Weekly Catholic Bible Study

Oratory of Divine Love Reflection 757: Advent Spiritual Cleaning : (Isaiah 11 : 1-10 & Matthew 23: 1-12)

 

[Isaiah]

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. Not by appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay shall he decide, but he shall judge the poor with justice, and decide aright for the land's afflicted. He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. Justice shall be the band around his waist, and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.

Then 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. The cow and the bear shall be neighbors, together their young shall rest; the lion shall eat hay like the ox. The baby shall play by the cobra's den, and the child lay his hand on the adder's lair. There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD, as water covers the sea. On that day, the root of Jesse, set up as a signal for the nations, the Gentiles shall seek out, for his dwelling shall be glorious.

 

[Matthew]

John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said: A voice of one crying out in the desert, Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. John wore clothing made of camel's hair and had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. At that time Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole region around the Jordan were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins.

When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance.
And do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones. Even now the axe lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in his hand. He will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."

 

 

Fellow pilgrims, the theme of this 2nd Sunday of Advent revolves around repentance and peace, especially as we read in the gospel about the baptism of repentance given by John the Baptist (Matt 3:1-12). So, the readings present more features of Advent, focusing on repentance, change of heart, reconciliation, and peace. As the gospel says, the desert of the heart is where the Lord enters first: “In those days John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!’. It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said: ‘A voice of one crying out in the desert, Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths’” (Matt 3:1-3). He knocks at the door of our heart and will eat with those who hear and open their hearts to let him in (Rev 3:20). Thus, we need to clean up the heart, which sometimes get clogged with a lot of unnecessary materials we acquire or allow to enter and take up space in the home of our heart. As usual, Confessions are offered [at churches] and for all to attend the Advent Penance [services]. It is an opportunity for us to encounter God’s mercy, blessing, and peace, as those who have harkened to the exhortation to repent.

 

Another focus today is on self-mortification, as seen in the people who went to the desert to hear John (Matt 3:5). They left the comfort of the house for this, thus calling us to leave off some comfort at this period in order to give God a chance into our heart, where he directs us on the good we can do. Even the Baptist himself symbolized this attitude of mortification in his food and clothing as the gospel described (Matt 3:4). This could also mean leaving our comfort zones that encourage sins or prevent us from reaching others with love, kindness and goodness. It could also mean quieting down a bit for more prayer and refection on the meaning of Christ’s coming, for the call to repentance also involves a change in our perspective about life and about others.

 

Thus, one needs to know what positive and Christian value Christ’s coming is demanding that we pursue and express, like justice, righteousness, generosity, forgiveness, love, acceptance, and peace. As seen from Isaiah who used a poetic description to present the meaning of Christ’s coming to us (Is 11:1-10), Christ’s coming creates the situation where all will live together in harmony and peace. Hence St Paul exhorts: “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed and, moreover, that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy” (Rom 15:7-9). This again calls us to prepare for his coming by repenting of our sins and by working for harmony both in our own lives and with our fellows. At times, we need to create a quiet time around us, for we may not hear His knock with all the noise in our society and in our heart. We do not have to wait for some life crises to be thrown at us to draw our attention to the right actions and goods we have to do. As we know, God speaks to our souls and hearts, and at times when we don’t have time to listen, he ‘allows’ some crises we pursue unwittingly to get us to listen.

 

Fr. Francis Chukwuma

 

 

Prayer: “Dear Lord, I humbly seek Your divine guidance and the ability to hear Your voice clearly. Grant me the discernment to understand Your will for my life and the courage to follow it. In my prayers, may I find the answers I need and the strength to trust Your plan for me.”

Quote from a Saint: “We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls.”

- Saint Teresa of Calcutta

 

Questions for reflection:

1. “[W]e need to clean up the heart, which sometimes get clogged with a lot of unnecessary materials we acquire or allow to enter and take up space in the home of our heart.” What have you allowed to take up space in the home of your heart? What are some ways that you can clean things up?

2. How does going to Confession allow you to clean up your heart?

3. How do you feel after you go to Confession? Does it bring you a sense of peace?

4. Do you practice self-mortification? Why or why not?

5. How comfortable has your life gotten? Are there comforts that you have become attached to that have made you less dependent upon the Lord?

6. Would you give up some of your comforts in order to become more dependent upon the Lord?

7. Do you ever leave your comfort zone to either get out of a bad situation or to help other people out?

8. How can you create a quiet time around you so that you can hear the Lord?

--Benjamin & Kristen Rinaldo, CfP