Second of Advent Year C
December 2010
John the Baptist would have been horrified had he lived long enough to see Jesus of Nazareth abandoned by all his friends and followers and executed on a cross as a common criminal. This is the man whom he personally had declared to be the One who would save his people and restore the Kingdom of Israel. John was the one who repeatedly urged his own many followers to abandon him and follow Jesus of Nazareth. A move which resulted in his own beheading at the hands of his enemies.
Where is the justice promised? Where is the kingdom of peace? Where is fair judgement for the poor and the downtrodden?
I ask myself the same question every day as do you. We are constantly witnessing the failure of justice all around us. The lack of fair judgement. The almost total disinterest in the fate of the poor and the downtrodden. The world is ruled by greed and parochial national interest.
And yet when I explore beneath this heavy rock of injustice I see something else. I see dozens, hundreds, thousands, millions of people beavering away in their search for justice and fairness. Untold millions who share what they have, give of their time and expertise, to make this world a better place to live in.
This is the Kingdom of God. This is the kingdom of justice and peace proclaimed by Jesus of Nazareth.
What better way to spend this time of Advent, this time of preparation for Christmas, than to do what I can to promote the Kingdom.