Thursday 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 11:11-15
Jesus said to the crowds: “Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent are taking it by force. All the prophets and the law prophesied up to the time of John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah, the one who is to come. Whoever has ears ought to hear.”
Reflection for the Second Thursday of Advent
Throughout history, every age has seen its share of progress, of steps forward in our gaining knowledge of the workings of life. Little by little, we discover more about creation and our place in it. However, we also have learned that while knowledge alone may make us smarter, it does not necessarily make us wiser. We still must grasp the significance of what we see, what it can reveal to us about who we are and why we are here.
During his lifetime, Jesus would respond to his followers’ pleas for answers about the future by reminding them that they only need read the signs of the times. In their desperate fixation on God’s coming Kingdom, they were brushing aside all of the ways in which it already was present and active in their lives. Their desire for an ultimate epiphany had blinded them to the innumerable epiphanies of the lessons and opportunities of everyday existence. With all that they knew about making their lives work, they failed to realize that it was within those ordinary things that could be found the path to salvation.
And so, the challenge is understand how the nuts and bolts of daily living connect us to the fullness of God. A good first step might be simply to acknowledge that they do. With that, we can begin to experience all things as having sacramentality – in other words, as having the quality of being able to reveal God’s activity. By moving with the awareness that all of our experiences can be doorways to redemption, we then can use our knowledge with selfless imagination and act toward each other and the world with creative purpose.
Philosophy professor Dallas Willard once said, “Sometimes we get caught up in trying to glorify God by praising what He can do and we lose sight of the practical point of what He actually does do.” Christ was born into this world that all people’s minds and hearts would be opened to the immediate presence and power of God. Often, what we identify as our need for salvation is actually our refusal to accept what we are constantly and unconditionally being given. The time of Advent is a time to abandon all that hardens our hearts and stifles our spirits and allow ourselves to be overtaken by God’s gifts.
Prayer
Eternal Father, your grace has been from age to age. In the birth of your Son, you blessed us with the fullness of your presence. As we prepare in this Advent to celebrate his coming, may we continue to hear and receive your good news each day. Help us to learn to know the sound of your voice as you tell us how to build your Kingdom. We ask this of you who lives and reigns with your Son and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.