Reflection for December 5, 2021

Second Sunday of Advent ( C )

Baruch 5:1-9  | Psalm 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6. | Philippians 1:4-6, 8-11 | Luke 3:1-6

​The Second Sunday of Advent challenges us to prepare a royal highway in our hearts for Jesus so that we may receive Him as our saving God.  

 ​When a 5 year old Oregon girl is dying of cancer, what can be done to make up for all that she will miss? This was the challenge facing Ryan and Heidi, whose daughter, Lila May Schow, was diagnosed with Stage 4 neuroblastoma at the age of 2 and is not expected to make it to the Thanksgiving of 2015. Springing into action, her parents decided they would not allow the cancer to rob their daughter of the important celebrations of life. So they planned a Cinderella-themed ball, which included every major celebration a girl has to look forward to — a prom, a birthday bash and a wedding! The entire community of Hood River, Oregon, had come together to help create a party of a lifetime for little Lila. Countless people and local businesses donated their time and money to make sure that everything from the food to the music and costumes was perfect. Donning a princess dress and tiara, Lila had arrived in a horse drawn carriage at the Butler Bank Building which was turned into a castle for the event and was escorted down the red carpet by her father and step-father before being greeted by the hundreds of well-wishers. The night ended with her father Ryan Schow getting down on one knee, asking her to marry him so that she will get to know what it feels like to be proposed to. The crowd cheered for their princess, who smiled and waved ub gratitudefor making her remaining months memorable and joyful. 

Today’s first reading provides God’s fulfillment of his plans for us. The biblical author speaks of a kind of homecoming to Jerusalem, the ancestral home of Jews. Baruch asks the grieving Jerusalem to stand on the heights to see her scattered children coming home, with God in the lead. This passage was probably written around the time of the Maccabean revolt some 150 years before the birth of Jesus. This was a time of intense crisis in Israel as it threw off the shackles of the Seleucid dynasty ruling Israel from Syria. Against all odds, the Jewish rebels were able to restore Israel’s freedom. The Jerusalem temple had been desecrated and the city itself shattered. But now there was hope of restoration and renewal — a liberation still celebrated by observant Jews during the feast of Hanukkah. They can laugh at the past and dream about the new things to come. “Jerusalem,” the prophet says, “take off your robe of mourning, for God is leading you in joy.” 

An entrepreneurial couple from Manila visited a remote barangay in Nueva Ecija, Philippines and saw farmer Adriano and his son Arnel working in a rice paddy. The old man guided the heavy plough as the boy pulled it. "I guess they must be very poor," the man said to the Franciscan friar who was the couple's guide. "Yes," replied the friar. "That's the family of Adriano de Belen. When the church was built, they were eager to give something to it, but they had no money. So they sold their carabao and donated the money to the church. This summer they are pulling the plough themselves." After a long silence, the woman said, "That was a real sacrifice." The friar responded, "They do not call it a sacrifice. They are just thankful they had a carabao to sell."

The second reading is taken from the introduction of the apostle Paul’s Letter to the Philippians. Philippi was a city in northern Greece. Paul founded a Christian community there on his second missionary journey about 50 A.D. His ministry in Philippi was so successful that even when he left the city, the Philippian Christians, the financially secure and the exceptionally poor alike, regularly supported Paul by sending him funds in suport of his mission. Paul loved them for their commitment to the Lord, and for the way they had been his partners in gospel ministry. They were his close friends, people whose fellowship he enjoyed and whose presence he missed. Paul prays that the Christians in Philippi are filled with joy as they await the day of Christ. As you remain on the path or The Way, St. Paul says, “then the one who began a good work in you will complete it.” The choice of this reading for today’s liturgy is found in the expression of his confidence that they will continue supporting his work “until the day of the Lord Jesus”.  

An old man died and approaches the pearly gates of Heaven."Well, what have you done to deserve entry to Heaven?" Asks St Peter. "To be honest." replies the man, "I am merely a simple carpenter. It was my son who was truly great. Although he wasn't my biological son... his birth was miraculous, still I loved him very much. Later in life he went through many trials and transformations. He spread joy and his story is told all over the world even to this day." Jesus looks at the man, with a tear in his eye, and says "Father?" The man looks back; "... Pinocchio?"

This week and next, our Gospel readings invite us to consider John the Baptist and his relationship to Jesus. John the Baptist appears in the tradition of the great prophets, preaching repentance and reform to the people of Israel. Luke quotes Isaiah. Fulfilling the Lord God's words to Israel through Isaiah, John, by his preaching of repentance and a change of life is "the voice of one crying out in the desert: "Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight His paths…" At the end of the quote it says, “and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” Even though some people confused John for the Messiah, he wasn’t confused at all. He knew his place and mission, and he committed his life to fulfill that mission in service to Jesus. John was important because he instructed the people how to prepare for Jesus' coming. But he was not as important as Jesus was. According to him, he was not the superstar, only a supporting actor.  John's preaching of the coming of the Lord is a key theme of the Advent season. He abounds with joy over himself getting smaller and Jesus getting bigger. For him, the voice of the Shepherd must replace the voice crying in the wilderness. As his message prepared the way for Jesus in the first century, we, too, are called to prepare ourselves for Jesus' coming by naming whatever it is in our life that crowds out Jesus as we pray,“More of Jesus… Less of me…” The holiday season can get us too much busy with ourselves with all the party preparations, gift buying, reunions, travels and commitments. Christmas is a season to focus on Jesus. When Jesus becomes greater in the world and we become lesser in the world, our joy will increase. <enrique,ofs>