• Jeremiah 33:14-16. God will raise a tender shoot or branch from the seemingly dead root of the Davidic royal house. Because God wonderfully fulfills his promises to Jerusalem, the city of David will be renamed: “The Lord our justice.”
• 1 Thessalonians 3:12 – 4:2. We are exhorted to keep our hearts blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
• Luke 21:25-28, 34-36. The day of the Lord will be accompanied with terrifying signs. Watch and pray that you may escape the terrors and remain with the Lord.

Thoughts for your consideration: (The following reflection is taken from “Biblical Meditations for Advent and the Christmas Season” by Fr. Carroll Stuhlmueller, CP)

Advent assures us that Jesus must come. He will appear as he is and strike fear within us. Jesus must come if God is to remain just. The promises have been made, and as the word of God they cannot be revoked.

Old Testament prophets struggled fiercely with some of these divine oracles. For instance, God has pledged himself to King David: “Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever” (2 Sam 7:16). This assurance is repeated elsewhere in the Bible (2 Sam 23:5; 1 Chron 17:13; Ps 89:29-30) yet it raises very serious problems of faith when the incumbent king was an apostate like King Ahaz (2 Kings 16:3-4) or a weakling like King Zedekiah (Jer 38). In desperation the prophets concluded that God must cut the dynasty down to a seemingly lifeless and useless stump or maybe leave only the roots hidden within the earth (Is 11:1; Jer 23:5). In some mysterious way God will then breathe new life into the dead stump or hidden roots and so

A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse [David’s father] and from his roots a bud shall blossom (Is 11:1)

Prophecy, interpreted in this way, shows that good people are not to be victimized by those who possess promised security and special privileges. Kings cannot quote the Scriptures to Isaiah or Jeremiah and conclude: “We can do whatever we please, because the Scriptures say, ‘Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever.’” God will certainly remain true to his promises and fulfill his word, but in a just way and in a surprising way. With a deliberate play on words Jeremiah manifested this liberation of faith from the false use of Scripture. He took the name of the reigning king, Zedekiah, and applied it to God whom he invoked as “Yahweh our justice,” in Hebrew Yahweh Zidkenu.

Jesus speaks of the fear and terrifying signs to accompany his appearance. This gospel reading may seem out of place for Advent and the preparations for Jesus’ birth. Yet a newly born infant must always stir a healthy fear in everyone, particularly in the family that is receiving it. Father and mother, brothers and sisters, all those in the relation are so careful in handling the child, lest they hurt the tender life. Fear incites people to second guess what the child needs or wants; it is not yet an adult who can explain and argue. Infants cry easily for they know nothing about compromises. Children and especially babies speak the simple language of yes and no.

Advent asks us, in the name of the Lord Jesus, to extend the same delicate and “fearful” concern to everyone. In each person and event Jesus is certainly coming to us, with a presence that we accept without compromise, and nurture carefully, even delicately. The Lord will raise up a tender shoot where we least expect life and the fulfillment of promises. We will cry out Yahweh Zidkenu! The Lord, our justice!