Scripture Reflections for the Second Sunday of Advent

“No matter how hard Satan tries to destroy us, and remove the bushes and the trees and the vines that we are from his world, cutting us down to a stump – if we look to Jesus, a shoot of life can sprout from us as well”

“this gift of fear of the Lord is a deep conviction in us, that we must not lose our connection to God because friendship with God is what matters above all things and so, yes, I'm afraid of losing that and I'm afraid if I engage in some activity or some way of life that compromises that”

“The very word nonviolence speaks to this discernment: it is not simply non-violence, or the absence of violence. Nonviolence requires that we recognize violence and its root causes in order to resist and transform it.”

“For if we can recognise how much we are in need of a redeemer, then far from having a misplaced optimism, our heart’s will be open to a genuine hope, a hope that is grounded in Jesus Christ, a saviour who so desires our redemption that He suffered and died for us on the cross”

“Those who went out into the wilderness, believing in John’s promise of beginning again, took up the cross of exile, of not belonging. Embarking on the Exodus of Exile; they went in search of truth even to admitting the truth about themselves: they confessed their sins”

“Repentance and judgement go together, because repentance means you are judging yourself, seeing yourself from God’s angle, revealing your sins and repenting of them”

“First and foremost perhaps we all need to become more faithful to our baptism as Christians, and allow ourselves to be challenged by the word of God. To hear the word of God and to act on it: what better way to prepare for the One who is to come?”

“So I ask myself what does a change of heart mean to me? Where is the change of heart present in my life? Where is the change of heart absent?”

“Stop thinking about your life as your project. Start thinking ‘my life is not about me.’ Start thinking ‘my life belongs to God and serves God’s purposes.’ See all of our diversion and attachments are subservient to the basic position that my life is about me. My life is a project of self-satisfaction.”

“he wants us to be dipped into the Divine Life. That's what it's about, that's what it's about. Repentance, confession, the desert, getting rid of distractions, diversions, all of it, is a preparation for that great baptism.”

“Try this, to go through a day and see it not from the standpoint of your ego but to see it from the standpoint of God and God's will…Do I see them as opportunities for me, success and failure for me? Or do I see them as invitations to move into a deeper relationship with God? It's the converted or repented mind that can see it that way.”

“The Kingdom of God led by the Holy Spirit depends on human turning away from temptation to power, deception, selfishness—all that fertile ground in just about every soul for evil to take root”

“If order is an intrinsic characteristic of God then chaos is contrary to his nature. Hence God cannot dwell in a community of conflict.”

“Many times, just meeting someone and seeing the humanity of the other person was enough to break down barriers and stereotypes. Getting to know each other is essential to the type of peace that Isaiah mentions where various traditional enemies live in harmony with each other.”

“God’s mercy is open to the many, the crowds who seek, even if they are not always initially sure who or what they seek”

“There is injustice and violence in the world, in our homes and in our hearts. We need to open our eyes to see and our ears to hear, and we need to turn our hearts back to God.”

“If we are attentive to the guidance of the Spirit which is given to us then our thoughts and actions will come closer to those of Christ and we shall be able to share in his mission of gathering together all peoples in obedience to the one God and bringing hope to a fallen world”

“What does sin do? Again, Genesis couldn’t be clearer on this. It causes trouble in us, yes indeed, it causes trouble among us human beings and it causes trouble at the cosmic level. There’s a breakdown of what should connect all things together.”