Deacon Matt's Reflection

Reflection for 2nd Sunday of Advent: December 4, 2022
 
Isaiah 11:1-10: Take time to contemplate this passage, for it will fill your heart with hope and joy! Isaiah describes the coming Messiah; Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Getting to know Jesus, we learn that He is, as foretold, wise, faithful,  understanding, empathetic and profoundly strong. He models for us reverence for and reliance upon God. Isaiah promises that the Messiah will make perfectly just and fair judgments between persons and between countries. He will bring with His Kingdom, peace in all of its fullness, after wicked leaders are deposed and evil forces are conquered. There’s an unquenchable longing within each of us for the love that will abound in Jesus’     Kingdom; healing long-term conflicts, divisions and misunderstandings. Even in nature, we’ll witness miraculous peace, even between animals and other creatures that we’ve known to prey off one another. The unearthly peace that is to come that’s described in this passage leaves us in silent, awe-struck contemplation.
 
Psalm 72: “Justice shall flourish in His time, and fullness of peace, forever.”  Reflecting on today’s psalm, let yourself be inspired to pray for good leaders. Pray for those leading us to be filled with love, wisdom, diplomacy, good judgment and a refined sense of justice and fairness. With leaders like this, we’d have a much better chance of achieving peace between peoples and within individual nations. The psalmist prays that such a just and holy leader (the Messiah) will rule the whole world in order to achieve world peace. Contemplate that such a loving, just, gentle and holy leader would protect and care for all vulnerable groups; the poor, the sick, the disabled, the elderly and even the unborn; prioritizing those who are often disregarded or denied the right, even to life itself! All will receive love and care from our soon to be ruling Messiah!
 
Romans 15:4-9:  Paul verifies what we’ve observed above… namely that Scripture has always been written for purposes of educating us, giving us hope in challenging times and for preparing us, ultimately to become faithful worshipers and followers of Jesus Christ. After reminding us of this, Paul wisely prays for the unity of Christians in beliefs, in faithful living out of those beliefs and in worship. When Paul instructs us to “welcome one another,” he’s not only asking us to show basic hospitality and politeness. He’s asking us to love and serve one another, like beloved family members; despite differences in race, culture, class, previous religious beliefs and level of wealth. Lastly, Paul summarizes this passage by proclaiming God as the   Savior of all: Jewish people, Gentiles and all of God’s created children. God’s inclusiveness gives us a lot to contemplate!
 
Matthew 3:1-12:  Today’s Gospel brings all three of our previous  readings together. Matthew reviews and connects the threads of Scripture that are preparing us for the Messiah. We’re shown how the messages of Old Testament prophets, like Isaiah seamlessly synchronize with and prepare us for Jesus’ own message and those of later Christian Apostles, prophets and evangelists. We’re given a glimpse of John the Baptist; his message and his persona… so reminiscent and evocative of Old Testament prophets foretelling the coming of the Messiah.
Contemplate how amazingly consistent and non-changing the basic message is about our Covenant with God! For millennia, we’ve been called to faithfully obey and proclaim God’s Commands regarding serving God and worshiping Him. We’ve been called, repeatedly to live and act with justice, charity and love toward God and others. How are we doing with that?
 
Be at peace and renewed!
Deacon Matt