First let me take this opportunity to once again welcome you to this Season of Advent, a time of repentance and promise, of darkness dispelled by the light of the coming new-born King. This four week period which began last week in a spirit HOPE for the coming of the eternal kingdom of heaven, continues this week with the sense of PEACE that comes with justice and the knowledge that you’ve truly let go of all that you thought you wanted to be in favor of all that God has called you to be!
Last week, this season of quiet season of waiting kicked off with Matthew’s version of the same Gospel we heard the week before that… The coming of the end time. People will be doing this and that, and one will be taken while the other one will be left behind. While it may not seem a very joyous way to begin our Advent Journey to witness the birth of our Lord, it does serve it’s purpose… Rather than trying to predict when time will end, Matthew’s Gospel would rather pose the question, are you prepared for the coming of the Lord?
This week we hear from St. John the Baptist, the crazy one dressed in Camel’s Hair, eating only locusts and honey. John is the one who Jesus spoke of when he said that no man born of a woman is greater than he.
He leapt in the womb of his mother Elizabeth upon the arrival of Mary and the expected Christ child!
He came from the desert proclaiming the need for repentance and to be the one who would fulfill the Prophet Isaiah as he became the last of all the Prophets. He straightened paths and lowered mountains and raised valleys so that all could journey to the Lord!
When they arrived, he simply received them with cleansing water and pointed them to Christ, who would Baptize them in the fire of the Holy Spirit, gifting them with all that they would need to follow him to the glory of his kingdom!
In today’s Gospel John the Baptist simply and succinctly says, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" [John is] that voice of one crying out in the desert, [saying] Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths… And like our politicians sometimes do these days, then he adds something not so comfortable for measure: “You brood of vipers… Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance.”
John is considered the LAST of the Great Prophets, but in our Baptism, we are called to pick up his baton and share the Good News with our own PROPHETIC VOICE… Let me offer what I hope is a simple explanation on how to do that!
SPEAK THE PROPHET’S MESSAGE
Salvation is at hand!
Know and love the Lord!
LIVE THE PROPHET’S PURPOSE
Provide welcome
Eliminate barriers
Teach the Truth
Point to Christ!
POSSESS THE PROPHET’S HUTZPA
Tell it like it is!
Don’t be afraid!
Walk the Talk
Do good things!
ACCEPT THE PROPHET’S CHALLENGE
You may lose standing
You may lose a friend/neighbor
You may lose your head
Can we leap for joy whenever we are present with him?
Can we accept our Baptismal role as Prophet to proclaim to the world a need for repentance, and a recognition that the kingdom of God is at hand?
In all that we do, can we use the opportunity to point to the Lord saying with our whole heart and with conviction, “Behold the Lamb of God”?
Can we share our gifts, granted us by the Spirit to enkindle in those we meet, the fire of God’s love?
Knowing how John’s earthly journey ended, we might not have to lose our head, but are we willing to be like him in all other ways and truly give up our entire self to help PREPARE the world for the coming of Christ… No locusts required?
The Lord needs his light to shine and that Light shines within you, if you’re answer is YES to the questions above, or you consider it a likely possibility that you could emulate some parts of what John the Baptist is to our faith, then REPENT NOW and follow that Morning Star that lies before you in this dark night of waiting.
In our First Reading today, the Prophet Isaiah promises the coming of the Lord’s light as “on that day, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD, and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD.”
WE FOLLOW THAT MORNING STAR KNOWING THAT WE ARE ON FIRM FOUNDATION WHICH IS THE HOUSE OF DAVID. WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE PROMISE OF GROWTH, AS LORD’S GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT ARE GIVEN TO US WITH GOD’S LIGHT OF LOVE TO EMPOWERS US!
_____
In today’s Psalm we join our voices with King David as we sing with confidence that “Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever, connecting with another promise of Isaiah that on that day “the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; the calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to guide them.”
A LITTLE CHILD WILL GUIDE THEM!!!
This evening we are privileged to have a group of FIVE First-Year Lay Salvatorians with us as they embark on their first of many promises to commit their lives serving the Lord in the sharing of HIS promise of salvation! My friends, thank you for your constant witness of the faith as you seek to emulate St. John the Baptist in your dedication to proclaim that the salvation that comes with a relationship with Jesus Christ, who is truly at hand, here today for everyone, for all at all time, until each knows that they are saved!! I ENCOURAGE YOU TO USE EVERY GIFT THAT HAS BEEN GIVEN YOU BY THE HOLY SPIRIT TO KEEP SERVING THE SAVING GRACE OF GOD, AND PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!
So let us all move forward on our Advent Journey with the prayer from St. Paul that we hear in today’s Second Reading:
“May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to think in harmony with one another, in keeping with Christ Jesus, that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
+ AMEN!
Last week, this season of quiet season of waiting kicked off with Matthew’s version of the same Gospel we heard the week before that… The coming of the end time. People will be doing this and that, and one will be taken while the other one will be left behind. While it may not seem a very joyous way to begin our Advent Journey to witness the birth of our Lord, it does serve it’s purpose… Rather than trying to predict when time will end, Matthew’s Gospel would rather pose the question, are you prepared for the coming of the Lord?
This week we hear from St. John the Baptist, the crazy one dressed in Camel’s Hair, eating only locusts and honey. John is the one who Jesus spoke of when he said that no man born of a woman is greater than he.
He leapt in the womb of his mother Elizabeth upon the arrival of Mary and the expected Christ child!
He came from the desert proclaiming the need for repentance and to be the one who would fulfill the Prophet Isaiah as he became the last of all the Prophets. He straightened paths and lowered mountains and raised valleys so that all could journey to the Lord!
When they arrived, he simply received them with cleansing water and pointed them to Christ, who would Baptize them in the fire of the Holy Spirit, gifting them with all that they would need to follow him to the glory of his kingdom!
In today’s Gospel John the Baptist simply and succinctly says, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" [John is] that voice of one crying out in the desert, [saying] Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths… And like our politicians sometimes do these days, then he adds something not so comfortable for measure: “You brood of vipers… Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance.”
John is considered the LAST of the Great Prophets, but in our Baptism, we are called to pick up his baton and share the Good News with our own PROPHETIC VOICE… Let me offer what I hope is a simple explanation on how to do that!
SPEAK THE PROPHET’S MESSAGE
Salvation is at hand!
Know and love the Lord!
LIVE THE PROPHET’S PURPOSE
Provide welcome
Eliminate barriers
Teach the Truth
Point to Christ!
POSSESS THE PROPHET’S HUTZPA
Tell it like it is!
Don’t be afraid!
Walk the Talk
Do good things!
ACCEPT THE PROPHET’S CHALLENGE
You may lose standing
You may lose a friend/neighbor
You may lose your head
Can we leap for joy whenever we are present with him?
Can we accept our Baptismal role as Prophet to proclaim to the world a need for repentance, and a recognition that the kingdom of God is at hand?
In all that we do, can we use the opportunity to point to the Lord saying with our whole heart and with conviction, “Behold the Lamb of God”?
Can we share our gifts, granted us by the Spirit to enkindle in those we meet, the fire of God’s love?
Knowing how John’s earthly journey ended, we might not have to lose our head, but are we willing to be like him in all other ways and truly give up our entire self to help PREPARE the world for the coming of Christ… No locusts required?
The Lord needs his light to shine and that Light shines within you, if you’re answer is YES to the questions above, or you consider it a likely possibility that you could emulate some parts of what John the Baptist is to our faith, then REPENT NOW and follow that Morning Star that lies before you in this dark night of waiting.
In our First Reading today, the Prophet Isaiah promises the coming of the Lord’s light as “on that day, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD, and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD.”
WE FOLLOW THAT MORNING STAR KNOWING THAT WE ARE ON FIRM FOUNDATION WHICH IS THE HOUSE OF DAVID. WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE PROMISE OF GROWTH, AS LORD’S GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT ARE GIVEN TO US WITH GOD’S LIGHT OF LOVE TO EMPOWERS US!
_____
In today’s Psalm we join our voices with King David as we sing with confidence that “Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever, connecting with another promise of Isaiah that on that day “the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; the calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to guide them.”
A LITTLE CHILD WILL GUIDE THEM!!!
This evening we are privileged to have a group of FIVE First-Year Lay Salvatorians with us as they embark on their first of many promises to commit their lives serving the Lord in the sharing of HIS promise of salvation! My friends, thank you for your constant witness of the faith as you seek to emulate St. John the Baptist in your dedication to proclaim that the salvation that comes with a relationship with Jesus Christ, who is truly at hand, here today for everyone, for all at all time, until each knows that they are saved!! I ENCOURAGE YOU TO USE EVERY GIFT THAT HAS BEEN GIVEN YOU BY THE HOLY SPIRIT TO KEEP SERVING THE SAVING GRACE OF GOD, AND PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!
So let us all move forward on our Advent Journey with the prayer from St. Paul that we hear in today’s Second Reading:
“May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to think in harmony with one another, in keeping with Christ Jesus, that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
+ AMEN!
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