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Commentary of the Gospell
Convert to God”
“The Kingdom of God has come, it is in your midst” is the central message of every Christian mission. When a missionary goes, a Christian goes to proclaim Jesus, he is not going to proselytise as if he were a fan looking for more supporters for his team. No, he simply goes to announce: “The Kingdom of God is within you”. And so the missionary prepares the way for Jesus, who meets his people.
What the prophet saw was not an idyllic world, but a violent world, a corrupt society, an old people, a withered tree, but Isaiah announces a real miracle: from the old trunk “springs a new branch”. From the old and worn out can come an irresistible power. This means that we must continue to believe in miracles, be they of nature or of grace, that a profound experience and a trusting surrender to God’s will can activate our energy, but I believe rather in the sensitivity of the work of the Spirit and his continuous presence in us, so that in the most important moments of our existence extraordinary things like healing can happen.
The prophecy of Jesus: “A branch shall spring forth from the stump of Jesse” was fulfilled when Christ came into the world. “Do not remember the former things, for I am doing a new thing” (Is.43,19). What can we renew? Is renewal possible? It is possible if we change radically. This is what the whole world needs. Christians must shout out loud and clear the words of John the Baptist: Convert! This is our great task, but we cannot carry it out if we are not converted first. We have to wash away our stains and impurities, our way of being and thinking in order to be closer to God and to others.
Conversion involves more than relying on our lifelong Catholicism, on our routine practices of piety done for the sake of compliance. It demands what John the Baptist asks of us: “He who has two coats, let him give one to him who has none, and he who has food, let him do likewise”.
It is a question of looking and seeing everything from the point of view of love, never forgetting that being a Christian is a challenge in this world in which we live. But I don’t know if we live our Christianity in this way, perhaps not because the feeling we often give is that of fighting without courage and without tension.
We have to listen to the call of John the Baptist, who calls us to renewal, to conversion, to allow ourselves to be seduced by the Word of God. At this moment in history, his call is as valid as when he made his public appearance in the world.
(Prayer): Lord, may our will be your will, may we not be distracted by the things of this world, and may your gaze not turn away from us.
(Psalm 71) May righteousness flourish in your days, and peace abound forever.
“HAPPY SUNDAY TO ALL”.
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Wilderness Act
Read:
Isaiah prophesies about the “shoot of Jesse” who will rule with the Spirit of the Lord to lead us to the dawn of peace. Paul invites us to see God’s faithfulness realized in Christ. John the Baptist prepares the way for the Prince of Peace by inviting people to conversion.
Reflect:
John did not go to the towns and villages to preach (as would do his cousin later). John preached and baptized in the wilderness and people went to him. He had a singular message: Repent! Change your ways! Prepare the way for the Lord! In the fast-paced world we live in, it is hard to pause and reflect. We must necessarily “withdraw into the wilderness” periodically. Once in the wilderness, we must listen to the prophetic voice that emerges from within, asking us to change our ways. What do I need to repent from? What must I do to prepare myself to play host to the Lord? Advent is that time of the year when we should make this retreat to wilderness and discern with John the Baptist.
Pray:
Soulfully pray the act of contrition.
Act:
Identify some three areas in your life where you need to make definitive changes for the better. Plan out, in prayer, how to effect the change.