Fr John’s Reflection – 2nd Sunday of Advent

How do we judge things with integrity?

There can be an urgency in modern culture to have an opinion about everything. This calls us to make instant judgment based on limited information and marginal engagement with the people involved. Yet into this situation, Isaiah shows us how the Spirit of God is called to rest upon us. A spirit of wisdom and insight, a spirit of counsel and power, a spirit of knowledge and awe. This calls us to be people who seek justice with an integrity of heart that sees the person first and does not seek to make premature presumptions based on what others may say.

St Paul develops this theme when he says that we need to follow the example of Christ in giving glory to God with our lives. This is reflected in how we treat each other in the same friendly way that Christ treats us. This calls us to become people who seek to follow God in all things without making anything into God. John the Baptist wants to discover that the Kingdom of God is close at hand, inviting us to make our paths straight.

There, in the midst of car parks that are full to overflowing, we are called to become people who witness to the glory of God. The kind word, the consideration for people overwhelmed by the simple act of shopping, the person who needs to reverse out of a parking space into a line of traffic. There are numerous ways in which we can show this maturity of presence by seeking what is for the good of the person. We build a kingdom not made of stone but one that abides in the person of Jesus Christ.

Fr. John Armstrong

“The intellectual quest is exquisite, like pearls and coral. But it is not the same as the spiritual quest. The spiritual quest is on another level altogether. Spiritual wine has a subtler taste. The intellect and the senses investigate cause and effect. The spiritual seeker surrenders to wonder.” (Rumi Wisdom; trans. Timothy Freke)