Sealed With Hope

2nd Sunday of Advent
05 December 2010


Come, let us worship the Lord, the King who is to come.


First reading Isaiah 11:1-10
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 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.

Psalm or canticle: Psalm 71:1-2,7-8,12-13,17

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 to your name.

Gospel 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 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.’

Reflection
By Pietro S. Albano

“Ang pagsisisi’y laging nasa huli.” (Repentance always happens in the end.) This is an old yet timeless adage often taught us, but often unlearned. Why? It’s because of our human frailty brought about by original sin that prevents us to think before we act. It is because of our tendency to commit sin that hinders us from reflecting before we do things and from judging wisely before we make decisions.

How many times have we uttered “I shouldn’t have said that!” or “Have I chose this I won’t be in this mess!” How many times have we lamented our foolishness? How often have we been unhappy because of our wrong choices? From these feelings of sadness and regret, we become sorry and remorseful. In the end, we become repentant. At times, our repentance seems useless – a loved one has already been lost, an opportunity has been missed, “pera na naging bato pa”. It seems like a dead end for most of us!

This Second Sunday of Advent, the Gospel reading presents to us John the Baptist, a prophet who calls everyone to repentance. Unlike prophets of doom, his message of repentance is sealed with hope: “…for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.”

This message of hope tells us that in spite of our many failures God will come and save us. That our Lord will make us whole. That our Creator will make all things new!

Amidst the excitement that Advent brings, it can also be a season full of challenges. If we accept this salvation/healing/renewal that God’s kingdom will bring then we have to listen to John’s call to return to our senses and be reconciled with God. There is no other way than this; otherwise we will remain away from God. And when we do repent, Jesus will grant us, as John mentioned, the Holy Spirit and fire. God’s Spirit so we can judge, think, and decide correctly and therefore avoid making mistakes. Fire to keep our hearts pure, warm, humble, and zealous to do God’s will. Two essentials in our Advent journey! Two gifts worth looking forward this Christmas!

Lord Jesus, Your coming ushers a time of grace and peace for a world that is in dire need of it. Send forth Your Spirit. Set us on fire so our hearts would be ready to welcome You, the only source of our consolation. We ask this through the powerful intercession of Mary, Your immaculate mother and ours, and of St John the Baptist, Your forerunner. Amen.

Next week on God-speak
The One