SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT A
OVERFLOWING HOPE
MT 3; 1-12
MESSAGE
This season of Advent is about hope, a gift of God, a virtue that, together with faith and charity, enters our hearts when we believe in the Lord. St. Paul proclaims to the Romans that what has been written, the Scriptures, aim at one thing: to foster and increase hope. The first reading speaks of a figurative “stump” of Jesse, the remnant of the cut down or fallen tree that somehow yields a tiny leaf, sign of hope in the midst of seeming decay. We have just celebrated last year’s Jubilee of Hope, and yet hope continues to follow us, to overflow into the present, and to help us reach the future.
The opposite of hope is hopelessness, a sense of despair, a lack of trust in the promises of God. Today, in the midst of a culture that revels in optimism, in success, in bright smiles all over social media, the irony is that people lack hope. In our culture of images, we are ready to project the best, the beautiful, the bliss we wish we do enjoy. The problem is that the projection is mere wishful thinking, a pretense, a façade to conceal our real situation. For behind the glitter of images is a vacuum that needs to be filled.
We long for love to fill our loneliness. We desire connection to destroy our divided hearts. We yearn for forgiveness to set us on the track towards new life. Our longing, our desiring, our yearning – these all indicate a search for meaning, a pursuit of hope, a dream of fulfillment.
Isaiah prophesies hope while Paul proclaims it. In the Gospel, John the Baptist discovers the real hope of the world. He proclaims the One who is coming in power, full of the Spirit and ardent with fire. He proclaims the only One who can give hope to humankind – the Son of God, Jesus Christ.
REFLECT
What do you hope for in this season of Advent? What is that deepest desire of your heart that you want to see fulfilled soon? Did you open your heart lately to Jesus to discuss your situation? Let Jesus enter your heart and plant the seed of hope that will give meaning to your life.
