(Isaiah 48:17-19, Psalm 1:1-2, 3, 4 And 6, Matthew 11:16-19)
Something is going to give, somehow, someway, things will be set straight, and the world will be made new, Scripture is abundantly clear on this note. However, a look throughout the history of mankind makes one wonder how this will ever happen. We witness man continually creating chaos, heartache, and pain. Today, as in Jesus’ days, we are a generation who is fanatically seeking happiness in places guaranteed to give us anything but happiness. This runs counter to the happiness God promises, and it is certainly not compatible with the truth God has placed in the hearts of each and every one of us. But alas, as St. Thomas Aquinas taught, man’s refusal of happiness is the result of human weakness and our falling captive to sin. So how will this ever change? There is one way my friends. We must seek to live a virtuous life as we continually seek to unite our hearts with the heart of God.
So how can we do this? How can we properly orientate ourselves towards God so that we can live a life of happiness and fulfillment? I believe that mastering anything, let alone something as important as mastering an ability to live a virtuous life, is accomplished by modeling someone who is already a master. As Catholics, we have a rich history laden with virtuous individuals who properly orientated themselves towards God – our early Church Fathers offer an excellent example. Now we must ask ourselves what is it they did that worked so well? They had faith in the promises of Jesus Christ and they time spent in the word of God. We too must do this, and, fortunately, the word of God, the Bible, is readily available throughout most parts of the world today. I believe it is time to model the early Church Fathers and immerse ourselves in the word of God with faith and with stoutheartedness. It is time to put God’s will before our will and trust in his promises.
So let’s look at today’s readings a bit. Our Gospel speaks of the generation during Jesus’ time. The ”flute” music reveals the goodness and the love Jesus, John and the disciples offered to all. Yet the people didn’t hear the exquisiteness of the music played right in front of them; the love, the compassion these men revealed. The “dirge” speaks to the asceticism of John, while simultaneously pointing out Jesus’ associations with the less acceptable people of society – tax collectors, prostitutes and the likes. John was a wild man and Jesus hung out with the “wrong” kind of people. Yes, Jesus and his men couldn’t win for anything. No matter how they delivered the message it fell on ears that could not hear. So what can our takeaway be here? As Christians, we are called to love one another as God has loved us – no matter the container. (Perfecting this commandment should keep us busy for quite a while…)
Looking towards our first reading and our Psalm there does exist a common theme, a blueprint of sorts to follow that promises what our hearts desire. Our descendants will be numerous, yielding much fruit, and our prosperity will be abundant when we follow the plan. The plan is rather simple, place God’s will before our own and, in doing so, we can hope to live a life of virtue. Following God’s commandments becomes not an external force, rather, it becomes an internal compass we willingly follow that directs us in proper living. From here we lovingly choose friendships out of reciprocal love without judgement. We become free to hear the flute and the dirge alike as we witness the joy and pain in the lives of others.
So let’s take this season of Advent to more fully surrender to the will of God. The season is full of hope as we look forward to the celebration of the birth of our Savior and anticipate his second coming. A bit of Christ is breathed into the fabric of the world, and his music plays everywhere for all with ears to hear. As we immerse ourselves in scripture and reflect on his word as the early church father did, let’s pray that God opens our ears.
Be blessed my friends!
