2nd Week of Advent
14th December 2023 (Thursday) Readings and Reflection
Psalter: Week 2
Reading of the Day
First Reading: Isaiah 41:13-20
I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.” Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel! I am the one who helps you, declares the Lord; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. Behold, I make of you a threshing sledge, new, sharp, and having teeth; you shall thresh the mountains and crush them, and you shall make the hills like chaff; you shall winnow them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the tempest shall scatter them. And you shall rejoice in the Lord; in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory. When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the Lord will answer them; I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys. I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. I will put in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive. I will set in the desert the cypress, the plane and the pine together, that they may see and know, may consider and understand together, that the hand of the Lord has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it.
Psalm 145:1 and 9, 10-11, 12-13ab (R. 8)
R/. The Lord is kind and full of compassion, slow to anger, abounding in mercy.
Alleluia
V/. Alleluia R/. Alleluia
V/. Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit.
R/. Alleluia
Gospel : Matthew 11:11-15
At that time: His mother and his brothers came to Jesus, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you.” But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”
Daily Gospel Reflection
The Reflection by Fr. Thumma Mariadas Reddy MSFS{alertWarning}
Highlight: Fear not, I will help you!
Guidlines: God never ceases to assure us of His unfailing love and mercy toward us. He assures us that He will transform our desperate situations into joyful and productive experiences through His intervention{alertSuccess}
1. In the gospel, first Jesus praises John the Baptist as “the greatest of all born of women”. But immediately he praises anyone “least in the kingdom of heaven as greater than John the Baptist”. This is in no way belittling John the Baptist.
2. The emphasis here is on belonging to the realm of the kingdom, on the spiritual birth. John the Baptist was great because already in his mother’s womb, he could encounter the Savior who was in Mary’s womb. He could be moved by the Holy Spirit. He could leap with joy in the vicinity of Jesus.
3. In fact, Jesus is showing us the true greatness of John the Baptist. He is great not just because he was miraculously borne in his mother’s womb. Much more, because he encountered already the Saviour.
4. He was already anointed by the Holy Spirit. Further, for the sake of the kingdom, he confronted violence and faced death. True to the words of the first reading from Isaiah, he was made a threshing sledge to thresh the people to the right path.
5. Therefore, anyone who encounters Jesus, sanctified by the Holy Spirit, and commits himself to the spread of God’s kingdom amidst all violence and destruction will be certainly great in the kingdom of heaven.
6. Thus, it is not a matter of birth or lineage that makes one great. It is not the birth but rebirth. It is not the lineage but belongingness to Jesus. All that is needed is to place total trust in God’s assurance. God promises this: “I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand. Fear not, I will help you”.
Practice: The promises of God should reinvigorate our drooping spirits. The Lord repeatedly says, “Fear not. I will help you”{alertSuccess}