Friday of the Second Week of Advent

 Lectionary: 185

I, the LORD, your God,
    teach you what is for your good,
    and lead you on the way you should go.
If you would hearken to my commandments,
    your prosperity would be like a river,
    and your vindication like the waves of the sea;

There are some surprising verses in the second chapter of Deuteronomy: 

• verses 4-5: You are now about to pass through the territory of your relatives, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. Though they are afraid of you, be very careful not to come in conflict with them, for I will not give you so much as a foot of their land, since I have already given Esau possession of the highlands of Seir.
• and verse 9: Do not show hostility to the Moabites or engage them in battle, for I will not give you possession of any of their land, since I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as their possession.

What I call surprising is that the Lord has given certain territories to relatives of Abraham, and has promised to give certain other places to the "Hebrew children" who travel with Moses. If everyone is elect of God, not all are elect for the same thing, and everyone should know to which election they belong. 

One holdover since the medieval era of Europe among Catholics is the idea that everyone should be Catholic, a holdover which is met by a Protestant response, no one should be Catholic. It's as if everyone should be a Moabite, or a descendant of Esau, or one of the escaping slaves. But God actually chose different tribes for different places with different covenants. 

Perhaps the most extraordinary insight of the Second Vatican Council -- an insight which revolutionizes our self-awareness -- is that God has called and covenanted some of us in particular, by name, often from our birth to belong to Jesus. The invitation might not be to everyone, but it is to you. 

Some might shirk their responsibility by saying, "It should be for everyone?" or, "Why me?" But that only frustrates the Holy Spirit.  

My response should be like that of Saint Paul, ‘What shall I do, sir?’ (Acts 22:10) That response echoes Abraham, Isaiah, Samuel, and many others, whose word was, "Here I am!" We offer God a ready, eager, alert, open, willing enthusiasm. When we do so, our prosperity will be like a river, and our vindication like the waves of the sea. 

Today's gospel describes God's disappointment, weariness, and frustration with our response; 

To what shall I compare this generation? 

It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another,

‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance,

we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.’ 

The fault is not in God; it's us. It's me. Advent comes to us and invites us once again to welcome the Lord. The Holy Trinity must take up residence in our hearts, straighten the mess, discover the rot, expunge the stench, ventilate the rooms, rearrange the furniture, and make it livable for God, for us, and for those who should find welcome in our hearts. 

The scriptures remind us both of our failure -- "...because there was no room in the inn." -- and of our great satisfaction -- "...the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them." 

The choice is ours. We must respond. It matters.