Second Sunday of Advent Is 11:1-10; Rom 15: 4-9; Mt 3:1-12 (year a)
The outcomes of recent polls, both for the EU referendum and the American presidential election, have been interpreted as a sign of widespread disillusionment and a longing for change. Such disenchantment reaches beyond the state of current politics and reflects the inevitable malaise of sinful humanity. A broken world longs for healing and a better tomorrow.
The season of Advent brings hope to this fundamental longing. Long ago the prophet Isaiah had spoken of a new beginning, a root that would spring from the stock of Jesse. His words were addressed to a people who had lost faith both in themselves and in the structures governing their society.
To their flagging faith he promised a new David who would rule with wisdom and insight, equity and justice. The insecurity of random violence would be banished in a kingdom where the wolf would dwell with the lamb, the lion cub with the calf.
We believe that Christ was born as the fulfilment of these promises. In him, we have a sure beginning for our hope. We know what has been promised, but must live with the tension between what was begun in Christ and is yet to find fulfilment in our own lives.
St Paul spoke of this as a hope that refuses to give up despite discouragement. He promised that God himself supports such hope, enabling our Advent hope to speak encouragement to a disillusioned society.
The helplessness experienced by so many can be likened to the wilderness that gave voice to John the Baptist: “A voice cries in the wilderness: Prepare a way for the Lord, make his paths straight.”
We tend to hide from our own inner wilderness, failing to acknowledge the emptiness of lives that have lost their savour for the presence of the Lord. To those who mourned the loss of God’s presence, John the Baptist spoke with certain hope: “The Kingdom of God is close at hand.” We, who have long since lost the ability to change our hearts, have only to repent and to embrace the new life promised in him whose baptism creates us anew.
Advent calls us to something more than hope. It calls us to a decision, one that seeks out the time to review our lives, to discern everything that hinders a Christ-centred hope. It calls us believe in a future of God’s making, and to repent of the wilderness that we have created for ourselves.
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