Sunday Gospel Reflection, December 7, 2025: There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain!

There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain!
Are we ready for new life? 

    When, in Matthew’s Gospel, John the Baptist preaches in the desert of Judea, he attracts all kinds of interest, even though his message is not an easy one: Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand!, he cries. In biblical texts, the desert is often a place of transformation, barren, yet open to new life coming forth, a place where metanoia (conversion) is possible. To repent – as those coming for baptism must learn – is to see with clear vision the sins of the past, to acknowledge the divisions one has created, to mourn them and then rise from them: only then can new life come forth from that which has been barren. 

   This world in which what seemed dead will bear fruit is clear in the beautiful poetry of the prophet Isaiah, who foretells that a shoot will sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots, a bud shall blossom -- Jesus, the Son of God. In this description of the Messianic promise, Isaiah describes a remarkable transformation, a new world where justice and faithfulness trump wickedness, and enemies can come together in peace – wolf and lamb, leopard and kid – for there shall be no harm or ruin on this holy mountain, God says. Isaiah’s message of new life is echoed in Psalm 72: Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace forever. 

    Yet this transformed world is still not ours. Paul tells the Romans that by endurance and by the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope, fostering the kind of harmony that Isaiah describes, where all can glorify God with one accord. For harmony refers, musically, to two notes sung at the same time that resonate with one another. Likewise, our reading of the Scriptures teaches us that all we do affects those around us: Welcome one another, then, Paul says, as Christ welcomed you. In our quest for new life, may we strive above all for harmony, remaining open to the transformation to which we are called during this season of Advent, heeding John’s call to repent, turning from sin to love, letting that love circumscribe our existence, and glorifying God as we do. 

This "vintage" post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com

Sunday Gospel Reflection, December 8, 2024: Prepare the way of the Lord!

Prepare the way of the Lord!

But how do we prepare? 

    The first two weeks of Advent are a curious time. We want to be preparing for the birth of Jesus, but our Sunday readings focus primarily on the parousia, Jesus’ second coming into the world. In either case, we need to prepare for the revelation of God in Jesus. How? Through reconciliation and transformation! 

    Addressing the people of Israel in exile, the prophet Baruch exhorts them to change their (metaphorical) clothes from head to foot: take off your robe of mourning and misery; put on the splendor of glory from God forever! The prophet is inviting the people to reconciliation and transformation, with the promise that, if they align themselves with the Lord, God will show all the earth their splendor and lead Israel in joy, back not only to their land, but to right relationship by means of his mercy and justice. They will then be able to sing Psalm 126: The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy! 

    Another prophet, John the Baptist, bursts onto the scene in Luke’s Gospel, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins for all people. John, like Baruch, comes to prepare the way of the Lord. But is it Jesus’ route to us via the Incarnation, or is it our route back to him? Both/and, it seems! God is certainly bringing us salvation in the gift of his Son Jesus, but it is up to us to participate, making low every mountain and hill that stand in the way of our relationship with him. Preparation is necessary! 

    To prepare, we must, as Paul tells the Philippians, continue to grow in faith and allow the Lord to work in us, for the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it. Living together in Christ, our relationships will bear fruit, and our love will increase ever more and more. By allowing God to transform our hearts through reconciliation and mercy, by opening them to let God work in us, we prepare for the coming of the Lord with joy, both at Christmas and at the second coming, pure and blameless for the day of Christ, because God makes us new again, and restores us to himself! 

This post is based on OLMC’s Scripture class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com

Sunday Gospel Reflection, December 10, 2023: What sort of persons ought you to be?

What sort of persons ought you to be?

What do we do while we’re waiting for the fullness of the kingdom? 

    It was constantly startling for people to realize that, no matter how badly they understood God’s plan (and acted on that misunderstanding), God was always there waiting for them on the other end of history, ready to see God’s plan through God’s way, no matter the timeline the people might have imagined. The prophet Isaiah gives voice to the comfort God offers to God’s people: speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her service is at an end. Their return home will be triumphal, with valleys filled and mountains made low, so that the glory of the Lord might be revealed. The people of Israel are ready to be restored to their own land, and to recognize the power of the Lord God in their midst, a power that is given expression, as Psalm 85 assures us, in the form of God’s kindness and truth and justice enveloping the people completely. They must open, however, and listen: I will hear what God proclaims, the psalmist says. Openness to the Lord is essential to restoration, and to salvation. 

    John the Baptist would similarly assure the people of his time of the imminent coming of the Messiah: One mightier than I is coming after me; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit, John proclaims in Mark’s Gospel. How can the people prepare the way of the Lord? They must open themselves to God, letting go of all that stands in the way of his coming, all that might obstruct their view. The people, who have hoped for a Messiah, can start with a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, for sin is precisely what keeps us from being open to the Lord. And long after Jesus’ death and rising, the early Christian community still struggled; this time, it was the Lord’s second coming that they longed for. No one knows when that day will come, the Second Letter of Peter reminds them, for the day of the Lord will come like a thief. To prepare, they must conduct themselves in holiness and devotion, living for the promise that is theirs. 

   Like the people of Peter’s time, we are not yet ready for the fullness of the kingdom, but how we behave in this life is an expression of our participation in that kingdom here and now. We too await new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. But we need not worry, for the Lord is patient with us, and God will see God’s plan through when we are ready, when we are all, as one, fully open to his love. Then, kindness and truth shall meet; justice and peace shall kiss, for all will be joined in that eternal, perfect union – without obstacles or barriers – that is heaven. 

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com

Sunday Gospel Reflection, December 4, 2022: Think in harmony with one another...

Think in harmony with one another…

Are we all the Lord hopes we will be?

    It is perhaps not surprising that the Lord has high expectations for the king who will rule over Israel; according to the prophet Isaiah, he is to be led by wisdom and understanding, by knowledge and awe and piety. With these gifts, the king will be able to defend his people, striking the ruthless and slaying the wicked, all in the goal of restoring justice, peace, and harmony to his kingdom. This messianic promise gives the people hope for a righteous king who will one day reign forever, under whom, as Psalm 72 says, justice shall flourish, and fullness of peace forever. 

    But if God is to rule over the hearts of all people, then we must claim him as such through baptism. In Matthew’s Gospel, John the Baptist appears, baptizing all who come to him for that purpose in the Jordan River. His is a baptism of repentance, washing away all that is sinful in them, but, as John tells the Pharisees and Sadducees, the Messiah will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire, demanding a radial shift, a true transformation following the messianic promise of Isaiah. John accuses the Jewish leadership of having lost track of what God calls them to be, that is, true to their covenant with the Lord; they sow discord rather than harmony and will see the consequences of their behavior over time. 

    When we see things as God sees them, this wisdom increases our ability to understand and make good decisions, affording us strength and courage so that our knowledge of God may increase and we may participate intimately in his kingdom with awe and wonder. First, however, we must be open to repentance, open to the transformation Jesus desires for all of us. Paul reminds the Romans that the promise made to the people of Israel is made to the Gentiles as well; all are encouraged to think in harmony with one another, in keeping with Christ Jesus, that with one accord they may with one voice glorify God. Christ is our model; the Lord has high expectations for us indeed, as we can only proclaim the good news authentically if we are one in Christ, welcoming one another with love. 

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com

Sunday Gospel Reflection, December 5, 2021: All flesh shall see the salvation of God...

All flesh shall see the salvation of God…

What is your hope for the future?

    The prophet Baruch knows that the people of Israel have been traumatized by their exile in Babylon, and so he offers them a beautiful poem of consolation filled with hope for the future: take off your robe of mourning and misery; put on the splendor of glory from God forever, he tells them. Though they may be wallowing in their grief and pain, the people are called to look not to the past, but to the future – to what God is going to do in their lives: God has commanded that every lofty mountain be made low, and that the age-old depths and gorges be filled to level ground, creating a path along which the remnant that has been faithful to the covenant may return. In this future vision, God is leading Israel in joy! Once the people return from exile, Psalm 126 reminds us, they will recognize that The Lord has done great things for us, and be grateful for their return home though they know much work remains to be done to restore their homeland. 

    In Jesus’ time, Luke’s Gospel tells us, it is once again God who clears the way, creating a path back to relationship: Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be made low, John the Baptist assures the people, calling them to a baptism of repentance, that they might participate in preparing the way of the Lord. Through repentance, the people seek release from all that stands in the way of their path to God. The Philippians understood the importance of participating in God’s action through partnership for the gospel; Paul knows that they understand the love that is theirs and have given their hearts over to the work so that their love may increase ever more and more. If love is the vehicle by which we perceive the world, then love helps us to discern what is valuable and what is not, and all of our decisions are made out of love of other. 

   Why are we here? Are we ready to repent, ready to change? We follow Jesus knowing that he prepares the way to God for us, and we also know that ongoing work will be necessary: the work of growth and change and conversion… until we get to the point where we have no perception save that which love gives us. Our participation in the promise is based on our ability to embrace the love that defines it. When we live in the context of this love and that loves drives our lives, we too may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness, ready to see the salvation of God.

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class. 

Image source: www.wordclouds.com

Sunday Gospel Reflection, December 6, 2020: The Lord does not delay his promise...

The Lord does not delay his promise…

Do you hope in the promise of the kingdom to come?

 

   The people of Isaiah’s time have been in a state of despair but, as they near the end of their exile in Babylon, God calls upon them not to lose hope:  Jerusalem’s service is at an end, her guilt is expiated.  God promises a straight, flat path home for them through the desert – an extraordinary promise in a landscape that usually meanders up and over mountains and through valleys.  God as shepherd will carry the lambs in his bosom, a source of salvation to all who hope in him. Psalm 85 develops God’s promise with a focus on salvation – the intangible fulfillment of the promise of a kingdom filled with kindness and truth, justice and peace.  Hope is no longer hung solely upon a tangible path to follow home, but upon the intangible elements of true relationship with God.

 

   When, in Mark’s Gospel, John the Baptist appears in the desert, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, his baptism does have a physical, tangible element – but the tangible rite celebrates an intangible reality to which we need to open our very selves.  For true repentance to take place, true conversion must happen in our hearts.  John can proclaim the people capable of repentance, but only Jesus can transform those hearts, bringing them the hope of salvation. The Second Letter of Peter also focuses upon repentance as a path to new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.  If we are focused on our ultimate perfect union with God’s love, then we will live with our whole life is directed toward that intangible kingdom that is our hope for the future. 

 

   We live with a daily tension between our temporal, tangible reality and the eternal, intangible kingdom to come.  Our hope cannot be found in the tangible, but in the promise God has made to us and our ability to invest in that promise and to allow our hearts to be transformed by it.  This is the value we want to fuel our existence, a life conducted in holiness and devotion, that we might be ready for the kingdom when it comes in its fullness.

 

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.

Image source:  www.wordclouds.com

 

Sunday Gospel Reflection, December 8, 2019: Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb...

Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb…

How do you contribute to the harmony of the kingdom?

  Advent is a time when we are called to rethink our relationship with God, to examine our lives, to take stock of our commitment, our devotion to the Lord, and to focus on producing good fruit, as John the Baptist tells the Pharisees and Sadducees who come to him for baptism in Matthew’s Gospel.  John is preparing Jesus’ ministry by inviting people to repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!  Repentance is meant to be life-changing; it signals a willingness to transform the self, to amend one’s behavior, to listen to God in a posture of obedience.  Baptism will allow those in attendance to demonstrate the seriousness of their intent; John’s preaching will make them aware that they are in for much, much more once Jesus himself arrives on the scene with the Holy Spirit and fire, clearing the way for harmony and peace.

  The Jews of Matthew’s time had long been waiting for God’s kingdom to come, and the Book of the Prophet Isaiah offered them one vision of what that future kingdom might look like.  Isaiah prophesies the rise of a new Davidic king, a king sent by God, blessed by God with a multitude of gifts:  a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit of counsel and strength, and more! And this king will use his gifts to ensure that justice and faithfulness are the rule of the land, such that the most vulnerable will be cared for, the result being an extraordinary state of peace and harmony in which the wolf shall be the guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid.  Psalm 72 echos the description of this remarkable kingdom:  Justice shall flower in his days, and profound peace.  It is a vision that should inspire hope, a desire for its fulfillment.

  The harmony championed by Isaiah is also found in Paul’s Letter to the Romans:  May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to think in harmony with one another…  Remember that harmony is not one note sung by two people, but two or more notes that resonate with each other.  And so harmony is constitutive of the fullness of the kingdom of heaven, wherein each welcomes the other, embracing them and their ideas, recognizing differences (remember the wolf and the lamb) without letting those differences get in the way of unity.  As Christ welcomes all, we too need to use our gifts, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, to turn to love, to be love for other, to let love inscribe our existence.  We can only do this if we begin with repentance, transforming our very selves, that we might contribute to that harmony that is the kingdom of heaven.

Image source:  www.wordart.com

Sunday Gospel Reflection, December 9, 2018: Prepare the way of the Lord...

Prepare the way of the Lord…

How do you answer God’s call to relationship?

  The prophet Baruch seeks to console the people of Israel who have lived in exile in Babylon, for God has released them from captivity at the word of the Holy One.  Although they have done nothing to deserve it, God is restoring them to relationship, for the children of Jerusalem are remembered by God.  In so doing, God removes all barriers, sustaining them as they advance secure in the glory of God.  God wants nothing more than relationship with us.  And so the psalmist can sing, in Psalm 126, The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.  The people are able to give thanks to God who has restored them to their home, fulfilling their every longing.  Their response to the restoration of relationship is one of joy!

  In Jesus’ time, the restoration to relationship depends first on John the Baptist’s baptism of repentance, a life-altering moment for the people, who can no longer return to their past identities.  John calls them to metanoia, to change from their self-centered, self-dependent lives to lives that are God-centered, God-dependent.  This is how we, too, are to prepare, to answer God’s call to relationship.  When the Word of God comes to you, it’s not an option, it’s a direction – an incitement to conversion, to change, to transformation.  And, as for past peoples, God removes all barriers to relationship:  every mountain and hill shall be made low, Luke says, so that, as Paul will later tell the Philippians, their (and our) love may increase ever more and more.  Nothing stands in their way, just as nothing stands in our way – nothing stands in the way of our relationship with God, who wills us to be restored to God, that we might be joyful, joy-filled, filled with joy in God’s presence!  What better way to respond to God’s call to relationship than to rejoice in that relationship, secure in our love for Christ, and for the world.

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.

Image source:  www.wordle.net