|
|
|
|
Word To Life
|
Sunday Scripture Readings, Dec. 6, 2009
By Jeff Hedglen
Catholic News Service
December 6, Second Sunday of Advent.
Cycle C. Readings
1) Baruch 5:1-9
Psalm 126:1-6
2) Philippians 1:4-6, 8-11
Gospel: Luke 3:1-6
I was having lunch with a young adult recently. We were discussing the rough year she's had and all that God has been doing to help her through it.
At one point she wondered aloud when, or if, she would ever arrive at the place to which God has been bringing her. I shared with her that in my 40-plus years on the planet there have been a number of times when I thought I had "arrived." I remembered thinking at those times that I had finally grown up or made it through the hard stuff. There was a sense of finality to those moments, but the reality is that the "arrival" was more like arriving at an airport to board a plane, lands unknown yet to be discovered.
There is something in all of us that just wants to get to a place where we are comfortable and coast for the rest of life. But God doesn't usually work that way. In today's second reading, we hear these words from St. Paul: "I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus."
Yes, it is God who began the good work in us. Yes, God will complete it. But the completion happens on the day we meet Jesus face to face. This means God will be working with us always to bring us to deeper and deeper holiness.
God is a master planner. There is a plan for each one of us and a plan for the entire universe. This is revealed in a particular way in this Sunday's Gospel when we see the words of Isaiah, written centuries earlier, being fulfilled in the person of John the Baptist. Words that God put into the mouth of Isaiah long before come to fulfillment in the announcement of the Messiah. That's what I call planning ahead.
We are always on a journey striving toward our ultimate destination, but the ups and downs, twists and turns have yet to be completed. From time to time we experience special moments of "arrival," but those are just the scenic overlooks on the road to the beatific vision.
QUESTIONS:
What are some of your "moments of arrival"? In retrospect, how significant were they in your life's journey? What do you think St. Paul means by the "good work" that God has begun in you?
SCRIPTURE TO BE ILLUSTRATED:
"I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:6).
END
Copyright © 2009 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS Word To Life column may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service.
|
|
|
|
