A Homily
2019.12.08
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)
The Second Sunday of Advent,
The Feast of the Immaculate Conception
A Holy Day of Obligation
(Year A)
Listen!
Let
your heart be filled with hope, let it overflow.
Consider
the words of the prophet, his encouragement to the people; he speaks with one
eye on the past and one eye toward the future, Isaiah dwells in the midst of
crises and promises the people a return to the way of justice, of peace for the
people, of an end to the violence and conflicts that had come to be an ordinary
feature of life..
Hope
is eternal, and though God, the creator of the universe, though God does not
interfere in our lives or with the order of creation, nevertheless the divine purposed
is draw all things and all people to God’s own self, through the eternal
mystery of God’s own being. If not in this world then in the next.
God’s
promise is real and true, but God will not come to our rescue in this world.
God
has made you and me, God had made us, and the world absolutely free, God will
not intervene in our choices or spare us from their consequences.
Remember
this, God is not a king.
Listen
to the apostle; the teaching of the prophets, of all our sages and seers, consider
the lives of the patriarchs as they are recorded in the sacred texts, they have
one purpose, to furnish hope in the hearts of the people.
Our
path is lit by the lamp of hope, so that in its light we may abandon fear and
find ourselves free to love one another as Jesus taught us.
Our
faith is belief in the things we hope for; a world governed in justice and
mercy, a world at peace.
Be
mindful!
The
understanding of history is a great tool. The Christian tradition has always
attempted to root itself in historical realities, though with greater and
lesser degrees of success.
The
study of our tradition gave birth to modern historical criticism; without
which, as a culture, we would have no understanding of the uses and limitations
of history whatsoever, and that took eighteen hundred years to develop.
Our
stories, our narrative about the life and mission, the arrest and killing of
Jesus are a part of the testimony of our faith. It helps us to locate in time
the singular moment when our cultural commitment to the teachings of Jesus took
place.
We
remember the rule of Tiberius, heir to Augustus, and 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 all parts of the world; that Jesus suffered under
Pontius Pilate, was crucified and buried. This story is told unceasingly and
without end.
It
is long since time that we, as heirs to the ministry and teaching of Jesus,
forgive Pilate for the role he played in that political murder.
John
the Baptist taught us to repent, and be forgiven, but Jesus taught us to simply
forgive, and thereby to accept the forgiveness that has already been issued.
Jesus
forgave those who killed him he asked God to forgive them when he was up on the
cross.
It
is time we do the same.
The
promise of Isaiah, which John echoed in the wilderness, this promise cannot be
realized until we take up our part in it.
God
is the author of our salvation, but we are the agents. It is incumbent on us to
proceed with the healing, if the human race is to be healed.
Remember!
John
the Baptist was a social critic, and that is the role of the prophet, he stood
within the tradition and criticized its institutions.
John
the Baptist was not alone in this, he dwelt on the margins of society along
with those who saw and experienced the same troubles as he did. They were on
the margins both figuratively, and literally, they represented a new movement
and preached a new path for the people. They were so controversial that they
had to do their preaching away from the towns and cities. That is what they
did, the preached in the wilderness and the people came out to see them.
Isaiah
did not foretell the coming of John the Baptist. In fact, Isaiah was not a real
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.
They
foresaw that.
John
did the same thing. He knew his days were numbered, and 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.
That
is still true today.
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 voiced and heard.
Do
not believe that being baptized and being a Christian makes you special. Being
a member of one of the tribes of Israel did not make the Sadducees or the
Pharisees special.
Being
a Christian does not impart a special gift to anyone, only a special
responsibility, a sacred burden to 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.
Do
not be distressed or afraid of the harsh language in the gospel. Do not be
afraid of the fire, because in scripture, fire is a symbol of our encounter
with God. The fire that never ends, the eternal fire burns in the heart of God.
We know this because God, and God alone is the arbiter of the eternal, and
there is no other eternal being who is not God.
Listen!
Our
encounter with God is a moment of transformation, of transfiguration, it comes
to every person, and depending on who you are or how ready you are to experience
it, the encounter might be painful, but it is not destructive.
The
fire of God refines, just as the power of love, and justice, and mercy do.
Be
like John. Preach the faith, love what is good, walk humbly in justice and
mercy.
Spread
the good news; God loves you.
First Reading – Isaiah
11:1-10 ©
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, The Feast of the Immaculate Conception
A Holy Day of Obligation
(Year A)
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