Readings: Isaiah
2:1-5; Romans 13:11-14; Mt. 24:37-44
God’s Vision for
Humanity
In a world enveloped in darkness and
dominated by fear, sorrow, sickness, poverty, cynicism, apathy, wars and rumors
of war, Christians are called to be unapologetic optimists. They are to shine
the light of joy, happiness and hope, and restore peace to the world. This is
what Advent is all about. This period of waiting for the Messiah demonstrates
that God is much greater than our collective feeling of sadness and despair. “For
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes
in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” (Jn. 3:16). As the Jews waited
in hope for the Messiah, so we wait! Advent assures us that the birth of Christ
will restore joy, peace and love to our broken world.
This was Isaiah’s vision in the first
reading. “In days to come, the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be
established as the highest mountain and raised above the hills. All nations
shall stream toward it.…He shall judge between the nations and impose terms on
many people. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into
pruning hooks; one nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall
they train for war again.” (Is. 2:1-5). Isaiah predicts that a day shall come
when mankind shall live together and walk together in faith and righteousness
and brotherhood. We pray for the realization of this vision with faith and optimism!
Without our collective desire for peace, we are condemned to the dreadful
prospect of wars succeeding wars until the human race destroys itself. The
words of John F. Kennedy ring true here, “Mankind must put an end to war before
war puts an end to mankind.” We note with sadness that in our world today, the
instrument of war has far out spaced the instrument of peace, and so if mankind
doesn’t pursue peace and peaceful cohabitation with her neighbors, the dark
powers of destruction unleashed by science, can engulf all humanity in planned
or accidental self-destruction. Therefore, Isaiah’s vision is urgent and urged
us to create a world of peace and hope both for ourselves and humanity
Advent calls us to look at God’s vision
for humanity, to consider, to accept and obey Him, or perish miserably. For in
order to experience peace we must acknowledge the supremacy of faith in God.
“It is because the sovereignty of God is acknowledged, and men no longer pay
lip service to it, but are prepared to organize life in keeping with it, that
the whole face of the world is changed.” Secondly, mankind must be willing to
learn the way of life without violence and outwardly pursue peace. And finally,
Isaiah notes that the distrust that man has in negotiating for peace can only
be overcome by trust in God. We say Amen to that!
St Paul, in the second reading, cautions
against waiting till it is too late to live a life of grace. He said, “You know
the time; it is the hour now for you to wake from sleep.” When we sleep, we forget
that we have work to do and places to go. And when we let our guards down we
can easily be surprised by events or calamities. Paul exhorts us to “Conduct
ourselves properly as in the day, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in
promiscuity and lust, not in rivalry and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus
Christ and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.” The flesh,
according to Paul, is our unredeemed self that is always at war with our
spiritual self. Msgr. Charles Pope, in his blog.adw.org, stated that the flesh “Refers
to the part of us that is alienated from God. It is the rebellious, unruly,
obstinate part of our inner self that is always operative. It is the part of us
that doesn’t want to be told what to do. It is stubborn, refuses correction,
and doesn’t want to have a thing to do with God. It recoils at anything that
might cause us to be diminished or to be something less than the center of the
universe. The flesh hates to be under authority or to have to yield to anything
other than its own desires. The flesh often desires something simply because it
is forbidden.” If Advent must be meaningful and anticipate the birth of Christ,
the flesh must be redeemed and submit to the will of God.
The Gospel exhorts us to stay awake for we
do not know when the Son of Man will come. The vision of Isaiah and the
exhortation to be alert will make the preparation for the birth of Christ
fruitful. For during Advent, we do not only wait for the coming of Christ at
his birth, but also for his second coming at the end of time. While we wait, what
sought of people ought we to be? We must be engaged in acts of penitence which
Advent calls for. We must purge ourselves of sins and keep our hearts clean by
making use of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Christ must be welcomed into a clean
house. Our heart is the temple of the Holy Spirit, it is there that God dwells.
We must get rid of malice and malicious thoughts and deeds. Grudges, anger,
resentment and revenge must have no room in our hearts. We must be engaged in
sporadic acts of kindness and compassion; and be committed to a healthy prayer
life and be available to assist others in their needs. May God give us his
grace. Amen!
Action exercise. Advent is a period of 24
days from December 01 to December 24. There are 24 chapters in Luke’s Gospel.
If we read a chapter of this Gospel a day, we would read the 24 chapters of Luke’s
Gospel by December 24. We will be enlightened about Christ’s life and the
reason for celebrating his birth, then Isaiah’s vision will be ours too, and we
will come to understand God’s vision for humanity.
“Don’t
forget to pray today because God didn’t forget to wake you up this morning”
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