A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday Liturgy

 

BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 6, n. 2)

Second Sunday of Advent, Year A – December 9, 2007

 

“A Messianic Vision”

 

 

BIBLE READINGS

Is 11:1-10  // Rom 15:4-9 // Mt 3:1-12

 

N.B. Series 6 of BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD: A LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY LITURGY includes a prayerful study of the Sunday liturgy of Year A from the perspective of the First Reading. For another set of reflections on the Sunday liturgy of Year A, please go to the PDDM Web Archives: WWW.PDDM.US and open Series 3.

 

 

 

I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS

 

With beautiful images of hope, the Advent liturgy continues to strengthen the faith of the community of believers in their spiritual journey. In this Sunday’s Old Testament reading (Is 11:1-10), we hear the words of the prophet Isaiah describing the messianic era and offering an idyll of peace, harmony and justice.

 

The biblical scholar, Eugene Maly comments: “The goal of the Christian Advent is transcendent – the coming of the Lord. Reflection on such a goal will lead to a deeper faith and stronger hope. This will inevitably weaken the virulence of less significant differences. Advent provides a unity of purpose. An idyllic picture of the goal is given in the first reading for this Sunday. It is one of Isaiah’s messianic prophecies. Here he speaks of a coming David’s son (from the stump of Jesse, David’s father) on whom the empowering spirit of the Lord would rest and who would bring justice and peace to the land. That the prophet has in mind a transcendent goal (that is, one far surpassing the possibilities of creation as we know them) is evident from the descriptions of animals and children and their activities. However literally this is to be understood, we can be sure that the prophet was serious in what he was saying. And what he is saying is that there is a future glory for those who believe.”

 

The prophet Isaiah lived in Jerusalem in the latter part of the 8th century B.C. when there was a terrible socio-political turmoil caused by the Assyrian Empire’s threat and invasion. Many kingdoms were crushed. Judah’s kinsmen in the northern Kingdom of Israel were routed by the Assyrians and sent into exile in 722 B.C. Despite the disaster experienced by the northern Kingdom, the prophet Isaiah predicted that the Kingdom of Judah would be spared. Isaiah envisioned a future when Judah and Israel, kingdoms of the north and south, would be reunited. The enemy siblings, Judah and Israel would finally be reconciled through the saving work of a Spirit-filled messianic king, a shoot sprouting from the “stump of Jesse”. This future Davidic king would reign with a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit of counsel and strength, a spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord. He would judge the poor with justice and defend the rights of the helpless. The ideal King would be after God’s own heart. His Kingdom would be a reign of harmony, peace and reconciliation – reconciliation among the members of God’s creation and creation’s reconciliation with its Creator. The prophet Isaiah’s idyll of animal enemies living together serenely and harmoniously is a beautiful portrait of God’s benevolent plan and the glorious destiny he meant for his people and the entire creation.

 

However, the prophecy of the ideal Davidic King announced by Isaiah would not be fulfilled in his lifetime. That prophecy is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the “anointed one” and consecrated by the Spirit of Yahweh for the mission of universal salvation. In the fullness of time would be the advent of the Messiah and the definitive realization of the divine redemptive plan through the paschal sacrifice of that messianic King. The liturgical scholar Adrian Nocent remarks: “The Messiah will be born of a woman and thus be a part of the dynasty of David … But the Messiah’s coming is not the end. Isaiah bids us look beyond him to the Day of Yahweh, a day that is all-decisive and terrible for man, yet also a day of justice and peace when the world will find itself once again ordered and at one with its Maker.”

 

The messianic vision of peace and harmony presented by the prophet Isaiah in the First Reading (Is 11:1-10) is complemented by the fiery warnings of John the Baptist in this Sunday’s Gospel reading (Mt 3:1-12). Harold Buetow observes: “The Gospel reading shatters the idyllic character of that first reading, or so it seems. Here we have a rampaging John the Baptizer telling a brood of vipers about the wrath to come. He speaks of the axe being laid to the root of the tree, of the tree being thrown into the fire, and of the chaff being eternally burned. Isaiah and the Baptizer are really not working at odds with one another. The first is looking at the final enduring results of the coming, while the second has his eyes on the preparation that is needed. The way has to be made ready; the straight path has to be cleared. Then the One who is to come can come. This aspect of Advent can be conducive to reducing friction in a community. If each member can work at removing the obnoxious, the offensive, the insensitive from his or her life, that chaff will be burned and the way made ready. The Christ is worthy of the best in all of us. That was the Baptizer’s conviction.”

 

Finally, this Sunday’s liturgy enables us to consider the shadows and pain in today’s world that do not correspond to the messianic idyll of peace and harmony announced by the prophet Isaiah. Adrian Nocent tries to come to grips with this perplexing situation: “How can we see the golden age in a world that is adrift, a world in which virtue and vice are so mingled? We can only respond by pointing to the fact that the Good News is being preached to the poor, the blind see, and the dead rise – since the Church accomplishes all these miracles in the spiritual order. The outlook of faith and a hope grounded in faith – these alone can enable us to see the presence of the golden age in its beginnings. Advent is the season of Christian optimism.”

 

The following article, “There’s No Place Like Home” about a hapless victim (cf. POVERELLO NEWS, September 2007 issue) illustrates how some people of goodwill endeavor to hasten in today’s wounded world the advent of God’s kingdom. By their works of justice for the poor and needy, Papa Mike and the staff of the POVERELLO HOUSE remind us that the promotion of the messianic idyll is our task and challenge.

 

Like millions before him, he saw California as the Promised Land, a place abounding in hope and prosperity. For some reason, Little Rock, Arkansas had become a dead end. Maybe he had his own problems that made it hard for him to make it in his hometown, or maybe home had grown too small for him. Whatever the reason, he wanted to get away from failure or pain, so he looked westward with longing and naïve dreams of success. He was going to hook up with some distant relatives when he got to Fresno, live with them temporarily, and find a job. Not the most practical plan, but one that is all too familiar to us at Poverello House. Arriving at the bus station, he set out to get the lay of the land, and almost immediately, was mugged and robbed. Everything, including the names and phone numbers of relatives he’d never met, was stolen. He was savagely beaten, and ended up in the hospital with a broken wrist and cracked ribs. He was released, hurting, penniless, and depressed, and somehow made his way to Poverello House. Word on the street was that he could find help there. At lunchtime, homeless people pointed out Mike McGarvin to him. He approached and asked Mike for help. What did he want? Just to go back home, where he knew people, where he wouldn’t be assaulted and robbed within ten minutes of arriving. Mike doesn’t do much “Greyhound therapy” anymore; more often that not, people are stuck in town because they’ve blown their money on drugs. However, something about this sad man in his late twenties appealed to Mike. As he does with anybody asking for a bus ticket, Mike told the man he could be on his way home if he passed a drug test. The test came out clean, so Mike bought him a ticket, loaded him with enough food for the trip, and put him on the bus for home. Unlike so many who have been able to find a new life in the Golden State, this man instead discovered how mean the streets of California can be. As with so many others we assist, we will never know if our efforts to help this man will enable him to find his way in the world. However, Mike sent him off with a silent prayer for his safety. He left with the assurance that on the hardscrabble streets of Fresno, there is a place of refuge called Poverello House, and a big man with an equally big heart, known on those streets as Papa Mike.

 

 

II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART

 

  1. What is the messianic idyll or image depicted by the prophet Isaiah in the Old Testament reading? What is the mission of the Messiah to the poor and the afflicted? How does the messianic vision of peace and harmony impact you?

 

2        How does the image of the rampaging and ascetic John the Baptist affect you? How do you respond to his proclamation about the advent of the Messiah and his calls to “prepare the way of the Lord … make straight his paths”?

 

3        What do you resolve to make the vision of messianic peace and harmony a lived possibility and reality? How will you participate in the messianic mission of “judging the poor with justice” and in “deciding aright for the land’s afflicted”? What will you do to make this year’s Advent season more meaningful and fruitful, especially with regards to the task and challenge of promoting the God’s Kingdom of justice and peace?

 

 

III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD

Leader: Father,

we receive with joy the messianic idyll of peace and harmony

and we open our hearts

to the advent of Jesus Christ, the Messiah in our lives.

Through him, your Spirit-filled Servant and obedient Son,

we have been introduced into your peaceful kingdom.

Christ our King rules with justice and integrity.

As compassionate Shepherd of your chosen flock,

he protects the rights of the poor and the helpless.

We submit to his benevolent rule

and like him, we ask you to anoint us

with the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,

of counsel and strength,

of knowledge and fear of the Lord.

With Christ living in us,

make us a sign of his saving love.

United intimately in his messianic mission,

strengthen us in our endeavor

to hasten the coming of your kingdom of justice and peace

in today’s anguished world.

Assembly: For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen.

 

 

 

IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD

 

            The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.

 

“He shall judge the poor with justice and decide aright for the land’s afflicted.” (Is 11:4)

 

 

 

V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION

 

  1. ACTION PLAN: Meditate on the prophet Isaiah’s fascinating idyll of the messianic coming. By your acts of justice and benevolent works for the poor, the needy and the defenseless, endeavor to hasten the definitive advent of God’s kingdom in our world.

 

ACTION PLAN: To help us realize more effectively the messianic vision of peace, justice and harmony of nations brought about by the advent of our Lord Jesus Christ, make an effort to spend an hour in Eucharistic Adoration. Visit the PDDM WEB site (www.pddm.us) for the EUCHARISTIC ADORATION THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR (Vol. 4, n. 2): A Weekly Pastoral Tool.

 

 

 

Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang  PDDM

 

 

PIAE DISCIPULAE DIVINI MAGISTRI

SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER

60 Sunset Ave., Staten Island, NY 10314

Tel. (718) 494-8597 // (718) 761-2323

Website: WWW.PDDM.US

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