By Martin Jumbam
The Universal Church celebrates Sunday, December 08, 2013, as the second Sunday of Advent in the liturgical year A. In this Mass’ entrance antiphon we pray: “Behold, people of Zion, the Lord will come to save the nations. The Lord in his glory will make his voice heard and fill your hearts with joy.”
The first reading is a famous passage from Isaiah’s Book of Immanuel and is one of the greatest messianic prophecies, familiar in Christian tradition for its lists of the gifts of the Spirit. A new king from the line of David will come bringing peace, justice and reconciliation to all. That king is none other than Jesus Christ, who is announced in Saint Matthew’s Gospel passage by the last of the great prophets, John the Baptist. His message is a clear and loud call for personal conversion in preparation for Christ’s coming. In the second reading from his letter to the Romans, Saint Paul envisions and speaks of the Kingdom of Christ in which Jews and Gentiles will live in harmony because he is God of all. Just as he welcomes everyone to partake of the joys of his Kingdom, Christians must have the courage of perseverance, especially towards one another. In the course of this Eucharist, let us pray for the grace of conversion so we can promote peace, justice and reconciliation wherever we may be today.
First Reading: Isaiah 1: 1-10.
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 loin around his waist, faithfulness the belt about his hips. The wolf lives with the lamb, the panther lies down with the kid, calf and lion cub 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. The 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.
V/ The word of the Lord.
R/ Thanks be to God.
Comment
In each of the Sundays of Advent, the first reading is taken from the prophecy of Isaiah. It is Christian tradition from the earliest centuries to use these passages from Isaiah at and around the Christmas season. Today’s reading is perhaps the most beautiful of those used in this season. It is taken from Isaiah’s Book of Immanuel, which is one of the greatest messianic prophecies, familiar in Christian tradition for its list of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament, the coming of the Kingdom of God on earth is always characterized by the twin themes of justice and peace. Isaiah sees the new David as bringing God’s justice to his people.
The passage has two parts. The first (vv. 1-5) announces that the shoot will sprint from the stump of Jesse (David’s father) at some future date. It announces that a new king will take over the throne of David. He will be endowed with exceptional qualities from the Holy Spirit. He will rule over people not with a heavy hand, like the kings of the time, but with wisdom and understanding.
The second part (vv. 6-9) very beautifully describes the messianic peace that will grow from this new shoot of Jesse. It describes the harmony that existed at the dawn of creation only to be broken by sin. Violence will even disappear from among wild beasts. To Isaiah, peace is a reversal of nature’s ruthlessness. The wolf and the lamb, traditional enemies, are now on friendly terms; the panther is friendly to the kid; the cow and the bear are eating together. The prophet says that peace, as the practical experience of God’s justice, roots out enmity and selfishness, thus making the Messiah’s rule a light to the whole earth.
What lesson can we take from this reading? This passage, by stressing harmony, peace, justice and reconciliation, carries a powerful message for us in Africa today. Every Christian is called to establish harmony and to make peace with his or her neighbor. This passage also makes a special appeal to the leadership in Africa today – be it in Church or in civil society. It calls on our leaders to be peacemakers, to rule our people with justice and wisdom. The obvious problems we have in Africa today are not only due to exploitation by western economic and political powers, but also to our own inadequate leadership.
As the authors of the African Bible tell me, the Church in Africa today should serve as a model to civil leaders, showing a governance which is not wealth-oriented but which is a service, especially to the poor and the oppressed. We pray this day that the Holy Spirit may visit us as we prepare a straight path in our lives to receive Immanuel, God with us, the Messiah, descendant from David. May his kingdom of justice, peace, reconciliation and perfect harmony make his home in our hearts, minds and souls so that we can become true peacemakers wherever we are. May He also enlighten our leaders, in Church and in civil and political life that they may work for justice and peace in our country, Cameroon. Almighty Father, give us the joy of your love to prepare the way for Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.
Second Reading: Romans 15: 4-9.
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 your name.
V/ The word of the Lord.
R/ Thanks be to God.
Comment
As we saw last Sunday, the Letter to the Romans is the longest, most influential and rewarding of Paul’s letters. We also saw that Paul did not found the Church in Rome, which was probably by Jewish Christians from Judea or by Jews who had been converted to Christianity while on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. There was a great deal of traveling between Rome and Jerusalem at that time.
Although Paul never evangelized the Church of Rome, he longed to visit it as Rome was the most important city in his world. He also planned to evangelize Spain and thought the Christians of Rome could be of assistance to him. A fundamental problem facing Paul in his letter is the relationship between Jews and non-Jews, which was not always an easy one. The apostle insists that Jesus was both Messiah of Israel and Lord of the Gentiles.
In the passage selected for our meditation this day, Paul tells the Romans that even though as Messiah Christ came for the Jews, non-Jews too have even more reason for clinging to Christ’s example of unselfish service, since God has shown them even greater mercy and allowed them too to share in Christ’s saving work. It is not God’s intention to favour only the few but, as the Scriptures testify, to bring all peoples into a communion of heart and soul, unity and peace, which reflects the life of God himself.
What message can we draw from this reading? We learn that there is consistency and unity running right through Sacred Scripture, a coherence which integrates both the Old and the New Testaments. Christ’s coming was announced in the Old Testament and it finds fulfillment in the New Testament. By becoming man, God made good his promises to the Jews. By calling the Gentiles into the Church, God’s mercy towards all men is revealed, for his blessings are thereby extended to non-Jews as well.
Let us therefore pray for the spirit of perseverance in prayer and our wishes will be fulfilled. God our Father, you sent your Son to free mankind from the power of death. May we who celebrate the coming of Christ as man share more fully in his divine life, for he lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
Gospel: Saint Matthew 3:1-12.
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 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 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 ax 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 that 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 the threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn; but the chaff he will burn in a fire that will never go out.’
V/ The Gospel of the Lord.
R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Comment
“Behold, people of Zion, the Lord will come to save the nations. The Lord in his glory will make his voice heard and fill your hearts with joy,” so announces the Antiphon of this day’s Mass.
All the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) testify to an important truth: that John the Baptist stands at the beginning of the Gospel. He is the one who marks the end of the time of waiting and the beginning of the new age in Jesus. He is the last of the great prophets, the one who came after a long period when no prophet spoke to the people. The great sequence of prophetic witness had been broken off in the history of Israel and people lamented that the spirit had been silenced. The people had been without a messenger from God to challenge them with the word. However, in John the Baptist the people could see an end to God’s silence. Through John they could hear the word of God again.
Matthew tells us that John the Baptist preaches in the wilderness and that all the people of Judea and Jerusalem make their way to him. This is an extraordinary tribute to John’s power. It is the mark of John’s charismatic power that he can stay in the wilderness and attract people to the place they would normally avoid. It is a portrait of Israel again hearing the word of God in the desert. John is the voice speaking in the wilderness.
John is conscious of his mission to call Israel to repentance and to baptize those who do repent. The people come and listen to him because they believe he speaks the authentic word of the Lord. Those who are moved by his call confess their sins and are baptized by John. John calls everyone to change. When he sees the Pharisees and the Sadducees, the leaders of orthodox religion, he is clearly not impressed by their authority but is blunt and outright in his warning to them that they should not deceive themselves to think that they will be spared because they belong to the chosen people of God.
John calls the whole of Israel without exception to a change of heart. If the people do not change, John says they will be overcome by a catastrophe that will destroy Israel. The judgement of the people will not be carried out by John himself; he speaks of the one who is to come and who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. He warns Israel against its infidelity; the one who is to come will be more powerful and will exercise God’s authority of judgement. That one is Jesus, Son of the living God, who will continue warning of the coming destruction and calling the whole people to a change of heart.
That call is addressed to us. We hear it especially during the time of Advent when as a community we are called to a change of heart. We are probably all aware of areas in our lives that need to be changed and to be touched by the power of God’s forgiveness. We all need to be recalled into the fidelity of our own baptism; we all need to be challenged again by the word of God. Let us hear his word, but more importantly, let us hear it and act on it. This is the best way to prepare for the one who is to come – Immanuel, God with us. Amen.
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