Commentary
Sunday, 12/4/2016, Second Sunday of Advent
The Spirit of the Lord Shall Rest Upon Him
First Reading Commentary Isaiah 11:1-10
Isaiah said, “On that day, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom.” This is a prophecy of the coming of the Messianic King who is Jesus Christ, a descendant of Jesse, who will bring a new beginning.
But it is important to note that all throughout Isaiah’s prophecies, he saw something very different from a worldly king. Isaiah recognized and spoke of the Trinity when he said, “The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him.” Isaiah mentioned the Holy Spirit, the Father and the Son in that order.
In speaking about the Holy Spirit, Isaiah made a prophecy about the baptism of Jesus. Isaiah said that the Spirit would be one of wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength, knowledge and fear of the LORD. These are gifts of the Holy Spirit, who descended upon Jesus in the River Jordan and the Father, who spoke from heaven and said, "This is my beloved Son."
The next part of Isaiah’s prophecy is about the final judgment found in the book of Revelations. Isaiah tells us that the Messianic King is the judge, who shall bring justice to the poor and decide aright for the afflicted. Isaiah said that the judge will strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips, he shall slay the wicked. This is a prophecy of the King of Kings found in Revelations 19 and the message is that we will be held accountable for what we say and what we do.
One of the things that we traditionally pray for at Christmas time is peace on earth and good will toward all men. There are several signs of peace in Isaiah’s prophecy. In one of those signs, Isaiah said, "Then the wolf shall be the guest of the lamb."
Wouldn’t it be nice to really have peace—no more war, no more violence on our streets—just perfect harmony everywhere we turn? Wouldn’t it be nice to have no more hatred, racism, bigotry or evil pride where one person looks down on another? If you are an optimist, Isaiah’s prophecy provides good reason to believe that true peace on earth will exist one day.
But this part of Isaiah’s prophecy is not about peace on earth. Instead, it is about the harmonious joy and peace that will exist in the Kingdom of Heaven where there will be no war and no conflict of any kind. The thing is that if we do not strive for world peace in this life, we may not be able to accept the eternal peace of heaven which means that we will miss out.
Isaiah tells us that the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the LORD. We can interpret this in two ways. First, we can take it to mean that the word of Christ will continue to be spread throughout the world as it was by the Apostles. Or we can take it to mean that when we get to heaven, the LORD will no longer be a mystery to us because to be with Him is to know Him.
Next, Isaiah gives a prophecy of Jesus’ instruction to the Apostles to go and teach all nations. When I consider this part of Isaiah’s prophecy, I think of St. Paul who Jesus sent to evangelize the Gentiles. Isaiah tells us that the Gentiles shall seek out the root of Jesse because his dwelling shall be glorious.
This calls to mind how important it is for us to evangelize. There are people who do not know the Lord but would want to follow Him if they only knew Him. If we fail to share our faith, we deny those people. But when we do share our faith, we play a part in fulfilling this part of Isaiah’s prophecy and we also take an active part in the new beginning that Christ brings each time that someone new joins the Church.
A Prayer for Peace
Second Reading Commentary Romans 15:4-9
Today, Paul gives us a message of peace and unity. He is telling us that the Scriptures of the Old Testament are for everyone and not just the Jews. That is because God created all of us and His Kingdom is open to everyone with faith and not just one group of people.
Paul prayed that God grant us endurance and encouragement to have faith in Jesus and share our faith in harmony as we give glory to the Father and the Son. Paul’s prayer is an appeal for people of all religions to come together as one in giving glory to God accepting Christ as the Son. It is a prayer for peace because when the people of every religion come together as one, there will be peace.
Paul tells us to welcome one another for the glory of God. We are really being told to obey the Greatest Commandments because when we love God and we love our neighbor, we give glory to God. God accepts each one of us in, spite of our brokenness and we give glory to God by accepting each other in, spite of our brokenness.
When Paul tells us, that Christ became a minister of the circumcised, he is telling us that Jesus concentrated His ministry on earth toward the Jews. That is because of the Father's covenant with Abraham. However, God’s truth and God’s promise is for all of mankind. Therefore, Christ also came so that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy.
Paul tells us that Christ came for the Gentiles as much as He came for the Jews in fulfillment of the Scriptures and Paul quotes 2 Samuel 22:50 and Psalm 18:50 saying, “Therefore, I will praise you among the Gentiles and sing praises to your name.”
So, as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ, and we say, “Peace on earth and good will toward all men,” let us remember that the peace and good will that we pray for is God’s plan and always has been. God's plan includes our accepting each other and loving each other as we love ourselves and God's plan includes our enjoying eternal peace and happiness with Him in heaven. It is up to us to embrace that plan.
Prepare for God’s Plan—Repent
Gospel Commentary Matthew 3:1-12
John the Baptist fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah who said, “A voice of one crying out in the desert, Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.” Some people say that John the Baptist was Elijah reborn, because of the similarities between them. They both wore camel’s hair clothing with a leather belt and they both lived in the desert region near the Jordan River and they were both servants of God.
But one thing is for certain—John had the mission of heralding the coming of Christ and he fulfilled that mission. He announced the coming of Christ and told everyone to repent. The message of John the Baptist was all about preparing the way for the goodness of the One who came after him, Christ, to enter our lives by getting rid of everything bad in our lives.
He challenged the Pharisees and Sadducees calling them a brood of vipers telling them to produce good fruit as evidence of their repentance and to stop being so proud thinking that they were better than others. In other words, John was telling the Pharisees and Sadducees to stop being false prophets.
John was telling them to stop expecting to be held in high regard above everyone else because they were not the ones to receive glory. John was telling them that they were not so great at all and that all glory belongs to God. This is part of the message that Jesus would later give to the Pharisees and Sadducees when He delivered His Seven Woes. See Matthew 23:1-36.
John the Baptist also gave a vision of Revelations when he said that God could raise up children from stones and that the ax lies at the root of the trees and that every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down. See Revelations 14:15-19. As is true throughout the prophecy of Isaiah, John the Baptist is giving us the message that the coming of Christ on earth is to prepare us for His second coming on the last day.
Humility, is shown by John the Baptist when he admits that there was one coming who; was mightier. Of course, John was speaking of Jesus but John’s humility is the important factor here. John had just rebuked the Pharisees and Sadducees for their pride and he wanted people to know that he was not great either. He said, “I am not worthy to carry his sandals.” John was sending the message that we must all humble ourselves to God.
John the Baptist said, “I am baptizing you with water, for repentance…He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” I want to make three points about what John said here. First, when people were baptized, by John the Baptist, they acknowledged their sins and repented for their sins which is exactly what we do in the Sacrament of Confession. In doing so, they expressed a willingness to be with God and accepted by God. Their baptism by John the Baptist also was a proclamation of their faith in the preaching of John the Baptist which means that they accepted the One who John foretold, Jesus Christ. Therefore, they were saved.
Second, it was Jesus who instituted the Sacrament of Baptism. Some people believe that the sacrament was instituted when Jesus was baptized Himself and others believe that it was when Jesus instructed the Apostles to go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Either way, it was Christ who instituted the sacrament.
The presence of the Trinity in the Sacrament of Baptism is the third point. The Trinity was present at the Baptism of Jesus when the Father spoke from heaven and said, “This is My beloved Son.” The Trinity is present when we are baptized with water in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. In baptism, our stain of original sin as well as the sins which we have committed prior to our baptism are nailed to the cross and washed away with the blood of Christ. We are also granted mercy and forgiveness by the Father and the Spirit descends upon us with His gifts.
John the Baptist did not claim to institute the Sacrament of Baptism. But he did prophesize the sacrament knowing that the Trinity would be present in Baptism. His prophecy is a proclamation of the Trinity and the Kingdom of Heaven. With his prophecy, John prepares us for the coming of Christ by telling us to repent. Christ then prepares us for His Kingdom by giving all of Himself for our salvation.
