Our first reading from the prophet Baruch it’s a book that narrates a story, it offers encouragement to the people, in the context of the exile in Babylon. So, the people of Israel they were taken to Babylon, they were taken by force. Their culture was destroyed, their community was threatened, so many things were taken, they were taken out of their country, now they don’t have a nation anymore. They don’t have a temple, they are really knocked down by this foreign country. So, in the middle of this the voice of the prophet says to the people, its in the first verse that we read, we read the whole chapter 5, it’s a short chapter, “Jerusalem take off your robe of mourning and misery, put on the splendor of glory.” The prophet is asking the people to change from sadness to rejoicing, from misery to splendor of glory.
It sounds impossible, it sounds like a big change. You’re sad, stop being sad, be happy, your miserable, stop being miserable, now put on the splendor of glory. How do you do that? How can you change, can you really change it? Well the prophet continues, he says that put the miter on your head that bears the eternal name, I will show the whole earth your glory, your splendor. The prophet says get up, stand up show people you’re really full of splendor. At the same time, how do you do that? If you’re really in a miserable situation, how do you change it?
Well, the prophet continues, he says look at your children, look to the east, look to the west, he is talking to the people of Jerusalem, to Israel. He’s calling to all the people, see one another, see your community, it’s still there, your people are still there. Even though you don’t have a nation, even though you don’t have a temple, your people are still there, your children are still there. He says that God remembers them, God thinks about them, God hasn’t forsaken them. I think that is the key, that when we become aware that no matter where we are, when we know that god remembers us, that makes a big difference. In my life, when I go through difficulties and in the middle of my difficulties someone calls me and says I’m thinking of you today, I just wanted to tell you I am thinking about you, or, I said prayer for you; that really uplifts me.
I will call other people, I try to keep up with all my friends, it hard to keep up with them all. I will call them and I will say; how are you doing? They will say I was thinking about you today, but I haven’t called you yet, the next time I call them and they say the same thing. So, I am not sure if they are really thinking about me. But I think about them and they say they appreciate it. Some of my siblings do the same, I have 6 brothers, and 5 sisters. Some of them do a better job of checking on me even when I don’t have much time to call them. Its always a beautiful surprise when I see one of them calling me, they say we just wanted to say hi, we just wanted to check on you. That really gives me a lot of joy. I said to some of my sisters, I said to them, why don’t you call me? Well, we will, we will. I think finally one of my sisters called me, it gave me a lot of joy.
Just thinking that someone thinks about you, that someone cares about you, that someone is checking on you, that really gives you a lot of joy. It uplifts your heart, it uplifts your spirit. We can put that in a higher level of joy, when you know that someone very important thinks about you, that gives a greater joy. Someone that is meaningful to you, thinks about you, the joy increases, the encouragement is much bigger. Can you imagine now, that God is thinking about you? That God is checking on you? That God is there and ready to listen to you? That gives greater joy and greater consolation. That is the message of the prophet; rejoice Jerusalem, put away your misery, put away your mourning and rejoice, and put on the splendor of glory, because God is still thinking about you, God still remembers you, God is ready to care for you. God is saying this through the prophet, through his personal messenger, sending him to the people, the prophet is with the people showing God’s care for them. Later they came back to him, back from their terrible situation, back to Jerusalem and they built their temple again.
In our own lives, we also go through miserable times, we also go through sad times, a lot of worries. That is the message of advent, take off your robe of mourning, and misery, and put on the splendor of glory. May everyone see your splendor, may everyone see that you’re a really great person, that you are really so valuable before God, let everyone see that. How do you do it? I think that to be aware that God still cares for me, God still remembers me, that God is still with me that’s is the starting point. Also, seeing the blessings that God has given us, if we take the time. I will ask people, what blessings do you see in your life? They say oh, I have so many. If we start seeing life in that way, instead of dwelling in our misery, if we see the blessings that God has given us, that really makes a big difference. That’s the message of the prophet, that’s the message of Advent, that God still cares for us, that God still remembers us.
Brothers and sisters, we can also bring this message to many people around us. By showing care, genuine care to them. If you have brothers and sisters, call them, tell them that they are important to you. Tell your wife that she means the world to you, tell your husband that he means everything to you. Tell your children how much they mean to you, tell your parents that you’re thankful for them. If we do this, we bring the message of hope it’s a message that will change lives, that will uplift spirits. I hope we can do that. The Lord is ready for these changes in us, the Lord cares for us, that is why he is sending his son to us. There is no greater news than that. God said I really care for you, I will send my son to forgive your sins, to save you, to restore you. So that he may bring you back to me. That’s the good news. God really cares about us and may we also continue sharing that message in a very practical way, by caring for one another.
