Commentary
Sunday, 12/9/2018, Second Sunday of Advent
You Can Be What You Want to Be
First Reading Commentary: Baruch 5:1-9
Ever ask a child what they want to be when they grow up? Remember being asked that question when you were a child? Doctor, lawyer, astronaut, famous sports star, famous singer or actor were some of the things that we came up with for answers. Children today are no different.
Ever ask a child who they would like to be or be like when they grow up? Did you ever put a person with your dream? Now with that question, we might hear things like; a famous personality. Oh, what dreams children, have. But those answers always relate to something pertaining to this life.
There is nothing wrong with that and that should be expected from children. It is good for them to have aspirations of achieving great things in life. But most children have not received enough spiritual guidance or education to realize that the best answer is to be Godlike.
That is what the prophet Baruch is telling Jerusalem in the first part of today’s first reading—to be Godlike. The only difference is that instead of asking Jerusalem the question, Baruch tells Jerusalem what being Godlike is.
Being Godlike means letting go of all mourning and misery. Get rid of the crap and replace it with what is truly wonderful—the splendor of glory from God, the cloak of justice from God and the mitre (a crown) that displays the glory of the eternal name. In other words, change your clothes. Take off those old, dirty worn out clothes of mourning and misery and put on new fresh garments filled with splendor. It feels good to look good.
Then Baruch says that God will show the earth Jerusalem’s splendor and that God will name Jerusalem the peace of justice and the glory of God’s worship. Like last week, we hear a prophet referring to Jerusalem but not the one on this earth. The Jerusalem in this prophecy is the Kingdom of heaven and the message is that if we think, act and carry ourselves in a Godlike way; the Kingdom will be ours.
In the next part of today’s prophecy, Baruch tells Jerusalem to stand upon the heights and watch the children of Jerusalem, who were led away, come home to the Kingdom. They will come at the word of the Holy One who is God. In other words, in spite of our many sins which lead us away from the Kingdom, God wants us to be with Him and He will call us and those of us who listen will be with Him.
Finally, Baruch tells us that this will happen because it is God’s command and He will lead us by the light of His glory with mercy and justice for company. Jesus Christ is the Light. The mercy is the forgiveness of sins and the justice is our eternal reward in heaven.
This prophecy gives us a wonderful opportunity to remember that we were created to be Godlike by virtue of the fact that God made us in His image and as a result, we can be anything that we want to be. If we want to be a saint in heaven, we can and we will.
So, What Really Is Important?
Second Reading Commentary: Philippians 1:4-6, 8-11
Paul encourages us to consider what really is important in life. To me, the most profound statement that Paul makes in this part of his letter to the Philippians is: “to discern what is of value.” Paul gives us this advice so that we might be ready for the day that Christ comes again which is the underlying theme in both last week and this week’s liturgy.
But Paul puts a little spin on the message by telling us to discern what is of value. The idea is that if our spiritual life is in order, we are okay. The things that will put our spiritual life in order that are important. Nothing material can do that.
In the beginning of today’s reading, Paul tells the Philippians that he prays for them always because of their partnership for the gospel. That partnership is what is important. That is what is of value. But we cannot pursue what is of value if we do not know what it is.
That is why we have Scripture, prayer, religion, places of worship and let us not forget; the sacraments. If we allow ourselves to stay away from these things, we will not be able to discern what is of value even if we try. We will just wander around and around without knowing where we are going. We will know that we believe in something, but we will not know what that something is.
There is nothing which is more valuable than our love for God and for each other and our committed desire to be with God in His Kingdom of Heaven. To have that love embedded deeply in our hearts and to have that commitment resolute in our desire to be with God, we must be in the Light of Christ which is also the path to heaven.
Consider this: We are all children of God no matter what our religion—how we profess our faith. Whether we identify ourselves as Christian or not, the fact is that if we love God above all other things and love our neighbor as we love ourselves, we are obeying the Greatest Commandments which were given to us by Christ. If we obey those two commandments, we know what is important and we can discern what is of value—the unseen.
Celebrate Completely
Gospel Commentary: Luke 3:1-6
During Advent, we expect to hear readings that tell of the birth of Jesus. However, this year, the readings for the first three Sundays of Advent have a different message. Today’s first two readings point to the last day and the second coming of Christ and today’s Gospel is John the Baptist saying, “Prepare the way of the Lord.”
These readings may seem out of place but the fact is that we cannot appreciate and celebrate Advent to the fullest without keeping in mind the reason why Christ came into this human life in the first place. That is: to fulfill our salvation by making all things new by His life, death and Resurrection.
In the first part of today’s gospel, Luke gives us a history lesson putting into place some of the characters who we will see during the persecution of John the Baptist and again during the Passion of Christ. But let’s focus on the second part of the gospel and the message that John the Baptist delivers.
John the Baptist paraphrased the prophecy of Isaiah found in Isaiah 40:3-5. What I find interesting is that in Isaiah 40:3, Isaiah actually foretold of the coming of John the Baptist who was the voice in the desert that cried out, “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.”
How do we prepare ourselves for the coming of the Lord? Jesus gave us an answer to that question in last week’s gospel, Luke 21:25-28, 34-36, by telling us to pray to His Spirit for strength. The thing is that we can pray all we want but if we fail to take action; our prayers are useless.
We have to bless the Lord which means that we have to make Him happy by giving Him praise and glory. We have to thank the Lord constantly for the many blessings that He has already bestowed on us. We have to live our lives according to His Will and one of the ways that we do that is to respect and take care of what He gives us.
In this case, as it relates to today’s gospel, when the Lord gives us strength, we have to channel it in the right direction and use it in the right way. Some people have a bad habit of using strength to go on a power trip and take advantage of others. When we do this, we are trying to prepare the way for ourselves seeking to fulfill our own self-interests and we fail to prepare the way of the Lord.
Isaiah’s prophecy also foretold of the baptism of Jesus. Isaiah said, “Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all mankind shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” One may argue that this part of the prophecy also foretells of the Transfiguration of Jesus but remember that only three of the disciples were with Jesus when He made that trip up the mountain.
Isaiah’s prophecy was fulfilled when Jesus was baptized. At that moment, the Trinity revealed Itself as the heavens opened up, the Spirit appeared like a dove and the voice of the Father spoke saying, “This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased.”
John the Baptist made Isaiah’s prophecy new by saying, “…and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” With this phrase, John foretold of everything that was to follow. So, as we continue to celebrate this Advent season, let us do so completely. Let’s celebrate the birth of Christ, His life, His death on the cross, His mighty Resurrection and His salvation for us as He brings us into His Kingdom of Heaven on the last day.
