1st Reading – Is 11: 1 - 10
2nd Reading – Rom 15: 4 - 5
Gospel – Mt 3: 1 - 12
Prepare a way for the Lord:
make his paths straight!!
In this second week Sunday of
Advent, the liturgical readings are calling us to prepare a way for the Lord: make his paths straight. It means
two important challenges: social justice and ecological justice.
The Emmanuel (God with
us) always accompanies his whole creation, but human beings sometimes we get far
away from him, because our immaturity (cf. Lk 15:11-32; Gn 3:1-19). The
consequences of this been away from God are the social and ecological injustice,
that makes the life so hard for millions of the poor and excluded people,
because the ego of human being accumulate the world resources in the hands of
very few privileged people, it is scandalous to know that 1 % of the richest in
the world has 50 % annual resources of the whole world[1]. This inequality is not
just in the economics system but also in the religious structure, where small
privileged group decides over all others.
The social injustice
goes together with ecological destruction because everything is interconnected
(cf. LS 2). The interrelation of human being and the nature affects each other,
which is very obvious. Unfortunately it got worsen strongly these last three
centuries, and mostly this last thirty years where the humanity intensified its
overexploitation against nature with the most sophisticated technology. That is
why Pope Francis calls to whole humanity to transform the technocratic and
anthropocentric paradigm, which are the human roots of the ecological crisis
(cf. LS 106.115).
So to make straight the paths of the Lord
means to face seriously these big challenges, for such purpose we need to
overcome:
*
Our
immature anthropocentrism and androcentrism and rediscover our original
identity as part of this creational community, as result of ecological
conversion,
*
It
is to born again from the Spirit (Jn 3:6, Is 11:1-2) and to have the belt of righteousness
and faithfulness (Is 11:5); let the risen Christ recreates us! (Jn 20:21-23).
The lifestyle of John
Baptist (Mt 3:1-4) and the prophetic dream of Isaiah are the beautiful ways to
come back to our common home as new humanity, where every creature shares its
life in harmony (Is 11:6-9).
This ideal must
reflect our Christmas crib, isn’t it?
03/12/2016
[1] To
see in Ladislau Dowbor (2016)
Corporate Governance: the chaotic power of financial giants (March 7)
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