Fr Kevin Kilgore

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Isaiah 11: 1-10

On that day,
A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse,
and from his roots a bud shall blossom.
The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him:
a Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
A Spirit of counsel and of strength,
a Spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD,
and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD.
Not by appearance shall he judge,
nor by hearsay shall he decide,
But he shall judge the poor with justice,
and decide aright for the land’s afflicted.
He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.
Justice shall be the band around his waist,
and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.

Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
The calf and the young lion shall browse together,
with a little child to guide them.
The cow and the bear shall be neighbors,
together their young shall rest;
the lion shall eat hay like the ox.
The baby shall play by the cobra’s den,
and the child lay his hand on the adder’s lair.
There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD,
as water covers the sea.

On that day,
The root of Jesse,
set up as a signal for the nations,
The Gentiles shall seek out,
for his dwelling shall be glorious.

The Word of the Lord.

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We are reminded constantly in scripture that God does the impossible.

When darkness seems overwhelming, suddenly a light appears.

When hope is nearly lost, a door is opened.

Or, using the imagery from our first reading, when a tree is cut down to its roots, a shoot sprouts up, a bud blossoms. 

Life continues, even if in a way that is different than one imagined.

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These words come from the prophet Isaiah while Israel is living in exile. Their land has been invaded, their homes have been destroyed, and their king has been dethroned.

As the Psalmist cries out, “You have rejected and spurned… your anointed… You have hurled down his throne to the ground… How long, O LORD?”  

Israel has been cut down like a tree to its stump. 

But the Lord promises them, “a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse.” Life will go on. A king will come, ushering in divine justice and everlasting peace.

We see this promise fulfilled in Jesus. 

When God takes on flesh, he fulfills his promise from long ago; he has come to save us. And when he was nailed to a tree, then placed in a tomb, and all seemed lost, he did the impossible again. 

A shoot sprouts; a bud blossoms; life gushes forth from the tomb as he is raised from the dead!

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What’s the “stump” in my own life? What part of me seems cut down, in need of renewal?

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Advent is the time for us to deepen our faith in the Lord, trusting that whenever we feel reduced to our roots, a shoot shall sprout, a bud shall blossom.

New life will come, even in ways we never imagined.

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Image credits: (1) Mourning Mercies (2) Philip Lymbery (3) iStock

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Gospel: Matthew 8: 5-11

When Jesus entered Capernaum,
a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying,
“Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.”
He said to him, “I will come and cure him.”
The centurion said in reply,
“Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof;
only say the word and my servant will be healed.
For I too am a man subject to authority,
with soldiers subject to me.
And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes;
and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes;
and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him,
“Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith.
I say to you, many will come from the east and the west,
and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Centurions were the backbone of the Roman army, each in charge of 100 soldiers. They were widely considered to be men of virtue, cementing the morale of the military. Interestingly, every time a centurion is mentioned in the Gospels, he is also praised. 

There was the centurion who recognized Jesus on the cross as the Son of God. Several times, a centurion provides safe passage for Saint Paul. There’s Cornelius, the first Gentile convert to Christianity. 

And, of course, the centurion in today’s Gospel, who is the most praiseworthy of them all. 

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According to Roman Law, slaves were nobodies. They lived and died at the mercy of their masters. Yet this centurion not only cares that his slave is sick; he also goes out of his way to save him – not by medicine, but by faith.

Hearing that Jesus has entered his town, he rushes out to greet him, pleading for help. The only problem is that the centurion is a Gentile, not a Jew, and the two were sworn enemies. Why, then, would this centurion turn to Christ?

Making matters worse, Jesus reminds him that it was against Jewish Law for a Jew to enter the house of a Gentile, as it would render him impure. 

Undeterred, the centurion cries out, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.”

This profession of faith leads to the only time in Matthew’s Gospel when Jesus is “amazed.” He’s not only amazed by the centurion’s compassion, but also by his faith. 

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The centurion teaches us two important lessons. First, faith in Christ is for everyone; it transcends the Law.

Second, those who care for others, especially the poor and vulnerable, always attract the heart and attention of Christ.

During this season of Advent, may we seek to deepen our faith – not only in word, but also in action by caring for the poorest among us.

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Image credits: (1) Be Still… (2) Ottawa Church of Christ (3) Biola Center for Christianity

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Gospel: Matthew 24: 37-44

Jesus said to his disciples:
“As it was in the days of Noah,
so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
In those days before the flood,
they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage,
up to the day that Noah entered the ark.
They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away.
So will it be also at the coming of the Son of Man.
Two men will be out in the field;
one will be taken, and one will be left.
Two women will be grinding at the mill;
one will be taken, and one will be left.
Therefore, stay awake!
For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.
Be sure of this: if the master of the house
had known the hour of night when the thief was coming,
he would have stayed awake
and not let his house be broken into.
So too, you also must be prepared,
for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Awful things can quickly turn our world upside down.

Looking over the last century in America, there was Pearl Harbor; the assassinations of MLK, JFK, and Charlie Kirk; 9/11; wildfires, hurricanes, and health scares.

I remember my own mother laying in a hospital bed twelve years ago, suddenly diagnosed with terminal stage IV pancreatic cancer. She was 57.

When unexpected things happen, we often wonder, “How prepared were we?”

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Good things can happen just as quickly, particularly when God breaks into our lives. Think of what happened to the Virgin Mary. The angel Gabriel appeared to her on what must’ve been an otherwise ordinary day. Suddenly, she becomes the expectant Mother of God.

“Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord,” she says, “let it be done unto me according to your word.”

This is the essence of today’s Gospel teaching: Unexpected things happen, both good and bad. The most unexpected being the Lord’s return. Be ready. Or, using the imagery of Noah and the flood, build your ark now.

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These strong words come from Jesus as he is preparing for his death, which is just days away. The Lord is not only concerned about his disciples’ impending grief, but also about how they will live their lives awaiting his return.

Will his absence make their hearts grow fonder? Or will they return to the ordinariness of life, ultimately unchanged by the Gospel?

Notice the Lord describes people doing ordinary things – eating, drinking, working in a field, grinding at the mill, getting married – when, suddenly, he returns like a thief in the night. 

Half of the people are taken, literally “drawn” to God himself, while the other half are left behind. The criteria determining who stays and who goes is not who lives in a heightened state of expectation; rather, who lives their life with faith and charity.

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This image of Jesus coming like a thief in the night is striking. 

“If the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming,” he says, “he would not let his house be broken into.”

A thief never warns you of the day and time he intends on breaking into your home. Think of the fugitives who shocked the world when they broke into the Louvre five weeks ago, stealing priceless jewels. 

Thieves rely upon the element of surprise and take what isn’t theirs.

So, why does Jesus liken himself to a thief? 

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Those who are not prepared for his return might see him as thief who threatens to take what is not his – their freedom, their plans for the future, even their own lives.

And yet, believers can feel the same way. 

Consider Saint Paul. In his Letter to the Galatians, he writes, “I have been crucified with Christ and the life I live is no longer my own. Christ is living in me. Though I still live my earthly life, it is a life of faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Paul’s conversion put an end to his “earthly” life. He was no longer Paul the Pharisee or Paul the Persecutor of Christians; he was Paul the Apostle, a missionary who suffered relentlessly for the sake of the Gospel.

Similarly, when I was ordained a priest, I laid down my earthly life; it’s why I wear black. Black represents death to self, and my white collar symbolizes new life in Christ. 

Through ordination, the Lord has taken my plans for the future, and rewritten them according to his own will. I’m a Georgia boy and a convert, who grew up wanting to be an actor, then a diplomat. I wanted to live all around the world, but landed in New Jersey…

It’s only in hindsight that I’ve come to see God – not as a thief – but as a friend, who has led me to a fuller life. He takes only to bless. It’s what happens to anyone who falls in love with Jesus – slowly our understanding of him changes as we begin dying to ourselves.

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Unexpected things happen. The most unexpected being the Lord’s return at the end of time when he will take us to himself. May we build our ark during this Advent season, ready to greet him when he returns.

We pray in the words of Saint Ignatius:

Take, Lord, receive,

All my liberty, my memory, my understanding,

All that I have and call my own.

You have given all to me,

To you, LORD, I return it.

Everything is yours,

Do with it what you will.

Give me only your love and your grace,

That is enough for me.

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Image credits: (1) Bible Questions (2) Freepik (3) Hymns Illustrated