Jesus Gives Meaning to Life

Sunday, December 8, 2024
Second Sunday of Advent
Bar 5:1-9/Phil 1:4-6, 8-11/Lk 3:1-6 (Lectionary #6)
What am I contributing to life on this planet? Does it give sufficient meaning to my life? A sense of purpose? Does it motivate me to get up in the morning? Am I interested in bringing about a renewal of society beyond the boundaries of my own work and family? How do I see Jesus fitting into this?
It would be a mistake to think Jesus is only working to make people “holy” in a sense so “spiritual” that it does not address the problems of society. Jesus came to establish the “reign of God” on earth, which is described as “a kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love and peace” (Mass of Christ the King). This is the goal we work for.
The Opening Prayer(s) both speak of “wisdom,” which St. Thomas Aquinas defines two ways: as “the habit of seeing everything in the light of the ultimate end,” and as “the gift of appreciation for spiritual things.” (The Latin word for “wisdom,” sapientia, comes from sapor, savor, taste). In reality, these are the same: if we look at everything in the light of our final union with God, we will appreciate the “spiritual things” that lead us there.
One of the “spiritual things” that we must appreciate to be in union with God on this earth is the goal of bringing about the reign of God in the world. Jesus taught us this: “When you pray, say… ‘Thy kingdom come!’”
In the Opening Prayers we ask God to “remove the things that hinder us from receiving Christ with joy.” Specifically, the “lure of greed” and the “darkness” that “blinds us to the vision of wisdom.” If affluence and comfort keep us from feeling spiritual hunger, and if nothing in our life is focusing us on the goal of establishing the kingdom of God on earth, then we are simply blinded by the darkness of our culture. We are in the dark.
During Advent we ask God to “remove” these obstacles by the “power” that makes him able to, and the “mercy” that makes him want to. Advent invites us to believe in God’s power and in his mercy.
A vision to inspire
The Responsorial Psalm recalls the past to give us hope for the future: “The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.”
The vision that Baruch 5: 1-9 holds before us is “God leading Israel in joy” home to Jerusalem after their exile.
God will show all the earth your splendor: you will be named by God forever the peace of justice, the glory of God’s worship.
How would you translate this vision into our time? What is the “splendor” to which God is leading his Church? What is the vision of life on earth that you look forward to during Advent? Do you really have hope that God is bringing it about?
Do you believe Jesus is a Savior with an agenda? Did he come to earth, and is he still working on earth, to transform human society? Is he a Savior who calls us to action? One who gives a guiding goal to all human endeavor?
Matthew’s Gospel (1:17) graphs Israel’s history as rising from Abraham to its cultural and political peak in David; then going down to its lowest point in the Babylonian exile; and finally rising to its second and final peak in the “second David,” the “Son of David,” who is Jesus. This is the key to all human history: its goal and fulfillment is Jesus.
Attitude Adjustment
Luke 3: 1-6 does the same thing in a different way. He builds up our expectation in a dramatic crescendo:
In the fifteenth year of the rule of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was procurator of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, Philip tetrarch of…, and Lysanias tetrarch of… during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiphas….
And then comes the crashing climax that raises goosebumps:
…the word of the Lord came to John, son of Zechariah, in the desert.
Something is happening. Events are building to a climax. The climax is the coming of Jesus, heralded by John the Baptizer: “The word of the Lord came to John, son of Zechariah, in the desert.”
John’s message: “Make ready the way of the Lord, clear him a straight path…. All flesh shall see the salvation of God!”
This is the proclamation of history underway. Action is beginning on earth. God has begun to move. This is the time of fulfillment.
Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God has come near. Metanoeite! Change your minds and hearts. Believe in the good news.”
This is the spirit of Advent. It is an invitation to get involved.
Partnership
Yes, Jesus has come “proclaiming the good news.” But he depends on the “partnership” (koinonia) he has entered into with human beings to make the good news a reality throughout the world. So, Paul writes to the Philippians 1: 4-11:
I thank my God every time I remember you… because of your sharing in the gospel….
“Sharing” translates the Greek koinonia, which in the Greeting of the Mass we render as “fellowship” or “communion” in the Holy Spirit. The New American Bible interprets koinonia as “the way you have… helped promote the gospel, or as “your partnership for the gospel.” The Spanish Biblia Latinoamerica reads “the cooperation you have given me in the service of the gospel” and the Jerusalem Bible, from the French, says, “remembering how you have helped to spread the Good News.”
The consensus seems to be that the koinonia Paul has in mind is an active partnership with Jesus and other Christians in the work of bringing to realization the good news of the kingdom.
In his letter, Paul gets very practical.
My prayer is that your love may more and more abound, both in understanding and wealth of experience, so that with a clear conscience and blameless conduct you may learn to value the things that really matter….
To cooperate with Jesus, we have to be like Jesus — in knowledge, in desire (love), in our perception of reality and in our way of responding to what we perceive — which, again, is love, and always love!
The mystery of our redemption is this: God took flesh in Jesus to begin his work as a human so that humans might continue his work as divine.
The third Preface for Sundays in Ordinary Time sees this as a revelation of God’s “infinite power”: “You came to our rescue by your power as God, but you wanted us to be saved by one like us” — by Jesus, who would continue to save us in and through the human actions of those who become his body on earth by Baptism.
In the Presentation of Gifts at Mass we pray that through the “mystery” of the mingling of water and wine we will be lost and found in Christ’s divinity as he was lost and found in our humanity. This is the key to koinonia: we are partners with Jesus on the deep level of one shared life, human and divine. Partners in life, partners in labor, to rejoice together forever in the “peace of justice, the glory of God’s worship” that our labors are bringing about.
Imagine a world at peace because justice is universal. Imagine the splendor of the Church worshipping with the full, conscious, joyful participation of everyone present.
To cooperate with Jesus leading us to this goal, it is obvious that we must keep seeking to “abound in love and understanding,” and keep asking for the wisdom to “value the things that really matter.” Advent is a special time to do this. A joyful time. An encouraging time. A time that offers fulfillment through cooperation with Jesus in his work.
“The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.”
Insight: Do I see Jesus as an exciting leader to follow? Why?
Initiative: Write out a “profession of hope” in Jesus Christ. Make explicit what you hope your relationship with Him will do to give direction and purpose to all you do.

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