20221204 FROM MESSIANIC PEACE COMES REPENTANCE AND THE HOLY SPIRIT
04 December, 2022, Sunday, 2nd Week of Advent
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 | Lk3:4,6 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Prepare a way for the Lord,
make his paths straight,
and all mankind shall see the salvation of God.
Alleluia!
Gospel | 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.’
FROM MESSIANIC PEACE COMES REPENTANCE AND THE HOLY SPIRIT
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ISAIAH 11:1-10; ROMANS 15:4-9; MT 3:1-12]
Advent is a season of expectation for peace in the world, for Christ is the prince of peace. This is the theme of the Second Sunday of Advent. But where does peace begin if not with the individual? When there is no peace within oneself, we cause the world to be divided. All division begins from within the individual and not the world outside of us. We must not blame the world but must look within ourselves.
When we look at the Messiah in the first reading, we read that because He is a man of peace, the whole of creation is at peace with Him as well. The first reading describes it in this way, “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 vipers 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.” This is the envisaged paradise of the New World and the New Creation when everyone will live in peace and unity with each other even animals.
How, then, can we find real and lasting peace, especially in times of trials and tribulations?
We must first live lives of integrity. The first reading tells us that the Messiah is a man of peace precisely because He lives a life of integrity. So long as we live double lives, we cannot find peace. When our actions and beliefs do not match, we feel hypocritical and condemn ourselves. To find lasting peace, we must live according to our conscience. It is the lack of personal integrity that causes division in our lives.
For this reason, repentance is always the beginning of restoration. Without repentance of sins and contrition of heart, we cannot find peace. Hence, John the Baptist invites us to repent. The desire to repent and live a life of integrity is the first step towards restoration. Only through repentance will the Prince of Peace enter our hearts. Christmas cannot be a meaningful celebration if we merely celebrate it with merry-making unless Christ the Prince of Peace is born in our hearts.
This repentance is expressed in the confession of sins. Through acknowledgement and confession of sins, we have our sins removed so that the Lord can enter into our lives. We are called to remove the dark areas and rough corners of our lives. Make straight the path for him.
Yes, we seek to straighten our lives. During this season of Advent, we are called to spend some time in the desert with John the Baptist to reflect on our lives and see how we could have done better. There are many sins which we have committed and forgotten. The valleys and mountains and the twisted pathways are symbols of pride, anger, cheating, injustice and falsehood in our lives. There are many areas of our lives that need purification of motives. There are some areas that need alignment with our beliefs. Most of all, there are many people in our lives that we need to thank, to ask for forgiveness and be reconciled with. In this way, our hearts welcome the Lord. To straighten the path means that we need to reform and change our lives.
Once our sins are removed through repentance and conversion of heart, He will send us the Holy Spirit of love and peace. The Holy Spirit is the symbol of fire that purifies and cleanses so that we have peace. It is also a symbol of love and passion. St John the Baptist declares accordingly, “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.” Love is the only way in which we are healed and purified of our impurities. That is why with the repentance of sins, the Holy Spirit will fill us with His love so that He can continue to help us to live integrated and happy lives. Through the Holy Spirit given to us at Baptism, we are given a new birth as His beloved adopted children.
The Holy Spirit will give us a new vision. He will help us to look at life differently. Visions are important. All great things always begin with a vision, a dream. Indeed, the poorest person is not a man without a cent but a person without a dream. So, when the Spirit comes, the prophet Joel says, “old men will dream dreams and young men shall see visions.” (Joel 2:28) This new vision comes from the Holy Spirit who bestows upon us the seven gifts that will modify our intellect and will. These gifts are associated with the Messiah and the messianic times. “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.”
Not only that, the Holy Spirit gives us hope. St Paul says, “Hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” (Rom 5:5) A Christian is one who, like John the Baptist, St Paul and all the rest of the saints, must not only be a dreamer, a visionary but also a person of hope. Without this visionary perspective, we cannot do great things in life. That is why a Christian always lives with hope and never gives up hope. He is never a pessimist, a defeatist or one who simply waits for things to happen.
The Christian believes that with the Holy Spirit, not only are we transformed ourselves but we are given the power to transform lives. Through the joy and love that come from the Holy Spirit, we will bring the love of Jesus to them. Like John the Baptist, so filled with the love of the Holy Spirit already in the womb of Elizabeth, his whole life and mission was to point others to Jesus. His mission was to prepare the Way of the Lord by removing the obstacles in coming to accept Jesus in our lives. We too are called to give hope to the world by giving them Jesus.
Empowered by the Holy Spirit who is the love of God poured into our hearts, we become people of love. We can now become peace makers and offer fraternal love to others, even those who are not so friendly to us and our enemies. With God’s love in us, we will do everything for the glory of God. For peace to be restored, we need to be more giving and forgiving. St Paul urges us to be tolerant of each other. No one is perfect and therefore we cannot expect everyone to live up to our expectations. Therefore, those of us who are strong in the love of the Lord are expected to be more tolerant of those who are weak. This is the secret to a happy relationship. Only when we are not so petty, can there be peace in the family and in our workplace. Indeed, more often than not, many quarrels and misunderstandings are over insignificant matters. We need to be more understanding and accepting of each other’s mistakes and imperfections. By giving way to each other and through long-suffering, we will gradually build trust, understanding and acceptance.
This love in us in a special way must be extended to the poor, both the materially and spiritually poor. We are called in a special way at Christmas, if we claim that Jesus is born in our hearts, to have a heart for the poor because it is for this reason that Jesus came to this earth. The heart of Christianity is to have a genuine concern and love for the poor. There is an obligation to help the poor and especially those migrants in our country who need help, whether in moral, financial or spiritual support.
Through our unconditional love and mercy, the glory of God will be made known. “It can only be to God’s glory, then, for you to treat each other in the same friendly way as Christ treated you.” St Paul reminds us, “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.” Let us learn from our failures and the good examples of those saintly people to walk the path of freedom and truth. Let us not repeat the same mistakes of the past so that we can walk in newness of life with a new vision, confident hope and transforming love. Let the love and peace of Christ be in our hearts so that we can truly celebration Christmas.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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