TUESDAY DECEMBER 5, 2023
TUESDAY OF THE FIRST WEEK OF ADVENT YEAR B
Isaiah 11:1-10
Luke 10:21-24
THE SPIRIT OF THE ADVENT SEASON
In this Advent season, the Church invites us to see beyond our human capacities and capabilities and earnestly desire to acquire the great knowledge and life by our openness to Christ, our expected Saviour who brings with him divine revelation and wisdom. It is a season of preparation towards the great coming of Christ.
This coming is going to usher peace, unity, righteousness and prosperity. Isaiah describes the idea of the new world order in the first reading. A world to be supervised by God himself where the hopeless will find hope and joy. For from the stump of Jesse shall arise the Saviour of the world. Stump normally are never useful anymore but in this new world, the stump of Jesse, the hopeless and the insignificant shall be restored, elevated and transformed.
Further, the unity of creation will be realized, the bond of harmony will be established and the whole creation will be at peace. The reasons for this being that God’s spirit will pervade the whole creation bringing concord and guiding all things.
The gospel of today continuing with the same sense of a new world order, after the disciples had preached and proclaimed the message of salvation to the people came rejoicing. Then Jesus made this proclamation that they should rather rejoice that their eyes see these things and their ears heard it and they are experiencing this new world order. It is a privileged experience granted them.
But he added a caveat for those who desire to enter into the new world order. That it is reserved for the meek and humble, not the brave and arrogant. Again, that we must seek the pleasure of our God and never our comfort and pride. That such knowledge of the salvation of our souls are privileged knowledge and wisdom given to us gratuitously and we must be grateful for these and never be proud or arrogant about it.
The new world order is to be ushered in with the coming of Christ who calls us to seek the glory of God, live in truth and be imbued with his spirit. These will bring about the new world order, characterized by peace, harmony, unity and prosperity. Above all, we must learn to be humble, giving ourselves to the actualization of it by reclining unto God and allowing his desires to be accomplished in us and through us.
Heavenly Father, you desire that your Son Jesus Christ by his advent into our world will bring peace, unity, prosperity and harmony. In this season, we beg you, send upon us your Spirit and make us respond adequately to the challenges of following you to establish your new world order. Grant that we may be humble and submissive to you. May we experience your love, peace, healing and divine restoration in this season of Advent through Christ our Lord.
Fr Norbert Uchuno
