How do we live our life as Christians today? How Christian are we, really? These are questions that invite us to re-examine the attitudes of our hearts in the way we live our baptism and prepare ourselves for the coming Christmas. Let us explore, then, the challenges and invitations that our readings bring to us today.
In the first reading, Prophet Isaiah told us about the promised Messiah. His prophecy was situated when the Hebrew people were exiled in Babylon, hoping for God’s mercy. They believed that their exile was a punishment to their unfaithfulness to God. However, they longed for a wrong Messiah.
Their misconception about the Messiah was influenced by what their eyes can only see. They only saw the powerful kings from other nations. Those kings were powerful because they had thousands of armies enough to kill and defeat all enemies. Thus, the people had thought that their Messiah should be like them who power and might come from military power to wage war and violence. Indeed, one should fear this God because this is an angry God.
However, this very image of God of the people is somehow opposite to what Isaiah told us. “Comfort, give comfort to my people…” These were the first words in the first reading. This tells us that God comes to comfort us because the Lord God hears our cries and that the Lord God is not a stranger to our difficulties and suffering.
This comfort did not mean, “revenge” or a “bloody war” towards our enemies and people we hate. This comfort from God means that God comes to us, that God is with us and God comes with power of love and compassion like a shepherd who feeds his flock and seeks out the lost sheep and rejoices when the lost is found.
This is what Jesus pictured out for his disciples to understand the love and compassion of God. Certainly, the Lord is like a shepherd searching for his sheep. This shepherd gives importance to every sheep under his care.
This tells us, that our baptism is also patterned in the identity of the Messiah. We are called to give comfort to each other especially in times of pain and sorrow. We too are called to take care of each other, showing concern especially to those who are in difficult situations and those who are feeling lost.
Isaiah tells us as well to prepare the way of the Lord because it is in welcoming God into our lives and hearts that we are transformed by God’s loving embrace and presence. This may lead us to comfort each one, to care for each other, and to practice concretely our Christian faith through our concern and generosity. Hinaut pa.
Have you ever encountered a leader who is filled with vanity and only thinks of himself or herself? A leader in a group or in an organization, or in a company or community or in a nation who has become pretentious but insecure can be very dangerous. It would be in this kind of leaders that we find persons who have no intentions to serve others but rather abuse the authority conferred upon them for their personal advantage and comfort. This is how we suffer because of such ruthless, incompetent and corrupt leaders which may happen even in our small groups, organizations, companies, communities, churches or even countries.
Our failure as people is when we become indifferent, lenient and have no concern when our leaders turned against the weak and powerless. When members of an organization or even in a small community would play blind over the dishonest dealings of a leader, then, members start to condone and perpetuate such abuses.
The Hebrew people to whom the Book of the Prophet Isaiah was written had this similar experience. The people had been through a lot of suffering and disgrace. The people suffered because of their incompetent, selfish, abusive and corrupt leaders. Both their religious and political leaders had turned against the weak and the powerless in their society. The appointed leaders who were given authority to build the nation and uplift the people, were the very ones who caused suffering to many. This was how the prophets were chosen in order to call the attention of the leaders and give hope to the suffering people.
This is what we have heard in the first reading on this Second Sunday of Advent. Isaiah tells us of the birth of a child who will be the Messiah. This child shall restore order, peace, harmony and prosperity through reconciliation and forgiveness of sins, through change of our way of life.
Isaiah tells us of the person of the Messiah. His arrival will be as silent as a shoot sprouts or as a bud blossoms. Many will not notice his coming for it will be completely no grandeur. It will be simple yet powerful because he has the Spirit of the Lord. He confronts the wicked and the corrupt. He defends the poor and heal the afflicted. He is just and faithful. He brings peace and harmony to all. He is gentle and not violent.
This is the very hope also expressed in our Psalm today that, “Justice shall flourish in his time and fullness of peace forever.” This is God’s promise which reminds us of the event in Bethlehem, the place of birth of the Messiah. Holding on to this promise of the birth of the Messiah, calls us now to faith. Thus, the second candle of advent has been lit. That is why, that candle is called the Candle of Bethlehem and Candle of Faith.
Besides, the second reading from the letter of Paul to the Romans invites us to be open and welcoming of everyone, not to be discriminating. Paul expresses this call in two points. First, Paul prayed, “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to think in harmony with one another.” This tells us that living in harmony is an act of giving glory to God because the Lord is a God of community. Second, Paul taught, “Welcome one another, as Christ welcomed you.” This tells us that to be able to embrace one another despite our differences, also gives glory to God. Welcoming others is an expression of God’s presence among us.
Therefore, having harmony in our community, showing compassion, justice and concern for each one is what the Lord calls us to be. This is also what we are hoping for, a time of peace.
Both readings from Isaiah and Paul are addressed to the unfaithful and the faithful people, to the oppressors and oppressed, to the poor and the rich, to the powerless and the powerful. Indeed, a time of peace shall come through the “birth of a child.” This is the birth of the Messiah who shall come with peace and joy. This is God’s expression of faithfulness to us.
Yet, this promise also brings an invitation for us and that is to REPENT, to change our wicked ways, to reform our selfish and evil intentions. This is what the Gospel of Matthew tells us through the person of John the Baptist. John, a cousin of Jesus, prepares us to welcome the Lord fully and joyfully, without reserve, pretentions or conditions. John also expressed this in two points. First, to repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Second, to prepare the way of the lord and make straight his paths.
The very life of John is a testament of that call to change our ways by “acknowledging our sins.” However, the acknowledgement of sins here is not about our petty-personal-habitual sins that we usually confess. Indeed, there is something lacking in our conscience when we can only see those petty-personal-habitual sins and limit our awareness on our failure to attend Sunday Mass, in our failure to say our prayers, or in telling white lies and our sexual fantasies. Yet, when our heart is blind and indifferent to the many “social sins” in our institutions and communities, our conscience is truly limited or worst damaged! This makes us sick!
Social sins exist in our groups and communities that condone any structure, or belief or culture that oppresses and abuses people or even the environment, that violates human dignity, suppresses freedom and imposes great inequality.[1]
That is why, John especially called the attention of the many Pharisees and Sadducees who came to see him. These people were leaders in their communities who cannot even get along with each other but both held power over the people. Both tend to abuse their influence over the people for their own personal advantage.
Therefore, John calls us to acknowledge our sins of “indifference to corruption and dishonesty, in condoning and tolerating these practices in our institutions and communities, in our failure to side with the poor and the economically disadvantaged, and in our failure to uphold justice.
Thus, this Second Sunday of Advent invites us now with these three points of reflections.
First, to fully acknowledge our social sins as individuals and as a community.
Second, to be more available for God and others. This means that we are called to build among us a culture that is sensitive and aware of the needs of others.
Third, this calls us to faith, faith in the Messiah that we ourselves will become his presence today as we commit to work for justice, to defend the powerless and to resist the temptation of dishonesty and corruption in our institutions, workplaces, organizations and communities. Kabay pa.
A boy once asked his mother: “Mom, I am a Christian, right?” “Yes”, the mom replied “by baptism, you are a Christian.” The boy continued, “Then, who is a Christian?” The mom responded, “A follower of Jesus Christ”. The boy again asked, “Is He the one hanged and crucified on a cross?” The mom replied, “Yes, Jesus Christ suffered and gave up his life for us all so that we might have a better life with God.” After few minutes of silence, the boy said: “Since I am a Christian – a follower of Jesus Christ who sacrificed his life for us, would it mean that someday I will be like Jesus sacrificing oneself for the sake of others?”
In our gospel today, after asking his disciples about what people say about him, Jesus asked his disciples themselves who they believe Jesus is. Here Jesus is not asking for a mere public or personal opinion, but moreso for a personal faith – of who they believe Jesus is in their own life. After Peter’s testimony that He is the Christ, the expected Messiah and savior, though without confirming and denying, Jesus made it a point to them that He is a Suffering, Rejected and Murdered Christ. To fulfill his mission of salvation for all through our Father’s love, Jesus then must undergo suffering, rejection and dying on the cross. Through and by means of his sacrifice of suffering and giving up one’s life for the sake of all, Jesus is and becomes the Christ – the Messiah and Savior. And consequently, he warns all those who follow Him of the suffering ahead, saying: “whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” Thus, giving and showing us a way – a path to life and salvation, by losing one’s life for the sake of Christ and the gospel. In other words, our life and salvation through a life not for oneself but FOR Christ.
Perhaps we may ask ourselves now as Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ: Who is the Jesus Christ we believe in our life now? Be conscious that nowadays Jesus Christ has been presented or packaged to us in other many distorted ways. Several so-called Christians today in a corrupted way may have preached and believed in Jesus Christ as “Jesus without the cross” and/or “Cross without Jesus”.
“Jesus without the Cross” belief is the Jesus of the prosperity gospel church, who preached not of a suffering and wounded Christ, but that of a healthy, smiling, laughing, good-looking Jesus who enjoys and offers us the good things and luxuries in life now, if and when we only follow and believe in Him. While “Cross without Jesus” belief is the Jesus of spiritual charismatic gospel church who preached a Jesus who suffered on the cross, but is now not here but in otherworld or heaven, who offers His followers salvation and life… later and in heaven. We must be aware of these two distorted ways of Jesus being presented and preached to us today, for it undermines the struggle, suffering and sacrifice Jesus has undergone, and we must undergo in life for our salvation.
As true follower of Christ, we believe not in “Jesus without a cross” or “Cross without Jesus” but rather we believe in Jesus Christ WITH and ON a cross. The Jesus Christ we believe in then is the Jesus Christ whom He himself described in our gospel today, who suffered and was crucified on the cross, as well as the risen/resurrected but still wounded, cross-bearing Jesus Christ. Not only that we believe that Jesus is the Messiah, our Christ and Savior; but also we believe that the way to our life and salvation with God as shown to us by Jesus, is through the path or the way of the CROSS. By following the example of Christ in humble submission to the Father’s will and our acceptance of our own crosses in life – thus losing ourselves For Christ and for the sake of others, we come to benefit and share from God’s grace of life and salvation.
The paradox of our Christian life is thus the way of the cross.
As Christians, we don’t follow Jesus out of and for the conveniences of what life can offer now, or we follow Him, suffering for the coming reward in the afterlife in heaven. Following Jesus and to be For Christ in life require of us the self-denial, sacrifices and struggle of the cross we undergo with life in the here and now. Just like for a woman to fully enjoy motherhood and family life now, she has to undergo the sufferings and pains of childbearing and child-rearing, so to with our Christian life. For us to fully benefit from God’s offer of life and salvation in our life now, we must undergo the suffering and sacrifice of our daily crosses, for the sake of Jesus Christ and others. In other words, God’s offer of life and salvation to us only happens whenever we begin to lose ourselves for Christ through our suffering, sacrifices and dying for others.
Now back to the question of Jesus that requires our personal faith: “Who do you say I am?” “Who is the Jesus we believe in now?” Is He the “Jesus without a cross” who offers us life-conveniences now? Or Is He the “Cross without Jesus” who calls us to suffer now for the rewards in heaven and here-after? Or Is He the Risen but wounded, Suffering but resurrected Jesus Christ, who offers us God’s life and salvation now and always through and by means of the paradox of our daily crosses?
Lord, by your cross and resurrection, you have redeemed the world. Especially during these pandemic times, bear our crosses with us towards our life & resurrection now and always. Amen.
A DOSE OF GOD TODAY 