We are drawing close to Christmas how ready are you? If your answer is by way of the question what so special about Christmas any way? Or Oh I have not done anything different this Advent so it’s too late right? Or anything other than I stand ready to greet my Lord when He comes again then you my dear sister and brother are NOT READY! We think Christmas is just one ordinary day in the year, well then what if this Christmas is the day that you die? Are you ready then to meet the Lord your God? What excuses will you give? How different are you from those that Jesus refers was describing as that generation in today’s Gospel? Quick to criticise and find fault but refusing to grow in their faith so as to live according to the will of God our Heavenly Father.
Today’s first reading describes what that generation and all generations following are missing when they refuse to be obedient to the Lord our God.
- Happiness which flows like a river
- Integrity like the waves of the sea
- Generation upon generation, children like olive shoots
- Always and forevermore in His presence
Therefore sisters and brothers it is never too late while there is still life in you to repent and be faithful to the Gospel. Make an appointment today and go for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ reign in your hearts. Amen
First reading
Isaiah 48:17-19 ·
If you had been alert to my commandments, your happiness would have been like a river
Thus says the Lord, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
I, the Lord, your God, teach you what is good for you,
I lead you in the way that you must go.
If only you had been alert to my commandments,
your happiness would have been like a river,
your integrity like the waves of the sea.
Your children would have been numbered like the sand,
your descendants as many as its grains.
Never would your name have been cut off or blotted out before me.
Gospel
Matthew 11:16-19
They heed neither John nor the Son of Man
Jesus spoke to the crowds: ‘What description can I find for this generation? It is like children shouting to each other as they sit in the market place:
“We played the pipes for you,
and you wouldn’t dance;
we sang dirges,
and you wouldn’t be mourners.”
‘For John came, neither eating nor drinking, and they say, “He is possessed.” The Son of Man came, eating and drinking, and they say, “Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.” Yet wisdom has been proved right by her actions.’
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