Saturday, December 10, 2011

12/14/2011 – Homily for Wednesday of the third week of Advent - Isaiah 45:6-8, 18, 21-25


         Isaiah is the prophet we often hear from during our holy season of preparation as we journey toward to birth of our Savior at Christmas.  The Church has chosen Isaiah for us to hear so frequently during advent because his prophecies and messages bring us the words we need to hear as we prepare, as we wait, as we stay on guard. 
         Today, the message Isaiah brings us about God does not mince any words, telling us that our God alone is the Lord, that there is no other.  God created the heaven and earth not so it could be forever empty, but that we, his creation, could inhabit them. If this is true, then we need to see ourselves as human beings not as aliens thrust upon this foreign planet, but rather an intrinsic part of the story of creation.   Moreover, if this is what God had in mind, we need to really think about how we live our lives and how we take care of the earth.  So often, during human history, humanity has seen the earth and the rest of creative as something we could exploit and use without much thought or many consequences.  Back in 1950, our earth only had 1 billion inhabitants – now we have over 7 billion. It boggles the mind, doesn’t it?  How are we taking care of the world’s resources as a global community?  How are we Christians being good stewards and witnesses to our brothers and sisters in our world.
         God, the creator spirit, who made heaven and earth, who sent his son to be born in a manger in Bethlehem in ancient Israel as our Savior, is still at work in our world today.  His creator spirit is still leading us and guiding us.  It is still involved in our evolution as a planet and as his people.  Are we cooperating with him and following his plan in our lives? 

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