7 de diciembre: The Day of the Lord (Advent II) / El Día del Señor (Adviento II)

One of the all-time great cartoons has a preacher in a pulpit on a Sunday morning and he is saying “Who wants change?” And the whole congregation has their hands raised up high, saying “We do. We do. We want change.”

And in the next panel, the preacher says, “And who wants to change?” And all the hands in the congregation go down. Everybody looks at everybody else. And there is silence from the pews. We all want change. But do we want to change?

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The first Christmas gift came from God: the gift was that was precious and beyond price – He gave us His only begotten Son. Jesus, in turn, became equally generous as a gift-giver. He gave us the Gospel, the good news of His Father’s love for us. He gave us a new commandment, that we love one another. And He gave us a new teaching on how to live, a teaching that was filled with truth and wisdom.

In the end, Jesus gave us everything He had. Out of love for us, He gave His life for us on the Cross. In His suffering and dying, He gave us hope in eternal life. And, after He rose from the dead, He gave us “the gift” of His Spirit to live in our hearts and lead us and guide us in life. His Spirit is constantly urging us to change and become more Christ-like. Which leaves us with the two important questions: “Who wants change?” All of us. “Who wants to change?” This coming week will give us a chance to respond.

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Celebramos el segundo domingo de Adviento, el tiempo fuerte en que nos preparamos para recibir al Señor que viene a nuestro encuentro en esta Navidad.

En este tiempo, la Iglesia nos urge a una renovación profunda de nuestras vidas, en la gozosa espera del Señor que viene a salvarnos. Hoy, en específico, el Señor nos urge a “una cambio total” de nuestras vidas, en un abandono de nuestras anteriores conductas de deshonestidad e hipocresía –  convirtiéndonos de verdad, viviendo una auténtica generosidad y solidaridad. Él también nos urge a ser  más santos, ya que Él nos ofrece no sólo el perdón de nuestros pecados, sino la vida de la gracia, o sea, la participación en su misma Vida Divina.

Por Cristo, hemos conocido la salvación de Dios, y queremos realmente vivirla y anunciarla con nuestras vidas. Por eso nuestra tarea perpetua será: dar gracias al Padre, en comunión con su Hijo, y con el apoyo de su Espíritu.