When you read the newspapers, sometimes you feel ashamed to be a human because of war, atrocity, dead, killing, tears and fears. The prophet Isaiah had a vision of how things could be.
The vision is for peace and harmony among all people where the wolf and the lamb living together. Leopard lying down with kids, calf and lion browsing together with little child guiding
them. The baby playing with a cobra. No harm for the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord.
This is a vision which gives us hope, courage not to give up on life. The marvelous vision of the peaceful kingdom in which all violence has been overcome and all the people live in a loving
unity with nature calls for realization in our daily lives and not only on Christmas.
Every time we:
- Forgive a neighbor
- Make a child smile
- We show compassion to a suffering person
- Take care of animal and our environment
- Work for peace and justice among peoples and nations
we are making this vision come true.
Saint Paul in the second reading invites us to “treat each other in the same friendly ways that Christ has treated you”. That will make a difference. It is easy to be critical or judgmental,
looking down at other people. But if we do as Saint Paul suggests us we will make the world a more hopeful place.
In the Gospel, Matthew introduces John the Baptist as the herald foretold by the prophet Isaiah, the one who prepared the people to receive the messiah. And the lonely voice of John
the Baptist is exhorting us to prepare a way for the Lord. This preparation is a clear message of repentance as he says “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand”.
Repentance is a great call of the Christian faith though it looks muted in our day. For the confession line is now short which is good if our conscience tells so, but we cannot beat our
chest to be that holy. Let us prepare a space in our minds and hearts so that the Lord can come to dwelt among us.
Through his way of life, John reminds us of our baptism and the crucial role of the holy spirit in our lives. If we allow him, the Holy Spirit will renew in our lives our vision of Jesus, the word of
life and truth.
On this second Sunday of Advent, let us pray that the Lord may enlighten our paths and strengthen us in our journey of conversion.
Scripture Readings:
Is 11:1–10 • Rom 15:4–9 • Mt 3:1–12