God is His Own Genesis

 

Advent Reflection

Second Sunday of Advent Year B

December 6, 2020

 

It has been said that the New Testament is hidden in the Old and that the Old Testament is revealed in the New. Isaiah speaks of a voice crying out in the wilderness. Creation will be transformed in preparation for the coming of Lord. Valleys shall be filled in, perhaps with the rocks and earth from the mountains and hills being made low!

St. Mark tells us that John the Baptist is that voice. John tells the people coming out to him in the desert to be baptized that he is the beginning of the transformation. His voice tells them that another is coming that will baptize not with water, but with the Holy Spirit!

The Lord, the God of the covenant, is coming in transforming power. Peter proclaims that the heavens will pass away with a mighty roar and the elements will be dissolved by fire, but there will be a new heavens and a new earth. The image I see is that of the Genesis device in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn. In a presentation, we see the device impact a lifeless moon. The energy released encircles the planetoid. Ahead of the wave is barren rock; behind is water and plant life—the transforming power of the Genesis wave.

 Genesis Device Demo

God is his own Genesis! Christ comes to lead us to transforming life. But even in his power, he will be as firm and gentle as a shepherd, gathering, leading, and carrying us next to his heart.

 

Are You the One?--Reflection on the 3rd Sunday of Advent

Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?" John the Baptist's question cuts to the heart of the Christian faith. Is Jesus the Christ who was to come? Are his teachings the truth? Is the Church the steward of his plan of salvation? Or is there another we should be following?

John had spent this life until that point preparing the way of the Lord. He had put his life on the line, proclaiming Jesus as "the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." Now John is in prison. Before he gives his life, he sends his disciples to ask Jesus if he is indeed the Christ. Why John's apparent doubt?

Being in prison gave John much time to think. As he considered his life he naturally wanted to be sure he was on the right path. I think he doubt arose from the simple fact that Jesus was his cousin. With family, you want to be sure!

Could Jesus, this man John had know since childhood, be the Messiah? Their first encounter came when Mary, now with child, travelled to see her cousin and John's mother Elizabeth, who was herself expecting after years of sterility. When Mary greeted Elizabeth, St. Luke tells us that John lept for joy while he was still in the womb.

Years later, when Joseph and Mary were returning from Jerusalem after celebrating Passover, they realized that Jesus was not with them. People travelled with extended family then. Luke tells us that "they were looking for him among their relatives and friends." It is certainly possible that John was in that group.

In any case, John was wondering about his cousin. Jesus' answer to John was to tell them "Go tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised and the poor have the Gospel preached to them." It is what Jesus does that proves who he is.

What about us. If someone were to ask if were could prove we were who we claimed to be, could we prove it? On a good day, maybe. What works could we point to and say this is what I have done; it shows who I am. It is good to be here for Mass to worship and grow in faith. Now, what about the rest of the week? It would be a shame if we were to receive Christ in faith in the Eucharist yet fail to become what we receive. We receive the Body of Christ. Let us become the body of Christ in the world.

Repent and Receive--A Reflection on the 2nd Sunday of Advent

John the Baptist is an astonishing man. He stands astride the Old and New Testaments; the last prophet of the Old and the first of the New. He lives out in the desert wilderness by the Jordan River. He eats locusts and wild honey and wears camel skins with a leather belt. His first words in Matthew's Gospel are “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” And let's not forget that his cousin is Jesus!

His preaching and presence brought many to be baptized, and the Pharisees and Sadducees didn't want to be overshadowed by this wild man. When they went to find out about his preaching for themselves, they must have been shocked. John is fearless. He calls them, the religious leaders of his day, a “brood of vipers!" and boldly asks them "Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?" He challenges them to "produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance." (Imagine if some people from the archdiocese and the seminary came to visit a parish and the priest said that to them!)

When St. Matthew heard John the Baptist preach, he was reminded of Isaiah's words "A voice of one crying out in the desert,/Prepare the way of the Lord,/make straight his paths. " John is preaching repentance to the people to prepare them for the coming of Christ. Today's first reading begins with a obscure reference to the Messiah. He shall come from the stump of Jesse. Perhaps you have heard of a "Jesse Tree"? Jesse was King David's father. The Messiah would come from David's royal line; he would be the son of David. In Isaiah's prophecy, the Kingdom has be reduced to a stump of a tree. Yet God promises that this stump shall produce a "branch" and that "from his roots a bud shall blossom." In other words, even though all looks hopeless, Christ will come!

What kind of Messiah will he be? John the Baptist says that "He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in his hand. He will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” Isaiah says that "The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD, and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD." The Church calls these the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are shared with us at Confirmation.

How do we put these two pictures together? By remembering that first we must repent as St. John the Baptist tells us. We must turn, change our minds about they way we have been living. We are sinners. We must become repentant sinners! We have been a brood of vipers doing evil. We must bring forth good fruit instead. When we have turned around to walk with Christ, then we can share in the gifts of the Holy Spirit that come from Jesus--not only at Confirmation, but throughout our lives as we continue to repent and become more deeply converted. Then we will see the reordering of creation that Isaiah speaks of "Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,/and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;/the calf and the young lion shall browse together...". These natural enemies will one day be reconciled and live in peace.

This healing of nature will be so complete that as Isaiah says, "On that day, the root of Jesse,/set up as a signal for the nations,/the Gentiles shall seek out." Or as St. Paul says "that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy." Yes, even Jews and Gentiles, once implacable enemies, will be reconciled in the Kingdom of God. It begins now with Confession, the sacrament of reconciliation. We confess our sins to a priest not just because he represents Christ forgiving us, but also because we recognize that our sins hurt other people. The sacrament of Confession reconciles us not only to God, but to other people as well.

So, Repent! Turn your minds and hearts to Christ. Then he will share his Spirit will you. You will be the wheat that he harvests and gathers into his barn. You will share the Eucharistic wheat in the Church. This is the ultimate reconciliation. The greatest gift is Christ himself.