A World United and a world divided
Prior to the birth of Christ the prophets would always refer to the time of their kings when making their prophetic statement. This indicated their chief concern was with the Israelite nation and no one else. With the birth of Christ a new element has been added: the social reign of Tiberius Caesar in union with the four tetrarchs who ruled over the divided Israelite nation. Note that the Gentiles had a united front while the Jews were a house divided and with their response to Christ that house would fall.
Division has always been a mark of sin. Sin divides us from the will of God and casts us into the blindness of selfish pursuits. Sin begets sin just as “Saints beget saints.” With the reality of sin afflicting the chosen people their ability to recognize the Gift of God becomes almost impossible. The hardness of the heart affects all we say, think and do. Now with the advent of the Christ, the Jews were not in the position to accept the baptism of John. Instead they did all they could to discredit the prophet.
“Unless you do penance you shall all likewise perish.” The Baptist’s cry is reminiscent of the prophets of old who were constantly calling the people back to their first love. Yahweh must be obeyed or disaster will come upon the nation. Hence the rough ways of sin must be made smooth; the mountainous monsters had to be leveled; the valleys of lust needed to be filled in with purity. Sin must be corrected and eradicated for one to recognize the Christ. St. John the evangelist comments that the light entered the world and the world chose the darkness of sin. Today we are experiencing the culmination of this battle between the eternal soul within man destined for holiness and the angst of original sin polluting our thoughts, our will, our tempers and our lusts.
With John the Baptist we cry out “Make straight the paths of the Lord.” Seek the glory of God while you practice mortification of the senses. Seek to save as many souls as you can by igniting the fire of Divine Love. Christ came to us to set the world on fire with His Love and He desires that each of us ignite this loving flame in the associates around us. God so loved each of us that He sent His only-begotten Son in order to shed His blood to the very last drop for our salvation. How we ought to love Him Who has first loved us and made us lovable by the talents He placed in us.
Dear Brothers and Sisters ready yourselves for this Holy Christmas in which the discovery of Divine Love sets everything in our lives in proper proportion. May Love be the goal of your Christmas gift giving but let nothing distract you from the Gift which all gifts share in = The Babe of Bethlehem.
May God grants us all a very holy Christmas,
In the hearts of Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
Fr. Richard Voigt
Comments are closed.