Saturday of the Second Week in Advent
Intention: That all people will embrace the story of the birth of the Christ Child as a call to increase our attention to the needs of children throughout the world.
Today’s Gospel | Matthew 17: 9a, 10-13
As they were coming down from the mountain, the disciples asked Jesus, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” He said in reply, “Elijah will indeed come and restore all things; but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased. So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.
A Reflection for the Second Saturday of Advent
If Christmas is a time that brings out people’s wonderful generosity, it also is one that, sadly, brings out people’s terrible greed. It brings to light our society’s obsession with possessions and comfort and our mistaken tendency to define freedom and happiness strictly in terms of the individual. We order our lives around a worldview that resists cooperation and community as an imposition on the “rights and privileges” of the self. Through fear and suspicion, we make our brothers and sisters into a collective, mistrusted “them”, crippling our ability to be whole as the family of God’s children. Marilynne Robinson wrote, “To value one another is our greatest safety, and to indulge in fear and contempt is our gravest error.” The time of Advent is a time to realize that our fulfillment lies in treasuring our relationships and knowing redemption through the acceptance, healing, and dignity that we give to and receive from one another.
Prayer
Eternal Father, as we prepare during this Advent to celebrate the gift of our Lord, we remember that he taught us to live lives of faith, mercy, and justice, with peace in our hearts and with goodwill to all. You call us to walk in the ways of humility, trust, and compassion. For us, redemption is a grace that we come to together, and that we receive as one people in you. Open our minds and hearts to this truth. We ask this of you who lives and reigns with your Son and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.