Saturday, December 5, 2015

2nd Sunday of the Advent........Bangalore - Garden City.....

I reached to Bangalore last night around 4.30am IST. The flight from Rome to Dubai was on time and no much delay....the food was good. I was connected with WIFI on board so most of the time i did a lot of surfing and visiting some of the newspaper sites. Arrival into Dubai was great......the airport as usual busy with a lot of people running, shopping, eating and drinking.......but different world all together.....I made a point to visit emirates lounge.....spent one hour.....quiet place with choices of food and drinks.....I was on time at the gate to catch my Bangalore flight.....full....expected an upgrade it didn't happen.......small children and babies ....some of them cried most of the time....amidst all that i got some sleep....no turbulence but fine weather.....landed at Bangalore airport around 3.20am.....it took almost 30 minutes to finish the formalities.....hired a cab and reached the Provincial Curia of Holy Trinity

 “A voice crying out in the desert” is how the prophet Isaiah spoke of the person and work of the Precursor John the Baptist. John the Baptist preached; he prophesied; he chastised and castigated wrong-doers. Like all other prophets, he seemed to be crying out in a desert, in a huge seemingly empty space.

     To the crowds who came to see and hear him, he spoke bluntly, “You brood of vipers! How will you escape when divine punishment comes? Produce now the fruits of a true change of heart, and do not deceive yourselves by saying, ’Abraham is our ancestor.’ For I tell you, God can make children of Abraham from these stones.  The axe is already laid to the root of the tree and every tree that fails to produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Lk 3:7 -8)

     John the Baptist baptized with water signifying penance and repentance; he prophesied the coming of a greater One who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. “John announced the Good News to the people until Herod had put him in prison. For John reproached Herod for living with Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for his evil deeds. Then Herod added another crime to all the rest he had committed: he put John in prison.” (Lk 3:18b – 20)

     Prophets may not be easy to live with, then and now. John ate differently and dressed quite exotically and simply: “John had a leather garment around his waist and wore a cloak of camel’s hair; his food was locusts and wild honey.”  (Mt 3:4)  And he resolutely refused to be silenced in what he felt was God’s task for him, even against the ruling king.

     When we meet John the Baptist or any true prophet in our life, we should remember one thing: we should listen no matter what we see; even if we may not like the messenger. We should listen to a prophet’s message: it is relevant and is for us.

     It is not easy to be a prophet, then and now. If somehow we have been tasked to bring a message, to spread the word that will save people profoundly, we have the obligation to complete the task. This obligation is not only because we wish to be faithful to God who gives the task but also to be faithful to our own selves. We complete ourselves when we complete our assigned task, when we obey God’s holy will.
   

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