2nd Sunday Of Advent Year C - 9/12/2018 - Gospel: Lk 3: 1-6
Cries for joy
Some believe that a wilderness is a deadly place, a place of desolation and scarcity. For John the Baptist wilderness was a place for physical maturity and spiritual growth in the Lord. His childhood life was in the wilderness and he actually grew up in the wilderness. Lk 1,80. His physical growth and spiritual strength were developed within the contact of personal scarcity, isolation, hunger, and cruelty in the wilderness. The pain of loneliness and injustice and mistreatment and other forms of abuses of oneself or to other people in our modern society are considered as some forms of cruelty in the wilderness. For John the Baptist, the wilderness experience was a positive one because there he found his own vocation and made home with God. John was not alone in this personal growth; his Master, Jesus himself was very much regularly preferred to enter wilderness. He prepared his public ministry by spending days and nights in the wilderness Jn. 4:1. Later on in life, Jesus often escaped into the wilderness when people wanted him to be their leader. When his disciples could not find him in a crowd they found him alone in solitude, talking to God.
Prophet Isaiah prophesised that 'a voice cries in the wilderness'. Is 40,3
Shedding tears is a way we express our inner emotion. We sometimes shed tears of joy and that is normal, a good thing to do. Our appearance seems to be at odd with our feelings because tears often associate to sadness and bad feelings. Shed tears for joy is a positive feeling. It increases our happiness. People cry because they're sad and after crying they feel better; when we are overjoyed we shed tears and we feel our happiness is increasing many folds. The word of God that came to John was in the wilderness Lk 3, and the word of God moved John to came into the open calling people to repent and proclaim the baptism for the forgiveness of sin. By renouncing sin that person welcomed the Messiah into his/her live. John served as the bridge between the Old and the New Testament. He was the last prophet of the Old Testament and the first person who paved the way for the Lord who was the establishing the new era, the era of Redemption. John's public ministry was well received by the public and also received opposition from the political and religious authority who refused to repent. His message of repentance threatened those who were active in the present order and they would fight back. John would end up in dead as we knew.
The voice crying in the wilderness must be a happy voice. There is no reason for John to be unhappy. He was happy because he was chosen to serve the Messiah, paving the way for others to welcome the Messiah. He was looking forward to begin his public ministry and cried out with joy when the time arrived for him to start. He cried out with joy when people came to him in abundance to listen to him and to receive the baptism for the forgiveness of sin. He was happy when soldiers and officers came to him for free consultation asking how to change their lives towards the Messiah. He was happy when he saw the Messiah and pointed him out to his own disciples. He was happy to learn that his message of repentance had reached the authority. He was happy to hear and see what others would love to hear and love to see but they could not mat 13,17. Finally he was happy to bear witness for the Messiah with his own blood.
John's message shed light to those who were in darkness and come to welcome the Light. We pray to open the darkness corners of our heart to welcome the Light of Christ shining at Christmas.
Prophet Isaiah prophesised that 'a voice cries in the wilderness'. Is 40,3
Shedding tears is a way we express our inner emotion. We sometimes shed tears of joy and that is normal, a good thing to do. Our appearance seems to be at odd with our feelings because tears often associate to sadness and bad feelings. Shed tears for joy is a positive feeling. It increases our happiness. People cry because they're sad and after crying they feel better; when we are overjoyed we shed tears and we feel our happiness is increasing many folds. The word of God that came to John was in the wilderness Lk 3, and the word of God moved John to came into the open calling people to repent and proclaim the baptism for the forgiveness of sin. By renouncing sin that person welcomed the Messiah into his/her live. John served as the bridge between the Old and the New Testament. He was the last prophet of the Old Testament and the first person who paved the way for the Lord who was the establishing the new era, the era of Redemption. John's public ministry was well received by the public and also received opposition from the political and religious authority who refused to repent. His message of repentance threatened those who were active in the present order and they would fight back. John would end up in dead as we knew.
The voice crying in the wilderness must be a happy voice. There is no reason for John to be unhappy. He was happy because he was chosen to serve the Messiah, paving the way for others to welcome the Messiah. He was looking forward to begin his public ministry and cried out with joy when the time arrived for him to start. He cried out with joy when people came to him in abundance to listen to him and to receive the baptism for the forgiveness of sin. He was happy when soldiers and officers came to him for free consultation asking how to change their lives towards the Messiah. He was happy when he saw the Messiah and pointed him out to his own disciples. He was happy to learn that his message of repentance had reached the authority. He was happy to hear and see what others would love to hear and love to see but they could not mat 13,17. Finally he was happy to bear witness for the Messiah with his own blood.
John's message shed light to those who were in darkness and come to welcome the Light. We pray to open the darkness corners of our heart to welcome the Light of Christ shining at Christmas.
Written by Fr Vũđình Tường
St Francis Xavier Catholic Parish
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane Australia
St Francis Xavier Catholic Parish
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane Australia
