First Reading – Isaiah 11:1-10 ©
Responsorial Psalm – Psalm
71(72):1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17 ©
Second Reading – Romans 15:4-9 ©
Gospel Acclamation – Luke 3:4, 6
The Gospel According to Matthew 3:1 -
12 ©
(NJB)
Listen!
Let
your heart be filled with hope, filled to overflowing; let it flow.
Consider
the words of the prophet Isaiah, reflect on the encouragement he shares with the
people, speaking with one eye on the past and one eye toward the future.
Though
Isaiah is in actuality a fictional person, and the writings attributed to him
should be designated as belonging to a school of thought, these writings
nevertheless represent the real concerns of real people dwelling in the midst
of crises over numerous generations. The School of Isaiah serves as a beacon of
hope and promises the people a return to the way of justice, to the way of
peace, an end to the violence and conflicts that had come to be an ordinary
feature of life in the land.
Hope
is eternal and though God, the creator of the universe, though God does not
intervene in the order of creation, the divine purpose is present in all times
and places, in all things and beings. Through the eternal mystery of the divine
will, God draw the whole of it to God’s own self
God’s
promise is real and true; there is a way toward justice and peace, and the end
of violent conflict, but do not take this to mean that God will not come to our
rescue in this world.
God
made us the world, and we in it, absolutely free, God will not interfere in the
choices we make or spare us from their consequences. We are fragile creatures
and we live by each other’s leave, and at each other’s mercy; God will not
interfere with that but God has lit the way and provided for us that we may
understand it. If we listen to our heartbeat, we can hear its rhythmic calling.
God
is not a king, a dread-lord…or even God, as we have come to believe…
Listen
to the apostle; listen the teaching of the prophets, give some mind to our
sages and our seers; consider the testimony of the patriarchs and judges as
they are recorded in the sacred texts; their lives had one purpose, to furnish
hope in the hearts of the people.
The
path before our generation is also lit by the lamp of hope, it is the same hope
shed by the divine for the same purpose, shared with us , who are the same
people, so that in its light we may abandon fear and find ourselves free to
love one another as Jesus taught us.
Faith
is trust, it is marked by a willingness to believe in the that which we hope
for; a world at peace, where justice is never justice without mercy, and where
those called to govern, govern with humility.
Be
mindful!
For
two thousand years the normative mode of the Christian tradition has (at least)
attempted to root itself in historical realities, with greater and lesser
degrees of success. The importance of understanding history cannot be
underestimated, including, most especially, it limitations.
It
should be celebrated by Christians everywhere that the deep and dedicated study
of our tradition in the modes of textual and narrative criticism is what gave
birth to the fields of literary criticism and modern historical criticism, from
which was developed the fields of dialectics and de-constructuralism, as well
as all modern and post-modern theory, without which we would be culturally bereft
and have no understanding of the uses and limitations of history whatsoever.
Our
stories and narratives about the life and mission Jesus, his arrest, torture
and murder are a part of the testimony of our faith. These narratives allow us to
locate in time, as a historical reality, the singular moment when for Christians
the principle commitment to the teaching of Jesus took place.
Through
our story we recall the rule of Tiberius, heir to Augustus, we recall the reign
of Herod, and governance of Pontius Pilate. We recall the role that Pilate
played in the killing of Jesus, we shout it out at every hour of every day, in every
part of the world; at every mass that is held we say the words: that Jesus
suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified and buried; this story is told
unceasingly…it is the story that never ends.
It
may be time to say something else.
As
heirs to the ministry and teaching of Jesus we might consider forgiving Pilate,
and Judas, and Herod, and the Sanhedrin for the role they played in that
political murder.
Jesus
forgave them, our story also tells us that.
Our
theology tells us that he died for the sins of the world; we all have a hand in
that, each and every one of us, all of us who have ever been and who will ever,
so we can all take a little responsibility there, and let the poor players off
the hook.
John
the Baptist taught us to repent, and be forgiven, but Jesus taught us to simply
forgive, and in so doing, accept the forgiveness that has been granted us, to drink
from it, like a fountain overflowing with hope.
Jesus
forgave those who killed him, asking God to forgive them, broken as he was hanging
from the cross.
He
pointed the way, and it is time we followed.
The
promise of Isaiah, the school of thought to which both John and Jesus
belonged, the promise which John sang out in the wilderness, the promise which
Jesus proclaimed on the mountain, that promise
cannot be realized until we take it up and do our part. God is the author of
our salvation, but we ourselves are the agents, and it is incumbent on us to
proceed with the healing, if there is to be any healing at all.
Remember!
John
the Baptist was a social critic, and to be a social critic that is the role of
the prophet, he stood within the tradition and criticized its institutions. John
was not alone in this, he dwelt on the fringe of society along with those who
saw and experienced the same troubles as he did. He and his people were on the
margins both figuratively and literally; they belonged to a community at Qumran
in the desert, and Qumran provided the foundation for a movement to form. John preached
a new path for the people, a new and intentional way of life; his little
cousin Jesus came along after and showed us how it was to be done.
They
were so controversial that they had to do their preaching away from the towns
and cities. They took to the wilderness and the people followed them.
Now
let’s get real:
Isaiah
did not foretell the coming of John the Baptist. As stated, Isaiah was not a
real-life historical-figure, but the school of Isaiah, those who wrote in his
name, they offered their criticism of their tradition, and assured people that
when they were gone others would come…others would come, others like John and
Jesus would surely come…they foresaw that.
John
did the same thing when he knew his days were numbered, he knew another would
come after him. He might even have known that Jesus of Nazareth would pick up
his work, but that fact is unimportant, because he knew that if not Jesus, then
another would follow; sooner or later another would follow…this is always true.
The
prophets are among us, they are preaching and teaching and pointing out the way. The prophets are present in
every generation. The voice of the prophet is present in the heart of every
human being; waiting, nascent, patient, desiring to be heard.
Do
not believe that being baptized and being a Christian makes you special; being
a member of group, belonging to an organization, coming from a certain family,
having membership in a clan or tribe or identifying with any other
proto-nationalistic nonsense does not make a person special; no matter how
highly you and others regard that group.
Being
a Christian does not impart a special gift to anyone, only a special
responsibility. Being a Christian means that you have accepted the sacred
burden of speak with the voice of a prophet, to demand that the unjust be just,
to kindle hope in the hopeless, and to be merciful toward the outcast.
This
is the way: serving the good, loving
justice and being merciful to all of those within your power, or whom you have
the power to help; there is no other way.
Do
not be distressed or afraid of the harsh language that you might sometimes
encounter in the gospels. Do not be afraid of the fire, rather discover what it
means, because in scripture, the encounter with fire is always a symbol of our
encounter with God. The fire that never ends is the eternal fire that burns in
the heart of God; it is the fire of creation. We know this because God, and God
alone is arbiter of the eternal, and there is no eternality without God.
Our
encounter with God, whether in fire or water, or sewage and vomit, our
encounter with God by whatever means it occurs is a moment of transformation, of
transfiguration for every person; the encounter might be painful depending on
who you are or how ready you are to experience it, the encounter may be painful
but it will not be harmful, because the divine purpose is destructive but
restorative.
The
fire of God refines, just as the power of love refines, and justice and mercy
do.
Remember
to be like John: preach the faith, love the good, walk humbly in the world,
serve justice with mercy all the days of your life.
Spread
the good news; God loves you.
A Shoot Springs From the Stock of
Jesse
A
shoot springs from the stock of Jesse, a scion thrusts from his roots: on him
the spirit of the Lord rests, a spirit of wisdom and insight, a spirit of
counsel and power, a spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
(The
fear of the Lord is his breath.)
He
does not judge by appearances, he gives no verdict on hearsay, but judges the
wretched with integrity, and with equity gives a verdict for the poor of the
land.
His
word is a rod that strikes the ruthless, his sentences bring death to the
wicked.
Integrity
is the loincloth round his waist, faithfulness the belt about his hips.
The
wolf lives with the lamb, the panther lies down with the kid, calf and lion
feed together, with a little boy to lead them.
The
cow and the bear make friends, their young lie down together.
The
lion eats straw like the ox.
The
infant plays over the cobra’s hole; into the viper’s lair the young child puts
his hand.
They
do no hurt, no harm, on all my holy mountain, for the country is filled with
the knowledge of the Lord as the waters swell the sea.
That
day, the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples.
It
will be sought out by the nations and its home will be glorious.
Responsorial Psalm – Psalm
71(72):1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17 ©
In his days justice shall flourish,
and peace till the moon fails.
O
God, give your judgement to the king,
to a king’s son your justice,
that
he may judge your people in justice
and your poor in right judgement.
In his days justice shall flourish,
and peace till the moon fails.
In
his days justice shall flourish
and peace till the moon fails.
He
shall rule from sea to sea,
from the Great River to earth’s bounds.
In his days justice shall flourish,
and peace till the moon fails.
For
he shall save the poor when they cry
and the needy who are helpless.
He
will have pity on the weak
and save the lives of the poor.
In his days justice shall flourish,
and peace till the moon fails.
May
his name be blessed for ever
and endure like the sun.
Every
tribe shall be blessed in him,
all nations bless his name.
In his days justice shall flourish,
and peace till the moon fails.
Second Reading – Romans 15:4-9 ©
Christ is the Saviour of All Men
Everything
that was written long ago in the scriptures was meant to teach us something
about hope from the examples scripture gives of how people who did not give up
were helped by God. And may he who helps us when we refuse to give up, help you
all to be tolerant with each other, following the example of Christ Jesus, so
that united in mind and voice you may give glory to the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
It
can only be to God’s glory, then, for you to treat each other in the same friendly
way as Christ treated you. The reason Christ became the servant of circumcised
Jews was not only so that God could faithfully carry out the promises made to
the patriarchs, it was also to get the pagans to give glory to God for his
mercy, as scripture says in one place: For this I shall praise you among the
pagans and sing to your name.
Gospel Acclamation – Luke 3:4, 6
Alleluia, alleluia!
Prepare
a way for the Lord,
make
his paths straight,
and
all mankind shall see the salvation of God.
Alleluia!
The Gospel According to Matthew 3:1 -
12 ©
The One Who Follows Me Will Baptize You
With the Holy Spirit and Fire
In
due course John the Baptist appeared; he preached in the wilderness of Judaea
and this was his message: ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.’
This was the man the prophet Isaiah spoke of when he said:
A
voice cries in the wilderness:
Prepare
a way for the Lord,
make
his paths straight.
This
man John wore a garment made of camel-hair with a leather belt round his waist,
and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem and all Judaea and the
whole Jordan district made their way to him, and as they were baptised by him
in the river Jordan they confessed their sins. But when he saw a number of
Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism he said to them, ‘Brood of vipers,
who warned you to fly from the retribution that is coming? But if you are
repentant, produce the appropriate fruit, and do not presume to tell
yourselves, “We have Abraham for our father,” because, I tell you, God can
raise children for Abraham from these stones. Even now the axe is laid to the
roots of the trees, so that any tree which fails to produce good fruit will be
cut down and thrown on the fire. I baptise you in water for repentance, but the
one who follows me is more powerful than I am, and I am not fit to carry his
sandals; he will baptise 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 the
barn; but the chaff he will burn in a fire that will never go out.’
The Second Sunday of Advent, (Year A)
