Friday, December 15, 2023

Friday of the Second Week of Advent

(Isaiah 48:17-19; Matthew 11:16-19)

A young man was having trouble choosing a priestly vocation.  He wavered between being a diocesan priest and a religious.  Finally, he chose a religious order and was ordained.  Unfortunately, after a few years he left that calling.  His changing loyalties is like the fickleness that exasperates Jesus in today gospel.

The crowds following Jesus are unwilling to commit themselves to the Lord.  His approach has emphasized God’s love and mercy.  Earlier they had rejected John’s sterner approach warning of God’s wrath for sinners.  One way or the other, people must submit themselves to God if they are to experience His salvation.  Isaiah gives this instruction in the first reading.  He says that if a people follow God’s commandments, their prosperity would be like a river growing as it reaches the sea.

We have chosen to follow the Lord’s ways.  Still there is a possibility of our backsliding.  Leaving our commitment unfulfilled would be tragic for us as well as for those who look to us for example.  So we pray everyday and in a special way today, “Lead us not into temptation…”

Friday, December 15, 2017

Friday of the Second Week in Advent

(Isaiah 48:17-19; Matthew 11:16-19)

Metanoia is the Greek word for repentance.  It literally means a change of mind.  Of course, metanoia is the great theme of Lent.  Nevertheless, both readings today convey the idea.

The reading from Isaiah promises abundance if the people would only follow the Lord’s commandments.   God will give them plenty, it says, but they have to obey His law.  Jesus sounds exasperated because the people always find a way to avoid the ways of righteousness.  His reference to John the Baptist’s ascetic lifestyle should be heard as a metaphor for John’s preaching “fire and brimstone.”  But the people ignored John anyway.  Jesus has presented the call to repentance in an opposing way.  His “eating and drinking” should be taken as proclaiming God’s goodness to those who turn to Him.  By suggesting God’s graciousness, Jesus echoes Isaiah in the first reading.  The people, however, still do not care.

The Christmas season serves as a testing ground for our repentance.  As everyone knows, it is the most materialistic time of the year.  If we have repented of the world’s ways, we will not desire to either receive or give luxurious gifts.  Our aim will be to welcome the Lord by showing kindness and joy to all.