Second Sunday in Advent 'A'

Saturday December 4, 2010

Hold on to the Vision!

Fire produces light and heat but it also destroys homes and despoils forests. Thanks to more sophisticated fire protection devices and fire prevention programs, the danger of untold destruction has diminished significantly over the last several decades. Fire can be insidious. It only takes a spark from a short circuit in an electrical outlet or appliance to ignite a house or the careless action of a camper hiker to destroy a forest.

Several years ago, fanned by strong winds, the New Jersey pinelands were ravaged by a persistent fire that left thousands of acres barren, bereft of any life. One could drive for miles on the Garden State Parkway through areas of charred stumps of trees, remnants of once flourishing evergreens. Strange as it may sound, there is a stark beauty in the bleak and black remnants of a burned out forest. Perhaps it’s the silent promise that it holds for the emergence of new life wtih the quiet passage of time.

Less than a year after the fire, new shoots of green life began to appear almost imperceptibly from the stumps and stalks of pine shrubs and shrub pines. It’s exciting to think that life cannot be permanently snuffed out by flame or foe of whatever kind. The pinelands were destined to bloom and blossom again and so they did and so they do!

A more recent example may be found in the most devastating fires in the history of Israel that wreaked havoc not only on forests but also on human life—without discrimination. Yet, the flames will soon give way to the hope for rebirth and restoration.

The Book of Isaiah has been called the “Book of Promise” because it speaks not only of failing forests and dying dynasties, but of desert wastelands and fallen kingdoms coming to life. In metaphorical language, the poetic prophet pointed to another kind of kingdom “not of this world.”

It will be a time of hope when God’s intervention will yield of new kind of world in which harmony will reign and peace will prevail. He envisioned a new kind of ‘shepherd-king’ for Judah and Israel, indeed, a shepherd for all humanity. The language of Isaiah is rich with simile and allegory. It is more than probable that he was anticipating the imminent arrival of a royal king, quite likely, Hezekiah. Christians recognize the fulfillment of Isaiah’s hope in Jesus born of David’s royal line, but in the form of a humble servant—a divine shepherd born among lowly shepherds; gifted not with the shield and scepter of royal power but with the gifts we have come to identify as the ‘gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, gifts of the intellect; the spirit of counsel and might, gifts of practical know-how; knowledge, the intimate awareness of God; and “fear” or better translated as reverence for or awe of the Lord; gifts of piety, affection for God.

St. Paul names the qualities that characterize people living in the new ‘kingdom:’ steadfastness, harmony, hospitality and service, all of which flow from worship “in spirit and in truth” that comes from the heart not just from the lips.

Paul expresses a vision consistent with the promise of Isaiah, but Paul was not naïve. Although he wrote as if he were living in the time of fulfillment, he was well aware that the ‘now-time’ was still tentative and contingent on many factors, not the least of which was the sincere confession of faith and the inner determination to live by the rule of faith preached by Jesus and exemplified in the life of his disciples.

The message of John the Baptist recorded by Matthew is both a threat and a promise. He is a preacher of reform. He lived in the desert and was familiar with desert wildfires, which, fed by the dry grass and thorn bushes, forced snakes and vipers from their nests, sending them scurrying for safety. But he was also convinced that this same fire could also ignite new life and serve as a baptism of repentance, conversion, and transformation. The Pharisees and Sadducees were going through the motions pursuing the path of political safety, which today might be called political correctness, but they were not intent on real conversion.

How many times have we been down this Advent highway? It’s so easy to slip into a ‘ho-hum’ attitude. Been there, done that. Let’s get on with it; only twenty shopping days left! There are parties to attend, meals to prepare, cookies to bake. But the scriptures are urging us to the awareness of the nearness God’s presence in the world and to the consciousness of God’s presence already within us moving us to personal conversion and reform versus playing the political game and going through the motions.

In our preoccupation with the fear of terrorism, we can easily become diverted from the challenge of true reform. Justice begins in the heart with the conviction that unless we are right with God, we cannot be right with our neighbor. Conversely, unless we are right with our neighbor, we cannot be right with God.

The fire that was ignited at our Baptism was re-enkindled at our Confirmation. The gifts of the Holy Spirit spoken of by Isaiah were also imparted to us and they empower us not only to internal renewal but also to external reform reflected in our attitudes at our family table as well as at the table of humanity.

The war against worldwide terrorism will not ultimately be won only in combat. Even the generals on the ground have come to this conclusion.Ultimately it will be won by a reinvestment in virtue in our hearts and at our family table—literally, at the table in our home.

Truth, honesty, forbearance, generosity, humility, these are the ‘weapons’ that bring peace and empower us to justice. This is the reason we are reminded over and over again to keep our family table connected to the Eucharist table. It is our faithfulness to these tables that enables us to reach out to the table of humanity and which will eventually convert our attitudes to those of Christ.

Is this a vision too esoteric to be real?

Think of the pinelands and the energizing power of the Holy Spirit. Fire can destroy but fire can re-enkindle the life of God’s spirit within us. The vision is clear the choice is yours and mine. Miracles do not happen without the intervention of God (divine grace) but neither do they happen without our direct involvement in the affairs of humanity (proven virtue).

Hold on to the vision, persevere in hope and act with courage and integrity.

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