The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to contemplate the peaceful relationship we expect in the Kingdom of the Messiah as we ponder the contrast to our daily experience.
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| Relationships in Advent |
The reading from the Prophet Isaiah expresses a longing and expectation of a peaceful Kingdom associated with the return of the remnant of Israel and Judah after the Exile.
* [11:2–3] The source of the traditional names of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Septuagint and the Vulgate read “piety” for “fear of the Lord” in its first occurrence, thus listing seven gifts.1
Psalm 72 is a prayer for guidance and support for the King.
* [Psalm 72] A royal Psalm in which the Israelite king, as the representative of God, is the instrument of divine justice (Ps 72:1–4, 12–14) and blessing (Ps 72:5–7, 15–17) for the whole world. The king is human, giving only what he has received from God. Hence intercession must be made for him. The extravagant language is typical of oriental royal courts.2
In the Letter to the Romans, Paul exhorts patience and self-denial as he proclaims the Gospel is for Jews and Gentiles alike.
* [15:5] Think in harmony: a Greco-Roman ideal. Not rigid uniformity of thought and expression but thoughtful consideration of other people’s views finds expression here.3
The Gospel of Matthew is the Proclamation of John the Baptist concerning Jesus arrival.
* [3:11] Baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire: the water baptism of John will be followed by an “immersion” of the repentant in the cleansing power of the Spirit of God, and of the unrepentant in the destroying power of God’s judgment. However, some see the holy Spirit and fire as synonymous, and the effect of this “baptism” as either purification or destruction. See note on USCCB Bible Luke 3:16.4
Carol Zuegner concludes that our time of hope in Advent can be a time of making straight the paths to our own hearts.
We are waiting for the birth of Jesus, but the birth of what he means in our lives can bloom and flourish every day. It takes work and mindfulness to show that spirit of wisdom and understanding, but the God of endurance and encouragement will work with us.5
Frances Murphy, Editor of Thinking Faith, quotes Pope Francis encyclical Laudato Si, as he summarizes the call in the texts today to contemplate our relationships and pray for the grace of a more open heart in a world where everything is interconnected.
The human person grows more, matures more and is sanctified more to the extent that he or she enters into relationships, going out from themselves to live in communion with God, with others and with all creatures. … Everything is interconnected, and this invites us to develop a spirituality of that global solidarity which flows from the mystery of the Trinity.[3]6
Don Schwager quotes “The voice of the one crying in the wilderness,” by Theodoret of Cyr 393-466 A.D.
"The true consolation, the genuine comfort and the real deliverance from the iniquities of humankind is the incarnation of our God and Savior. Now the first who acted as herald of this event was the inspired John the Baptist. Accordingly, the prophetic text proclaims the realities that relate to him in advance, for that is what the three blessed Evangelists have taught us and that the most divine Mark has even made the prologue of his work. As for the inspired John, whom the Pharisees asked whether he himself was the Christ, he declared on his part: 'I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord' as the prophet Isaiah said (John 1:23; Isaiah 40:30); I am not God the Word but a voice, for it is as a herald that I am announcing God the Word, who is incarnate. Moreover, he refers to the Gentiles as the 'untrodden [land]' because they have not yet received the prophetic stamp." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 12.40.3)7
The Word Among Us Meditation on Isaiah 11:1-10 notes that during Advent, it’s traditional to review stories from the Old Testament that promise the coming of the Messiah. Stories of these ancestors of Jesus illustrate God’s commitment to his plan to save us. It’s a commitment that stretched from the very beginning, through thousands of years, right up to Christmas Day. It’s a commitment that reaches even to the present.
Jesus’ birth has brought about something new and wonderful, and the Jesse Tree illustrates it: a salvation that is far more wide-reaching than we ever could have imagined.
“Heavenly Father, thank you for your faithfulness to your promises! Thank you for making me a part of your family.”8
Friar Jude Winkler relates the hope of Isaiah to how the line of Davidic Kings had messed up. Paul in concluding his Letter to the Romans is witness to many Jews and Gentiles who have turned to Jesus. Friar Jude detects some residual anger in the Evangelist Matthew over the expulsion of Jewish Christians from the Temple.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, cites Living School alumnus Tim King who attributes the United States’ epidemic of addiction to “the failures of religion and of an anemic spirituality.” [2] Fr Richard believes the Twelve-Step programs are a movement of the Spirit in our time. In creating Alcoholics Anonymous in 1935, Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith, with typical American pragmatism, designed a truly practical program that really worked to change lives. Twelve-Step spirituality rediscovered the real transformative power that is the core of the Gospel. It is the spirituality of imperfection that Jesus taught, Paul clarified, Francis and Clare of Assisi lived, and Thérèse of Lisieux brought to light for the modern world. Transformation has little to do with intelligence, willpower, or perfection. It has everything to do with honest humility, willingness, and surrender. Fr Richard shares four assumptions that he makes about addiction.
We are all addicts. Human beings are addictive by nature. King writes: “The question for each of us is not whether we are addicted but how we are addicted, and to what. Denial of the existence of addiction in your life is not a mark of moral accomplishment but a sign of blindness.” [3] ...
“Stinking thinking” is the universal addiction. Substance addictions like alcohol and drugs are merely the most visible form of addiction, but actually we are all addicted to our own habitual way of thinking and doing...
All societies are addicted to themselves and create deep codependency… we have all agreed to be compulsive about the same things and blind to the same problems. In the United States we’re addicted to oil, war, and empire. The church is addicted to its own exceptionalism. The white person is addicted to superiority. The wealthy person is addicted to entitlement and power.
Some form of alternative consciousness is the only freedom from this self and from cultural lies… Prayer is a form of non-dual resting in “what is”; this contemplative practice eventually changes our whole operating system! 9
The King we expect is inviting us to contemplate the stare of our relationships with others, Nature, and God. We are subject to being addicted to patterns that divert us from experiencing the fullness of life to which Jesus calls us.
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