2 NIEDZIELA ADWENTU – ROK A
(Iz 11,1-10)
IS 11:1-10
On that day, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse,
and from his roots a bud shall blossom.
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.
Not by appearance shall he judge,
nor by hearsay shall he decide,
but he shall judge the poor with justice,
and decide aright for the land’s afflicted.
He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.
Justice shall be the band around his waist,
and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.
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,
with a little child to guide them.
The cow and the bear shall be neighbors,
together their young shall rest;
the lion shall eat hay like the ox.
The baby shall play by the cobra’s den,
and the child lay his hand on the adder’s lair.
There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD,
as water covers the sea.
On that day, the root of Jesse,
set up as a signal for the nations,
the Gentiles shall seek out,
for his dwelling shall be glorious.
(Rz 15,4-9)
ROM 15:4-9
Brothers and sisters:
Whatever was written previously was written for our instruction,
that by endurance and by the encouragement of the Scriptures
we might have hope.
May the God of endurance and encouragement
grant you to think in harmony with one another,
in keeping with Christ Jesus,
that with one accord you may with one voice
glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Welcome one another, then, as Christ welcomed you,
for the glory of God.
For I say that Christ became a minister of the circumcised
to show God’s truthfulness,
to confirm the promises to the patriarchs,
but so that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy.
As it is written:
Therefore, I will praise you among the Gentiles
and sing praises to your name.
(Mt 3,1-12)
MT 3:1-12
John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea
and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said:
A voice of one crying out in the desert,
Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.
John wore clothing made of camel’s hair
and had a leather belt around his waist.
His food was locusts and wild honey.
At that time Jerusalem, all Judea,
and the whole region around the Jordan
were going out to him
and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River
as they acknowledged their sins.
When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees
coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers!
Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance.
And do not presume to say to yourselves,
‘We have Abraham as our father.’
For I tell you,
God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones.
Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees.
Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit
will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
I am baptizing you with water, for repentance,
but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I.
I am not worthy to carry his sandals.
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.”
MYŚLI DO KAZANIA:
1. Bóg stworzył świat z niczego. Dla Boga nie ma nic niemożliwego. W pierwszym czytaniu widzimy dziwną wizję Proroka Izajasza – świat w którym nie ma przemocy, świat w którym drapieżne zwierzęta są łagodne, świat gdzie nikt nikogo się nie boi. Możemy sobie powiedzieć, że to tylko pobożne życzenie proroka, że to nie jest wiara tylko myślenie życzeniowe, że to tylko świat fantazji. Jednak ta symboliczna wizja pokazuje, że w Bogu jest tyle mocy i dobra, że nie tylko potrafi stworzyć coś z niczego, ale potrafi uczynić coś o wiele więcej – potrafi zamienić nienawiść w miłość. Tylko Bóg może dokonać tego cudu.
2. Różdżka z pnia Jessego to obraz Mesjasza. Na tej różdżce widzimy listki darów Ducha Świętego. Jezus przychodzi, aby dać nam te duchowe dary: …duch mądrości i rozumu, duch rady i męstwa, duch wiedzy i bojaźni Pana. Wiemy dobrze, że świętość nie polega na tym, aby być tylko bez grzechu. Świętość zaczyna się wtedy, kiedy pojawiają się w naszym życiu listki Bożej łaski, a z czasem owoce słodkich cnót.
3. Diabeł kiedy widzi, że nie może nas pociągnąć do grzechu w sposób bezpośredni i wybrudzić nim nasze serce, wtedy stara się zapełnić naszą duszę fałszywymi podróbkami darów duchowych. Wrzuca do serca zamiast mądrości – przebiegłość, zamiast męstwa – egoizm, zamiast rozumu – tylko krótkowzroczną inteligencję. Dar Boży przewyższa nasze oczekiwanie…
4. Wiele rzeczy możesz kupić w sklepie czy przez internet, ale nigdy nie kupisz nadziei. Możesz podróżować po całym świecie szukając sensu, ale nigdy nie znajdziesz nadziei. Możesz przeczytać tysiące książek, ale nie znajdziesz tam nadziei. Znajdziesz tylko chwilowe pocieszenie, chwilowe zapomnienie swoich problemów czy płytki optymizm. Święty Paweł pokazuje, że źródło nadziei jest w Słowie Bożym. Nadzieja jest towarem deficytowym. Ludzie żyją w endogennym smutku, w łańcuchach depresji nie dlatego że mają problemy, ale dlatego, że nie mają nadziei. Pismo Święte jest jak plaster miodu, z którego wypływa nadzieja. Takim to miodem na pustyni żywił się Prorok Adwentowy – Jan Chrzciciel.
5. Ludzie przychodzą do Jana nad Jordan, tłumy gromadzą się na pustyni. Ludzie porzucają gwarne miasta i przytulne wioski, ponieważ szukają nadziei. Nawet faryzeusze i uczenie w Piśmie widzą, że prawo według którego żyją, daje im tylko zadowolenie, ale nie daje nadziei i sensu istnienia.
6. Droga do nadziei to droga porzucenia tego co daje nam pozór nadziei – czyli grzechu. Każdy grzech jest kłamstwem, ponieważ próbuje udawać, że daje nam sens i wytchnienie. Od cukru można się uzależnić, można nawet zachorować na cukrzycę, dlatego musimy wyruszyć na pustynię, gdzie pokrzepimy się miodem nadziei. W tej metaforze cukier to wszystko co udaje głęboki duchowy sens w naszym życiu; miód oznacza nadzieję.
7. Czytaj Pismo Święte, uciekaj przed zgiełkiem na pustynie, nie bój się ciszy, chwyć się różańca jak się chwyta pustynne kamienie. Słuchaj proroków, obmywaj swą duszę w wodach spowiedzi. Z czasem Bóg zacznie napełniać cię Ogniem swej obecność, który daje blask nadziei.
REFLECTIONS ON TODAYS READINGS:
1. God created the world from nothing because nothing is impossible for God. In the first reading, we see an extraordinary vision through the Prophet Isaiah. He describes a world in which there is no violence; a world in which predatory animals are gentle; a world where no one is afraid of anyone else. We might say that it is only the wishful thinking of a prophet; that it is not faith, but a pleasant dream; that it is only a fantasy world. However, this symbolic vision shows us that there is so much power and goodness in God that He can not only create something out of nothing, but he can do much more; He can turn hatred into love and He can change violent behavior into peaceful behavior. Only God can perform such a miracle.
2. A shoot that sprouts from the stump of Jesse is an image of the Messiah. On this sprouted branch, we can see the leaves of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Jesus comes to give us these spiritual gifts of wisdom and understanding; spiritual gifts of counsel and bravery; spiritual gifts of knowledge and fear of the Lord. We know well that holiness is not just being without sin, rather holiness begins when the leaves of God’s grace appear in our lives and with time, blossom into the fruits of sweet virtues.
3. When the devil sees that he cannot lead us directly into sin and that he cannot put evil thoughts into our hearts, he attempts to fill our hearts and minds with false “spiritual” gifts. Instead of wisdom, he attempt to fill our human hearts with cunning; instead of bravery, with selfishness; instead of understanding, with a short-sighted vision of life. However, God’s gifts exceed our expectations and the evil ways of Satan.
4. You can buy many things in a store or on-line, but you can never purchase hope. You can travel around the world looking for meaning, but you will never encounter hope. You can read thousands of books, but you will not uncover hope there. These are only means of finding temporary consolation or shallow optimism. These efforts are only a temporary suspension of our worldly optimism. St. Paul shows us that the source of true hope is in God’s Eternal Word.
5. Hope is a scarce commodity as we witness people living in endogenous (internal) sadness, wrapped in the hopeless chains of depression, unable to face the challenges of life. The Bible is like a honeycomb from which hope flows. This Biblical honey was eaten in the desert by John the Baptist, the Prophet of the Advent season. People left their homes to gather with John in the desert. Today, In a similar way, some people abandon bustling cities and cozy villages in search of hope. In Scripture, we learn that even the Pharisees saw that the laws they lived by gave them only temporary contentment but no sense of hope.
6. The road to true hope must begin by abandoning sin which gives us the appearance of hope. Every sin is a lie because it pretends to give us meaning and respite. A person can become addicted to sugar which may lead to diabetes. In order to avoid this addiction, we must go to the spiritual desert where we will be refreshed with the honey of true hope. In this metaphor, sugar is the false pretense of a deep spiritual sense in our lives. We must partake of supernatural honey which is the genuine hope.
7. Read the Holy Bible and escape from the hustle and bustle into the spiritual desert. Do not be afraid of silence; grab the rosary like you might grab the desert stones. Listen to the Prophets and wash your soul in the waters of confession. With time, God will begin to fill your heart with the fire of His presence while giving you the glow of hope.
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