[Elijah], you were destined,
it is written, in time to come to put an end to wrath before the day of the
LORD, to turn back the hearts of fathers toward their sons, and to re-establish
the tribes of Jacob. Blessed is he who
shall have seen you and who falls asleep in your friendship. Sirach 48:10-11
“Why do the scribes say that
Elijah must come first?” He said in
reply, “Elijah will indeed come and restore all things; but I tell you that
Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever
they pleased. So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands.” Matthew 17:10B-12
Piety
Father,
help us to hear the message in our midst and recognize the signs of the
season.
Study
Advent
season gives us time to prepare to get the order of things correct. As we are tugged into “affluenza” and
consumption, how can we turn back to see the real reason for the
preparation?
Elijah
and John both performed their duties without a chance to enjoy the fruits of
their labors. They brought forth the
word of God’s friendship to help “turn back the hearts”” of those who had
strayed. John’s message also was one of
change – “Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand.”
Action
What is at hand for
us? What beckons us? Sears or Sirach? Matthew or Macy’s? Psalms or Safeway? What do we encounter along the way of this
journey?
Prepare yourself like the shepherds
and the Magi to leave what occupies you and turn back to visit the Lord when he
appears.
What is in our hands? What tools can we use and how will we use
them? We can cause comfort of suffering
or neither throughout indifference. John
and Elijah accepted their mission. Let
us not be indifferent to what we are called to be and to do this Advent.
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