What Christian is not aware of the fact that they are called by Christ to be agents of peace in our world? It is one thing to recognize this principle, but it is quite another thing to actualize such a challenging call. Scripture offers us some guidance on this subject. During this liturgical season our first readings will come from the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah consults the court in Jerusalem during a time of great conflict and turmoil. His recommendation is fidelity and justice. The prophetic tradition of that time never saw any distinction between the earthly desire for peace, the pursuit of justice, and our fidelity to God. This was a one package deal. Fidelity to God offers a hope for peace (Is 2:2-4). Fidelity to God includes a commitment to social justice. Consider this passage from Isaiah and reflect on its relevance during our upcoming Christmas celebration.

Your new moons and festivals I detest; they weigh me down, I tire of the load. When you spread out your hands, I close my eyes to you; Though you pray the more, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood! Wash yourselves clean! Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes; cease doing evil; learn to do good. Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow.– Is. 1:14-17

Peace is found when we are fidelity to God is expressed in the works of justice. Pope Paul VI perhaps said it best in his 1972 World Day of Peace Message which was titled: “If You Want Peace, Work for Justice.” The Catholic church along with its social teachings have annually highlighted the Christian theology of peace with the annual World Day of Peace Message, a tradition that started with Pope Paul VI in 1968 and which continues to this day. The messages highlight a specific aspect of pursuing peace in the context of social or cultural concerns. The U.S. Bishops have a document written in 1983 but which is still very much relevant to those of us in this nation who would like to see the official Catholic positions in relation to aspects of violence and war that concern us. The document is called “The Challenge of Peace.”

True peace is a gift from God that will be given to us when we live our lives consistent to His vision of justice. Instead of debating the militaristic position of our nation as the policeman of the world and creating knee jerk military reactions whenever our perceived allies or even we feel threaten we should examine the reality of social and economic injustice from which violent conflicts are born. We need to cultivate a lifestyle that pursues justice and nonviolence. Once this is done we as a community can start becoming creative with alternative domestic and global policies that promote an environment of  justice and peace rather than raising our defenses and extending military contracts. In our global world the promotion of an authentic policy of disarmament coupled with a greater global partnership to address the issues of social and economic injustice will yield better results than economic isolation and militarization.

There is a prominent historical myth that I continue to question. It is suggested that it was World War II and not the New Deal that got our nation out of the Great Depression. This myth is used to debunk the pursuit of social justice in favor of a military based economy. I tend the argue that the result of the rapid new industrialization of this nation which World War II brought on was made possible by the financial security, social stability and domestic infrastructure created during the New Deal. But one aspect of this position doesn’t quite add up. During the New Deal it was the government, in pursuit of justice, that became the spender of these social improvements. During World War II it was again the government, in pursuit of war, that purchased military goods and services. So in the end the argument is not for or against Government spending, it is an argument for the object of Government spending. Why is it that we are more comfortable with Government spending for war versus spending on social justice? How can we hope to achieve our Christian pursuit of peace if we as a nation are ready to economically rationalize our pursuit for war?

• Jeremiah 1:4-5, 17-19. Jeremiah’s call to prophesy; his strength against all opposition.
• 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13. The hymn of Love
• Luke 4:21-30. Jesus’ first discourse at Nazareth leads to rejection, even to a threat against his life.

Thoughts for Your Consideration: By John Gonzalez

The readings for this Sunday revolve around the position and responsibilities of a prophet. Jeremiah describes his own calling By God to be “A prophet to the nations.” Jesus Christ emphasizes his prophetic mission by taking up the prophetic responsibilities that are described by Isaiah. The second reading is St. Paul’s famous hymn of love. St. Paul places the virtue of love above all other virtues and as he describes spiritual gift of prophecy he reminds us that the ability to comprehend all mysteries and knowledge is for nothing if it is not done for love.

A prophet is one who critiques society and conventional laws based on the articles of faith and our limited ability to discern the Divine law. If you consider the 8^th Century Prophets especially Micah and Amos you see that their critique was not limited to only spiritual matters. In fact they usually addressed socio-economic issues. This is precisely what Isaiah is describing in the selection that Jesus is reading: “He has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free.” This selection from Isaiah is a central message for Jesus in proclaiming the Kingdom of God. This Kingdom is both spiritual and social. It is a Kingdom yet to come in God’s own time but it is also a Kingdom that Jesus expects his followers to initiate within their own society. For that reason the early Christian community established a communal life in Act 2:42 to initiate a social lifestyle based on the Kingdom of God.

Our Christian theology tells us that Christ transcended the structures of society by fulfilling the three great social roles of his day in Himself. Jesus Christ is Priest, Prophet and King for us who are called to be children of God. He is Priest in that he fulfilled the perfect mediation between heaven and earth through his one sacrifice. He is Prophet in that he revealed to us the Will of God and critiqued society based on Will of God. He was King in that through His divinity he has power on heaven and earth and is the supreme ruler of the Universe. In following Jesus we are not merely applying a spiritual asceticism but we are submitting ourselves to a Divine Will that governs all aspects of our existence. There is no separation of the spiritual, natural and social realms. The Kingdom of God transcends all dimensions. It develops an appropriate spirituality establishing communion between us and the author of creation and it is the basis for critiquing unjust social structures and establishing social policies that value the common good. Vatican II’s document on the laity reminds us that we who are baptized into the Body of Christ have these same responsibilities: “As sharers in the role of Christ as priest, prophet, and king, the laity have their work cut out for them in the life and activity of the Church.”           

In our own day a prophetic role would be very similar to some non-governmental organizations. Think tanks usually offer social critiques to legislation or policies that do not conform to the particular mission of the organization. Project oriented organizations attempt to establish some kind community program again in alignment to the mission of the organization. Faith based institutions such as the Catholic Church have also organized a variety of organizations which are prophetic in nature. Catholic Relief Services, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development and Catholic Charities are such organizations. Catholic Religious communities have also organized valuable organizations like the Center of Concern and NETWORK. It was with this intention that the Passionists organized a Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Office. Our Church is the vehicle for promoting the vision of the Kingdom of God in its priestly, prophetic and kingly dimensions. Going to Church on Sunday is only the first step in engaging this vision. The sacrifice of the Mass gives us the spiritual context for applying our own prophetic responsibilities. Participating with the recent March for Life is one such prophetic task that the Church organizes for us. In a few weeks a number of Catholic organizations will organize another advocacy event on immigration and economic justice. With the recent earthquake in Haiti the Catholic Church and many religious communities have called us and our nations to act justly and with great charity to those who suffered from this natural disaster.  This is the prophetic task we are called to fulfill.

We are called to be prophets. The example of Jeremiah and Jesus tells us that this will not be easy. We are definitely being challenged outside of our comfort zone to critique our own society and that may not make us socially popular. But God promises to be with us, even when we feel abandoned. Jeremiah and Jesus suffered greatly for their prophetic ministries. But again their reward is not a matter of national honor but the service of the Kingdom of God. Empires and nations come and go. The Kingdom of God is eternal.

As we serve the prophetic challenges in our own society let us keep in mind St. Paul’s admonition to always remember the virtue of love. It is our duty to challenge society on issues that violate the Gospel message but we do this within the framework of God’s love for all humanity. We raise issues of abortion, immigration and economic justice not to cast judgment or to divide a nation. We raise these issues because through these policies we help fulfill a vision for the Kingdom of God which is ultimately meant to unite the human family and all creation with God. If we raise these issues in a way that is divisive or to serve a partisan agenda then we are being political rather than prophetic.

• 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!

The famous biblical episode of the Babylonian captivity expresses this historical teaching and we ought not to forget this lesson. The 8^th Century Prophets such as Jeremiah, Micah and Isaiah had warned the Israelite community that unless they followed the Mosaic Laws that protected the neediest members of their community and re-committed to the fair distribution of their lands than their covenant with God would be breached and God would respond with a social catastrophe. This was the occasion for the Babylonian captivity where early Jerusalem and the first Temple were destroyed. Yet the Prophets also predicted a divine renewal in the hopes that society can be rebuilt along the path of right relationships.

This would seem to be the case with what our global society is experiencing with this financial crisis. While our global economy continued to grow and demonstrate some impressive financial developments the basic moral value for the common good of the global society (a value that was adopted in the post World War II years) was left ignored as the gap between the wealthy and the impoverished widened.

Now we are living in the midst of the financial crisis. Judging by the results of the election, the American public is opting to reform a neo-liberal model of irresponsible global finance that left institutions unregulated and unaccountable. However the current AIG scandal is demonstrating how difficult it is to leave behind the culture of economic greed and unsustainable business practices.

Nevertheless, the consistent wisdom of our tradition informs us that if we are truly going to seek a sustainable future that is blessed by the invisible hand of Divine Providence than we must struggle to accept policy changes that construct an economic system that serves the common good. The AIG scandal has created a surge of popular discontent to business as usual. I fully agree that our government (or any other for that matter) should not legislate based on popular rage. An analysis of the causes that led to this culture should help us to adopt policies of fiscal and social responsibility, especially for our financial and credit institutions.

Chuck Collins, from the Institute for Policy Studies, offers an interesting policy alternative that could channel popular outrage in a more constructive way. Consider these options and think about how they may guide us in adopting a more compassionate global economy.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jv8ziUozufE