THURSDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK OF ADVENT (Mt 11:11-15) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

“The kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent are taking it by force.” (Mt 11:12)

FIRST READING - Is 41:13-20

"I will help you—oracle of the Lord; the Holy One of Israel is your redeemer.^"

A reading from the Book of Isaiah

¹³ For I am the Lord, your God,    

who grasp your right hand;

It is I who say to you, Do not fear,    

I will help you.

¹⁴ Do not fear, you worm Jacob,    

you maggot Israel;

I will help you—oracle of the Lord;    

the Holy One of Israel is your redeemer.^[a]

¹⁵ I will make of you a threshing sledge,    

sharp, new, full of teeth,

To thresh the mountains and crush them,    

to make the hills like chaff.

¹⁶ When you winnow them, the wind shall carry them off,    

the storm shall scatter them.

But you shall rejoice in the Lord;    

in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory.

¹⁷ The afflicted and the needy seek water in vain,    

their tongues are parched with thirst.

I, the Lord, will answer them;    

I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.

¹⁸ I will open up rivers on the bare heights,    

and fountains in the broad valleys;

I will turn the wilderness into a marshland,    

and the dry ground into springs of water.

¹⁹ In the wilderness I will plant the cedar,    

acacia, myrtle, and olive;

In the wasteland I will set the cypress,    

together with the plane tree and the pine,

²⁰ That all may see and know,    

observe and understand,

That the hand of the Lord has done this,    

the Holy One of Israel has created it.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY - Mt 11:11-15

"Among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist."

✠From the Gospel according to Matthew

¹¹ Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.^{[a] 12} From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence,^[b] and the violent are taking it by force. ¹³ All the prophets and the law^[c] prophesied up to the time of John. ¹⁴ And if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah, the one who is to come. ¹⁵ Whoever has ears ought to hear.

THURSDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK OF ADVENT (Mt 11:11-15)

THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

Dear People of God,

Today's Word of God features God praising Saint John the Baptist, saying, “among those born of women, there has arisen no one greater than John,” because of his modesty, humility, simplicity, and littleness.

And He reveals to His disciples that John is the embodiment of Elijah and the prophet who came to prepare the way for the Savior.

Through today's Gospel, God teaches humanity the lesson of humility and littleness as the way to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

And He calls humanity to live in close union with God to listen to His word and put it into practice.

Only when living in close union with God can people truly love their brothers and sisters, achieve unity, know how to forgive, endure everything, and sacrifice everything.

God does not want people to fall into the temptations of Satan, which are division, jealousy, envy, and competition with one another.

God wants everyone living in a congregation to know how to live in harmony, love one another, and to resolve to abandon self-will in order to serve, pursuing the common good, which is to glorify God and save souls.

God wants His children to resolutely abandon the old way of life—envy, hatred, jealousy, and competition that Satan has sown—for none of it comes from God.

Just as in today's Word of God, Jesus Christ presents an illustrative image showing that when there is no unity in congregation life, all the work entrusted by God will not be completed according to His will.

To please God the Father in all things, every member of the congregation must know how to abandon their selfish ego to achieve unity, glorify God, and seek the benefits for souls.

God always loves all His children. Therefore, He instructs His children that when there is no listening, no loving unity, no sharing with one another, and no common will that is placed above all else, there will be complete failure, but when there is loving unity and all are united as one, all tasks will be accomplished according to the holy will of God.

This is the way God instructs everyone, especially those in religious congregations: they must listen to the word of God, have loving unity and forgiveness, abandon self-will, and foster love and reverence for God so that they can hear His instructions and put them into practice, and only then can they listen to the words of their brothers and sisters.

Only in this way can the congregations become holy according to God’s will.

Thanks be to God. Amen.