Dec 4, 2010

Advent: 2nd Sunday - "Make straight his paths"

"A voice cries out in the desert"
Isaiah 11: 1-10             St. John the Baptist: Joan de Joanes (1560)
Romans15: 4-9
Matthew 3: 1-12

Our parish logo offers the following quote from Pope Paul VI: “If you want peace work for justice.” The statement is simple and I believe is right on the mark. If peace is about harmonious relationships between people then justice, the proper balance which addresses the rights of rich and poor, powerful and powerless, old and young, healthy and sick, English speaking and those of another language, the unborn and the born, then “justice” is absolutely essential to the creation of a peaceful society. Other words for justice would be: impartiality, righteousness, evenhandedness, integrity. That is our task not only as citizens of this world but in particular as citizens of the kingdom of God. However, as wonderful as that balance sounds, reality offers us a more sobering vision. We hear much today about enemies and threats of war – far too much.

At this point in our Advent journey, we see the figure of John the Baptist (the dipper) in today’s Gospel from Matthew Chapter 3, who preaches with fiery and authoritative words in the Judean desert: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand! . . .” Then goes on to challenge the religious leaders of his time who come to this water with suspicious intentions: “You brood of vipers!” ( Ouch!) “Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? . . .” Such words not only revealed John’s personal feelings about hypocrisy but all the more endeared him to the general population that was apparently disgusted with corrupt leadership. John essentially compares these Pharisees and Sadducees with the devil himself. It’s a riveting scene.

In contrast, we find the scene Isaiah Chapter 11 paints for us this Second Sunday of Advent startling. Unlike John, Isaiah offers a peaceful hope for the future. A time, “On that day . . .” when, “. . . 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 . . . The cow and the bear shall be neighbors . . . the baby shall play in the cobra’s den . . .” (Is 11: 6-8). Such an idyllic picture, in which the normal friends and foes of the natural order of things are suddenly transformed, brings comfort. When God’s diverse creation will join together in a garden of blended harmony – in the beauty and peace which God originally intended.

What is offered to us today is not two conflicting viewpoints. Rather, it seems to blend in one great promise: “Isaiah speaks of a person: “The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him . . .” (Is 11: 2). That “spirit” is marked by – “wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength, knowledge, fear of the Lord.” Those gifts of the Spirit, Isaiah paints, will become embodied in a person who will display such characteristics and be the source of this new world order.

John, that disturbing figure in the desert who challenged the social order of his time, calls all, including today, to be ready to welcome the one who, “. . . will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire . . .” (Mt 3: 10). Something, better yet, someone is about to change the order of things, to shake up the old balance of friend and foe and open a window to see something new. God will come to visit his people not just in some symbolic spiritual manner; no longer through the voice of prophets or victory for Israel in the ancient battles between those who would threaten their very existence but in a person who would offer a way out; who would show the way to peace, harmony, and true justice between people.

Advent leads us to look beyond what we see and hope for what the possibilities may be in Christ. That his coming opened a window to see something new and in him we see those gifts of the Spirit played out. Are they the mark of our lives? The key, as John the Baptist reminds us, is repentance.

Repentance is the key not to negativity; to give up what I love in order to suffer, but to embrace a new way of living under the rule of God’s reign (Kingdom); by his values and according to his direction.

Our Eucharist is a kind of window – a foreshadow of what eternity will be like. In the meantime, we prepare to find the Lord again in our midst, hidden behind signs of bread and wine but alive and present which calls all of us into a new way.

Maybe a little desert time with the Lord is in order.

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