December 4, 2022: Second Sunday of Advent
Isaiah 11: 1-10
Psalm 72: 1-8
Romans 15: 4-7; 13
Matthew 3: 1-12
Bishop Ariel P. Santos
This is the Second Sunday of Advent and we continue with our preparation as we wait in joyful hope in anticipation of the coming of our Lord. The coming of our Lord brings faith, hope and expectation on our part.
In Isaiah 11, the prophet imagines that one day, our Messiah will right the wrong in the midst of those who are in enmity with each other. Isaiah begins with describing a stump, the remains of the trunk of the tree that was cut down. The stump represents what was once a tree, that was full of life and holding promise, but now it is lifeless and not flourishing. Isaiah used this illustration to describe the Davidic dynasty. The original plan was that through the descendants of David, the world, from Israel, will be governed by righteousness and justice and it will affect all. There was a prophecy that one of the kings that will be the descendant of David will rule the earth from sea to sea, to all the nations of the world not just Israel, with righteousness and justice. This was the original intent of God.
Israel is not only the chosen people; Israel was the starting point through whom all the nations of the earth will be blessed and the Messiah will bless them through His government of peace, of righteousness, and justice. One day, all the kings and their kingdoms will grow and it will be so powerful that all the nations will come to the mountain of the house of the Lord and will asked to be taught of God. Then every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is the Lord and Savior of all.
David was the first king in this dynasty and he was chosen because he was a man after God’s own heart. His son, Solomon, replaced him. During the glory days under Solomon, a temple was built and the wealth and the wisdom of Solomon was well known that the Queen of Sheba came to him. However, at the end of his reign, he compromised his faith. Solomon was not only the son of David but also the son-in-law of the king of Egypt. He was influenced by the culture of the Gentiles that before the end of his reign, he was building pagan temples and altars. His son, Rehoboam, was a complete disaster. He was a total failure for he was evil. This is the downhill from hereon because most of the kings that followed were a disgrace.
Two hundred years later, during the time of Isaiah, Israel was reduced to a stump, a total failure, of low ebb. Isaiah walked not by sight but by faith and he saw the promise of God. Even Job said that there is hope for a tree when it is cut down, and that it will sprout again at the scent of water. Isaiah said that one day, from this stump will spring forth a branch that will be healthy, luxuriant and will grow again and fulfill the promise that failed.
All hope is not gone. These things are not unfamiliar in the journey of God’s people. There are storms that are experienced, the ups and downs, even an extreme hopelessness. Read Psalm 78 and 105 about what Israel went through. It was a roller coaster both in prosperity and trials. There is always hope in the hopelessness. Isaiah prophesied that from the same stump, from the same tree where people saw the glory, from what people gave up on, left, and can no longer participate, this tree is where God started and there will be growth. God who began a good work in Israel, in His people, will be faithful to complete it. God does not discard and He does not hate anything that He has created.
Do not lose hope. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not yet seen. Don’t give up just because we don’t presently see. Have faith! Walk by faith, not by sight. What we don’t see is not yet the truth. One day, a shoot from that seemingly deadness will spring forth. It is not yet, but it will come.
Isaiah did not know what will happen 700 years later but he had hope. In Isaiah’s time and as at other times and today, there is injustice and those who are powerful take advantage of the helpless. When God gave the promise to Israel, every tribe and family was given a piece of land. The earth is the Lord’s and all it contains. Why are there many people who don’t own a land and only a few have more than they can handle? This is injustice, and this is not God’s plan. God wants us to inherit the earth, a property. During Israel’s time, some farmers prospered, and some did not so the latter sold or mortgaged their properties to the rich. God told Moses, that every fifty years, the property sold or mortgaged shall be returned to the owners. This was not followed until there existed the lords and the peasants. Today, this is also the case. Many do not own a property or a land and many are poor.
Isaiah prophesies that one day, the Messiah will judge with fairness and He will favor the afflicted. The valley shall be exalted; the lofty hills will be brought low. He will stand in the midst of nations and He will right the wrong. The rich and the powerful were against Jesus and John the Baptist because they didn’t want the system to be changed and go against their favor. Isaiah said in chapter 11:6 that the beasts will not be preying on but will be coexisting with vulnerable animals under the reign of the Messiah. There will be equality, fairness; there will be no more greed and violence. The predators will hurt no more to God’s people.
Animals was used allegorically by Isaiah to portray human beings. Animal are savage and predatory, but humans are made in the image of God. Isaiah shares that God will stop the injustice and the greed and the Messiah will restore the image of God. The prophet Daniel also used beasts as an example saying that the beastly human empires will reign, but the Son of Man will correct and restore the human dignity of man and the image of God in him. In Revelations, the imagery that was used were also beasts and the Son of Man, portrayed as the Lamb of God, will overcome them through peaceful means. Jesus said that he who lives by the sword dies by the sword.
The hope of the prophets Isaiah, Daniel and the writer of Revelations is that the Messiah will change the predatory exploitation of the weak, the helpless and the vulnerable. In the story of Zacchaeus, he was a beast as a tax collector who took advantage of the people. The Messiah came into his house and changed him. He was not threatened but was accepted by Jesus and he repented and became a changed man. Saul of Tarsus was a changed man too when he had an encounter with Jesus.
It is fatal to take advantage of people. If we know of people who are in a position to enrich themselves, to take advantage of the poor, to prey on others, realize that they have hope. If Jesus can change someone like Zacchaeus or Saul, He can change someone who bullies.
It is not easy to get offended, but instead of retaliating why don’t we pray for the offender. As far as we are concerned, we need to repent. John the Baptist said, “Repent, change your ways. You cannot claim to be descendants of Abraham (children of God) and take advantage of the weak.” Stop preying at others; renew our mind and believe what Jesus told us. To repent is to change our mind.
In the gospel of Luke, the tax collectors asked how they can repent. Jesus said to not collect excessively; collect what is due. Don’t take advantage; be content. Don’t extort and give a false testimony. John the Baptist shares that being descendants of Abraham is not enough. We need to change our ways. We cannot be religious and claim to be a baptized Christian and continue our bad ways. Repentance is shown in sharing food, clothing and other blessings. It’s also refraining from cheating, extortion, greed and scapegoating.
James 1:27 says that true religion is taking care of the widows and the orphans, the least and the lowly because they don’t have the support. This is why our Church has the Shepherd’s Touch Ministry. We have the alms. We have these in anticipation of our Lord’s coming. We introduced the Every Day Kingdom way; we tithe; we are building a Church because this is our headquarters to do these things.
We are participating in the work of the Messiah and by doing so, we wait in joyful hope, not waiting passively, to usher in His kingdom of righteousness, peace, justice and fairness for all. This is how we roll and the way it is in the kingdom of our God.
