2ND WEEK OF ADVENT
Psalter: Week 2 / (Violet)
Ps 80:2ac & 3b, 15-16, 18-19
Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
1st Reading: Sir 48:1-4, 9-11
Then came the prophet Elijah, like a fire, his words a burning torch. He brought a famine on the people and in his zealous love had them reduced in number. Speaking in the name of the Lord he closed the heavens, and on three occasions called down fire. How marvelous you were, Elijah, in your wondrous deeds! Who could ever boast of being your equal?
You were taken up by a whirlwind of flames in a chariot drawn by fiery horses.
It was written that you should be the one to calm God‘s anger in the future, before it broke out in fury, to turn the hearts of fathers to their sons and to restore the tribes of Jacob.
Happy are those who will see you and those who die in love, for we, too, shall live.
Gospel: Mt 17:9a, 10-13
And as they came down the mountain, Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone what they had seen, until the Son of Man be raised from the dead.
The disciples asked him, ”Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?” Jesus answered, ”So it is: first comes Elijah; and he will restore all things. But I tell you, Elijah has already come; and they did not recognize him; and they treated him as they pleased. And they will also make the Son of Man suffer.”
Then the disciples understood that Jesus was referring to John the Baptist.
Reflections
God gives signs to show his active presence in the world. His presence is disruptive as he points the way to truthful and merciful living. Humanity is called to a higher form of consciousness by responding to God‘s reign of justice and mercy. John the Baptist is one disruptive person who pointed to Jesus and prepared the way for his coming. John fulfilled the essential task of all the prophets: to be signs pointing to Jesus Christ. John is the last and greatest prophet of the old covenant. The Jews expected that when the Messiah would come, Elijah would appear to announce his presence. John fills the role of Elijah and prepares the way for the coming of Jesus Christ by preaching a baptism of repentance and renewal. Are we reading the signs of God in our lives or we blind to the prophets pointing to the new covenant offered by Jesus to us? Are we watchful servants preparing for the Lord‘s coming by moving away from our former way of life and moving to a life of truth and love? Are you eager to follow the way of the prophets and are you prepared to meet the Lord Jesus when he returns in glory? The challenge of the prophets is freedom from complacency and from compromising with the ways of falsehood and lies and freedom to live in the way of the new covenant. Truth-telling and the exercise of mercy are the ways to prepare for the coming of Jesus.
Daily Reflection 2018
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Biblical Texts are taken from Christian Community Bible, Catholic Pastoral Edition (57th Edition) The New English Translation for the ROMAN MISSAL
With permission from the EPISCOPAL COMMISION ON LITURGY of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines
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