Reflection for Second Sunday of Advent
In August 1963 Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech in which he echoed the dreams and hopes of God, proclaimed by the prophets of our Advent season: all of God’s children gathered and led in glory and joy, accompanied by mercy and justice—all the obstacles to peace removed, and the divisions among us healed and overcome.
Like both the prophets in our Sunday readings (Baruch and John the Baptist) he realized that he might never live to see all the hopes of God realized. What he foretold in hope was that this Dream that God has revealed to us could be fulfilled through our love and actions—at least in whatever ways our hearts are opened, and our faith is strengthened in our own time of turmoil and confusion.
Our Sunday readings are filled with references to joy and hope. And the secret to this joy and hope lies in our hearts being open to the possibilities in our midst today. If our hearts are turned towards the hopes and dreams of our Savior, then Advent can be celebrated as a time of joy. We pray that through the grace of God we will deepen our awareness of this love and keep the dream alive within us.
The God of history still finds us and comes to meet us—calling us to abound in love for one another and in hope for the fulfillment of the Dream.
Len Kraus, S.J.
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