Happy Advent! I trust that all went well for your parish in instituting the new translation of the Roman Missal at Mass on the First Sunday of Advent. Right before we received Communion, we said something new. In fact, you’ll find it in today’s Gospel reading from Matthew 8. A centurion says to Jesus, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.” We said nearly the same thing, but instead of “servant,” we said the word “soul.”
In the first reading today from Isaiah 2, we read about what things will be like when the Kingdom of God comes into its fullness. “They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; One nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again.” Sounds pretty implausible, huh? Yet there we have it, right from the mouth of God. No more war. Peace on earth. But what will it take to accomplish this? We have the answer in the reading.
“All nations shall stream toward it; many peoples shall come and say: ‘Come, let us climb the Lord’s mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may instruct us i his ways, and we may walk in his paths.” In other words, when the whole world acknowledges God as God, then we will have peace on earth. Can it really come to pass? Of course – with God all things are possible. So, what role can we play in that? Chances are you’re not some world leader. That’s OK. Our role is to bring about peace on earth one soul at a time; beginning with our own, and working toward bringing the peace of Christ to others.
Father, give us peace in our hearts. Help us to share that peace and to bring it to all people today and always. Amen.
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