First reading: Is. 2: 1-5
“This is what Isaiah, son of Amoz, saw concerning Judah and
Jerusalem. 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; many peoples shall come and say: ‘Come, let us climb the
Lord’s mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may instruct in his
ways, and we may walk in his paths.’ For
from Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from
Jerusalem. He shall judge between the
nations, and impose terms on many peoples.
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. O house of
Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.”
Second reading: Rom. 13: 11-14
“And do this because you know the time; it is the hour now
for you to awake from sleep. For our
salvation is nearer now than when we first believed; the night is advanced, the
day is at hand. Let us then throw off
the works of darkness [and] put on the armor of light; let us conduct ourselves
properly as in the day, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in promiscuity and
licentiousness, not in rivalry and jealousy.
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires
of the flesh.”
Gospel reading: Mt. 24: 37-44
“For as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the
coming of the Son of Man. In [those]
days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in
marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark. They did not know until the flood came and
carried them all away. So will it be
[also] at the coming of the Son of Man.
Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken, and one will be
left. Two women will be grinding at the
mill; one will be taken, and one will be left.
Therefore, stay awake! For you do
not know on which day your Lord will come.
Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night
when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be
broken into. So too, you also must be
prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”Introductory theme summary:
All of the readings this week address three different dimensions of the hope for the coming of God’s kingdom. In the first reading we have a description of how nations will respond to God’s kingdom when it is fully established. The second reading addresses the reality that our present time is a transitory period for waiting until that time becomes fulfilled; and the Gospel reading specifically addresses the parousia, the second coming, when our Lord does return to consummate the full establishment of God’s kingdom on earth.
It’s kind of interesting that the first readings of Advent, a season for anticipating the very happy celebration of our Lord’s birth, would begin with readings that all point to the much graver reality of our Lord’s second coming. Quite different from the Nativity, anticipating this moment in the future is distinctly sobering rather than filled with excited anticipation.
Even if one is confident of his or her own salvation,
brotherly love should compel all true Christians to an overwhelming concern for
the eternal welfare of all others; especially when one considers the harsh consequences
that will befall all the impenitent. In
truth, if one’s focus is simply on his
or her own salvation, he or she has most likely neglected the condition of
loving one’s neighbor as one’s self, and in reality, such a confidence in
salvation would then actually be a presumption.
Still, this is a difficult perspective to consider in this
day and age where the attitudes of “live and let live,” and “don’t proselytize
me” are so prevalent throughout our society.
In fact, it is a moral obligation for everyone to respect the liberty of
all people’s free will. However, that
dispenses no one from caring for the eternal welfare of other human beings, and
expressing that concern. As true
Christians we are obligated to develop and express such concerns. And, if our concerns are denied, while we
must respect their liberty, we must not deny our Christian responsibility. We are to maintain our concern, but instead
express those concerns through prayer.
That is how every lay Catholic is called to practice his and her
priesthood in Christ.
Now naturally, if one isn’t practicing his or her own faith
sufficiently so as to enjoy some assurance of salvation, then that should
become that individual’s immediate concern without any delay. The second reading helps us, dramatically, to
understand one of the most important aspects of Christianity that is too often
taken for granted. Though Christ has won,
for us, pardon from our sins; no one is exempt from the responsibility of still
conform his or her behavior to moral acceptability. A true faith in Christ cannot respond in any
other way. The motivation for this
conformity is simply humility and gratitude. As if to say: “I need you . . . and, I thank you . . . so, I want to please you, Lord.”
Everyone knows how difficult it is to persevere, especially
when it comes to things as difficult as not sinning. The message in the Gospel reading addresses
this by stressing the importance of not becoming relaxed in our
self-discipline. The secret to achieving
constancy in moral conformity is to become happy
in conformity. When ‘being conformed’
causes greater satisfaction than the temporary pleasure of sin, it then becomes
a simple matter of preference. When such
a preference is fully embraced, the fear in watchfulness will disappear.
The most interesting of the three readings, really, is the
first reading in which we have a description of what kind of world we will
ultimately have when God’s kingdom is fully established. Certainly these passages were written for the
encouragement of the people of those ancient times. However, many Old Testament scriptures
utilize metaphors to explain hidden meanings that are intended for later
generations, while still affording the current generation their much needed
hope. Considering nations have continued
to train for war since those ancient times, the full meaning of this passage
was clearly meant for a later generation than those ancient people.
Unfortunately, an in-depth examination of those metaphors
exceeds the scope of a Sunday homily, so this reflection will not be burdened
with an attempt to explain those metaphors.
Instead I will paraphrase Isaiah while supplementing present day
meanings for the metaphors to convey a present day application accordingly.
Paraphrasing Isaiah 2: 1-5:
In the future Christianity shall become the greatest
religion, having more power than even governments. Nations and peoples will voluntarily subject
themselves to God through Christianity and Catholicism. Christian principals will become the standard
for the world’s values, and Catholicism will successfully communicate God’s
will for all people. Then the Lord
Himself will establish order between all the nations, and they will practice
war no more.
The most important verse of the whole passage is the last
one, yet paraphrased, which reads; “O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the
light of the Lord.” This verse quite
simply means; let “the revelation of the Children of God” (Rom. 8:19) come, so
that life on earth may be enjoyed as God created life to be enjoyed.
Now, if we were be back in ancient times, and were told; ‘out
of Judaism would come a religion that would take its name from a single man
whom people would came to believe in as God incarnate, and that religion would
become so widely spread throughout the world that it would become the largest
in the world,’ we would probably have thought it delusional. Yet, that is precisely what has
happened. Is it really too much to
believe that God can also accomplish a world that does not practice war? I don’t think so. More importantly, I think our Christian faith
obligates us to believe that very thing.
Why? Because these passages in
Isaiah give us that specific testimony, and His word is trustworthy.
Come! Let us practice
our faith, and believe that God can . . . and will . . . do, exactly what He said He will do.
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