Second Sunday of Advent, Cycle A Is 11:1-10; Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13,17; Rom 15:4-9; Mt 3:1-12
We most often think of Advent as a time of preparation to celebrate and remember the coming of the long-awaited Messiah over 2,000 years ago. However, it is also a time to look toward and renew our preparation for Jesus’ return in his glory and a time to prepare for Jesus’ presence in our lives every day.
Encompassed in all these, it can also be a season of reconciliation. While we don’t often think of Advent in this way, it is the culmination of humanity’s reconciliation with God that begins in the lowly stable in Bethlehem.
Reconciliation is powerful. It can bring opposing groups or individuals together so both benefit and exist together peacefully. It can bring peace and goodwill as was proclaimed from the heavens that Christmas morning. It can change things for the better and bring about justice. Reconciliation is one of the messages in this weekend’s readings.
Isaiah proclaims that in the day of the Lord, things not commonly thought of as compatible, i.e., the lamb and the wolf or the calf and the lion, will live together in peace. We can interpret this literally and figuratively. In the day of the Lord, people who differ widely in their views will come together in peace. Nation will reconcile with nation, and there will be peace among all people.
Isaiah also tells us, “On that day… there shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain.” People of different races, creeds and ethnic backgrounds will treat each other with equality. There will be justice for all in the Kingdom of God.
As sons and daughters, we are called to share God’s justice, charged to help bring about God’s kingdom. The psalmist prays that God will endow the king with God’s judgment and the king’s son with God’s justice. We refer to Jesus as our king and celebrated him as King of the Universe just two weeks ago.
By virtue of our baptism, we are joined to our king. In the anointing with Chrism during the baptismal rite, we pray, “As Christ was anointed priest, prophet and king, so may you live always as a member of his body, sharing everlasting life.”
Isaiah says that in the day of the Lord, God will judge not by “appearance or hearsay.” In the second reading, Paul prays that the “God of endurance and encouragement grant you to think in harmony with one another.” If we are to help bring about the day of the Lord, the kingdom of God, we cannot judge by the color of our skin, the church or synagogue or mosque we attend, the country from which we come, or anything else that makes us different. We must treat people equally and justly with the understanding that we are all made in God’s image.
Christmas is a time for sharing, giving and receiving gifts, and for gatherings with loved ones. Advent helps us prepare for these things, but if we get too wrapped up in these activities, we lose sight of Advent’s call to reconciliation.
We forget that we are called to work for the kingdom of God; to prepare for our encounter with God in our daily lives and share that presence with our world. We forget to prepare for our encounter with God at the end of our lives here on Earth. We forget we are called to live a life of justice which leads to peace.
Deacon Christopher Colville serves at Church of the Redeemer, Mechanicsville