Sunday Homilies by Fr. Rudolf V. D’ Souza

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Second Sunday of Advent
December 9, 2007 Year: A
Is 11:1-10; Rom 15:4-9; Mt 3:1-12
Preparing the way of the Lord

First Reading...

"On that day:
A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.

He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide by what his ears hear;
but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist,
and faithfulness the belt around his loins.

The wolf shall live with the lamb,
the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze,
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder's den.
They will not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.

On that day the root of Jesse shall stand
as a signal to the peoples;
the nations shall inquire of him,
and his dwelling shall be glorious." [Is. 11:1-10]

Second Reading...

"Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.

May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in order that he might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, "Therefore I will confess you among the Gentiles, and sing praises to your name." [Rom. 15:4-9]

Gospel Reading...

"In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.' This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, 'The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.''

Now John wore clothing of camel's hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, John said to them, 'You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our ancestor'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.'" [Mt. 3:1-12]

I remember during my fourth year theological studies in Mangalore St. Joseph Seminary (1986-87) one of the professors teaching us Sacraments, and precisely on the importance of baptism made the reflections. He said that once we receive baptism we will be saved by all means. God will continue to work in us. Well, the Berlin Wall or Iron Curtain had not yet fallen but I remember the professor saying that President Mikhail Gorbachev had been baptised and our faith tells us his baptism must make a difference.  His grandmother had him secretly baptised by a Russian Orthodox priest.  His grandmother/mother put an icon of Jesus on the wall in every room in the house.  Gorbachev’s father was a staunch Communist and put a picture of Stalin next to each picture of Jesus.  For some reason or other the lecturer’s words about President Gorbachev’s baptism stuck in my mind and three years later when I was studying in Spain (Avila) the Berlin Wall fell on 9 November 1989.  Then on 1^st December 1989 I watched President Gorbachev being driven into the Vatican to meet Pope John Paul II.  The two met and spoke in the Pope’s private library for seventy minutes.  That is the power of the Holy Spirit received at baptism.  Baptism counts.  Baptism makes a difference.  

GOSPEL INTRODUCTION:
There was conflict between the followers of John the Baptist and the followers of Jesus in the days of the early Church. The Baptist’s people claimed superiority because Jesus had once been a disciple of the Baptist and had been baptized by him. The Jesus’ people responded with stories in which John was presented as preparing the way for the coming of Jesus. The debate no longer concerns us today. But we do see that, whether intentionally or not, John did clear the way for Jesus because he preached a decisive change in history. He was the most powerful of all the apocalyptic preachers at a time when everyone was expecting change. The change which came with Jesus was not the one that people expected, probably not the one John expected either. But his warning that it was a time for “metanoia,” a word meaning “total transformation” was valid for his day and for us too. We are called upon during advent and indeed through our whole lives to transform ourselves, to break out of our old habits and begin life again as a new person. We may not be able to do it perfectly. We will make mistakes and fall back into old ways, but it is enough to respond continually to the invitation.

Story:
Once upon a time, a pastor invited his parishioners to participate in special mass to which he invited representatives of the local Muslim community. He invited the Muslim guests and the parishioners to a gathering in the church hall after the liturgy. He hoped that once the parishioners became acquainted with people of a different faith tradition who lived beyond the boundaries of their upper middle class neighbor, they might respond to the challenge to respect other religious traditions. However, some parishioners were irate that the pastor had invited non-Christians to the liturgy – after all they did not belong to the parish and had no business being at the mass. Indeed some of the irate parishioners left their local church and joined another parish, making sure that its pastor would not expect them to mingle with people of a different faith. Those who remained in the parish developed a deeper appreciation for the beliefs of their guests and also learned from them that they, too, had members who questioned to hear that they would attend a Catholic liturgy. All at the gathering agreed that both of their traditions call for respect of the beliefs of others.

Wilderness is always fearful, lonely, and suspicious. Hence, there is fear all over. If you find a path in the wilderness you are to a certain extent going to be happy, that you will reach a place of safety. John the Baptist cries to prepare a way for the Lord in the wilderness.

How do we live: Wilderness of fear, anxiety, depression and tensions. Hence, going out of the wilderness is trying to make a path. Get out of the wilderness through a path. Path requires that we work hard.

The first reading for this Sunday is taken from the book of the Prophet Isaiah. During the time of Advent, we read the Prophet Isaiah almost every day. So who was Isaiah? Briefly, let us say that he lived in Jerusalem during the eighth century before our era, that is to say around the year 750 before Jesus Christ. According to rabbinic tradition, he was the brother of King Amaziah. In any case, according to the Bible of Maredsous (1990 edition), “he seems to have belonged to a notable family of Judah” (p. XLI).  Seized by the Spirit of God, Isaiah raised his voice against all the sins of his time. In light of today’s liturgy, we can compare him to John the Baptist, who preached a baptism of repentance to all the People of God (cf. gospel).

So, announcing the coming of the Judge of all men, Isaiah prophesied to his contemporaries about the imminent coming of the Messiah: There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse - Jesse was the father of David (1 Sam 16:1) - a branch shall grow out of his roots. But he wanted to specify what was essential to the mission of the Messiah: The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him... So what was the promised Messiah to do? Nothing other than to pour out the Spirit of the Lord over all the earth, over every man, over every woman, in the measure of each person’s conversion to God, his Creator and Master! Thus, everyone will be united and in peace with each other, having realized unity and peace through conversion.

The importance of this passage of Isaiah 11:1-2 was pointed out by Pope John Paul II, who wrote: This text is important for the whole pneumatology of the Old Testament, because it constitutes a kind of bridge between the ancient biblical concept of “spirit,” understood primarily as a “charismatic breath of wind,” and the “Spirit” as a person and as a gift, a gift for the person.  The Messiah of the lineage of David (“from the stump of Jesse”) is precisely that person upon whom the Spirit of the Lord “shall rest.” (Servant of God John Paul II, Encyclical on the Holy Spirit, 18 May 1986, no. 15)

Who will receive the Spirit of God? Who if not he or she whose spirit is entirely disposed to receive it. For the Spirit of God is the Spirit of Love! And no one can welcome love other than through love! So it is thanks to the conversion of our heart and soul that the Spirit of God, who rests on Christ, will come into us, here below, and for all eternity.

Isaiah, speaking of the Spirit, continues with these words: with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.

Righteousness shall be the girdle of his waist, and faithfulness the girdle of his loins.

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His power. Put on the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God." [Eph 6:10- 17]

Accordingly, we must "Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight." [Mt 3:3] The Gospel of Matthew [Mt 3:1-12] began by telling us that Saint John the Baptist proclaimed a baptism of repentance in the wilderness of Judea. In the desert of Judea, there is a steep slope that falls from the central ridge of the country to the valley of the Jordan and the Dead Sea. According to Catholic tradition that has been handed down, when reference is made to baptism in the Jordan, it indicates that St. John the Baptism preached near the river, most likely not far from Jericho.

Saint Matthew, as is his custom, seeks to show us how the prophecies of the Old Testament find their realization in the New Covenant. Here, he takes up this passage of Isaiah which speaks of John the Baptist: “A voice cries in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” (Is 40:3)

Scientists say that certain deserts are growing daily, such as the Sahara desert or the one in Australia. Are there not other deserts that are growing in our modern societies?  Where are the John the Baptists who announce the coming of the Kingdom of God? I do not hear them...

Let us not forget these words of the Lord: “When the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Lk 18:8) Let us ask the Virgin Mary to pray with us and for us!

Preparation for Christmas means: 

• Trying to understand others, especially your family members

• God speaks to us through many ways, even through our children

• Preparing the way for the Lord, means also keeping a clean heart

• Trying to be aware of the poverty and misery around us

• Being content with what gives us daily

• Trying to extend a helping hand to those who are in need

• Becoming more active in our Church programs

• Becoming a SCC animator

• Trying to visit the community at least during this Advent

Well, practical points can be many more, but one thing, during this Advent make a good confession of sins, so that your Christmas will be a joyful, inner disposition to accept the Lord Jesus. AMEN

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