[1]Once
upon a time there were two kingdoms entangled in battle for several years. At last a kingdom was victorious. To mark the occasion, the victorious king
decreed a competition be held to paint a picture commemorating the peace
achieved. Two painters came
forward. The king explained his desire for
the painting and offered a handsome prize to the winner. Then he dismissed the painters to their
work. After some time passed the king summoned
the painters individually to judge their work.
The first painter reported and revealed his work. It was a beautiful and bright picture of the
castle and surrounding kingdom. The
castle was painted as it must have looked when it was first built with brightly
colored flags on each parapet. It was
painted against a bright backdrop of a beautiful blue sky. Surrounding the castle was an array of forest
greenery with a large green meadow. In
the meadow, children were playing, with villagers sharing a meal. There was even a bunny rabbit in the
foreground, seemingly undisturbed by the peaceful setting. The king gazed upon the picture with an
emotionless expression. He dismissed the
painter commenting he would reserve judgement until he saw both paintings.
When the second painters work was revealed, the king immediately noticed it was a considerably darker painting. The castle and surrounding kingdom had the
marks of years of battle. The castle was
scarred, the parapet flags were weathered and torn. The backdrop was grey as if there may be a
storm brewing. The surrounding landscape
was green, in patches, there were children in the meadow with the villagers
vigilantly watching over them. There wasn’t
even a bunny rabbit anywhere in the picture!
The king did notice, in the lowest corner of the painting on the very
edge, a fallen tree with a fresh shoot sprouting from its stump and a small white
dove perched upon it.[2]
Now which picture best represents the reality of our
lives? The fairy-tale picture where
everything is bright and beautiful or the second picture where things are a bit
darker?
I would suggest that today’s readings points to the hope
depicted in the second picture. Isaiah
says the Messiah will “judge the poor with justice.” (Is 11:4) The psalmist
sings, “justice will flourish in his time, and fullness of peace forever.” (Ps
72:7) And Paul prays, “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to
think in harmony with one another.” (Rom 15:5)
In the span of our lived experiences, we have witnessed the
destructiveness of war and human hate. Oh,
that we would truly recognize God’s creation as a “holy mountain” where justice
would flourish and decisions were made “aright for the land’s afflicted.” (Is 11:4)
More than ever, we need the vision of hope spoken by the
prophet Isaiah. But rather than just a
vision of hope, Christ has come so that “the spirit of the Lord would rest upon
[us]. A spirit of wisdom and
understanding, counsel and strength, knowledge and fear of the Lord.” (Is
11:2-4) Peace and justice, hope and harmony—this is Jesus.
In a few moments, we will profess our belief that Jesus
Christ will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. This is a side of Jesus that can make us uncomfortable. We’d rather think of him as the one who heals,
encourages and consoles. He is all these
things. This is where we can learn
something important from John the Baptist “when he saw the many Pharisees and
Sadducees coming to his baptism.” (Mt 3:7) He was not going to let his baptism
just be a bit of religious formalism, an exercise in harmless piety; he was
determined to reach people at the core of their being—this is Advent. Preparing for Christmas involves not only
celebration but introspection. How ready
are we for the coming of Christ?[3]
Preparing our hearts for Christ can be a daunting task in a
world where division and hatefulness are encouraged and even celebrated; where
we can barely speak cordially to each other.
Yet Christ gives us a mission. We
come closer each and every day we regard our common life on this planet as
sacred and seek to be converted toward peace and justice in our own lives and
circles of influence.
This is how, even in our own brokenness and bearing the scars
of our battles fought, we can still be a fresh shoot sprouting forth to bring
peace, hope and harmony in our own little corner of the picture.
[1] New American Bible, Saint Joseph Edition ©
1986. Scriptures: Isaiah 11:1-10; Romans 15:4-9; Matthew 3:1-12
[2] Unknown Author.
[3] Sundays with Jesus. Prepare the Way of
the Lord by James DiGiacomo, SJ © 2007. Paulist Press, NJ
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