Friday of the Second Week of Advent
Intention: That all people will embrace the story of the birth of the Christ Child as a time to increase our attention to the needs of children throughout the world.
Today’s Gospel | Matthew 11:16-19
Jesus said to the crowds: “To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance, we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.’ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, ‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is vindicated by her works.”
Reflection for the Second Friday of Advent
Throughout the gospels, one can find a steady juxtaposition of two of the major themes of the life of Christ: the phenomenon of the desperate determination of those who hungered for his word, and the phenomenon of the equally desperate determination of those who violently rejected it. It begins with peasants welcoming the infant Jesus just as King Herod seeks to murder him, and ends with his followers grieving at the foot of the cross while his opponents maneuver to discredit him even in death. Even the joyous season of Advent cannot escape addressing this painful and disturbing conflict. Nor should it, because it is at the heart of understanding why God became one of us.
In his ministry, Jesus often had to deal with persons who opposed his teachings – and him – because his message did not meet their expectations or did not serve their purposes. In both cases, their ability to follow Jesus was crippled by either the anxiety of insecurity or the weight of possessions. The result was that they would reject him, some feeling so threatened that his very existence would become unacceptable.
There are many parallels between this biblical scenario and ones of our world today. The struggles between hope and terror, between community and individual, between want and greed, continue to dominate and divide us. Is our longing for better days rooted in faith and trust in a goodness and wholeness larger than ourselves, or are we cynically waiting for a means of justifying our prejudices and inflicting our judgments? Will we chose to dare to rise or to wallow in smallness?
And so, as another Christmas approaches, we again will have a chance to renew our commitment to finally walk away from the misguidedness and darkness that we have allowed to take over our conduct and break our world. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux wrote, “Neither fear nor self-interest can convert the soul.” In this time of Advent, we are asked to reflect on our own state of mind and heart. While the birth of Christ was cause for rejoicing, at its core it is and always will be a call to transforming ourselves and life, and to embrace together the work of becoming and being our best and truest selves.
Prayer
Eternal Father, we never know when you will surprise us with your call to serve you. Teach us to recognize you in the many ways that you speak to us each day, and to respond with openness and trust. Help us to grow in confidence that your will for us will someday heal our broken world. In this time of Advent, our souls wait in silence for the sound of your voice, inviting us to carry within ourselves your saving presence. We ask this of you who lives and reigns with your Son and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.