Isaiah 48:17-19 / Matthew 11:16-19
As we come to the end of the second week of the Advent season, it may be good to recall what is the purpose of the season of Advent.
No doubt the season of Advent is to prepare us for the celebration of the birth of Jesus at Christmas and also to prepare us for the second coming of Jesus.
In other words, the season of Advent is to prepare us for the great blessing that God wants to bestow upon us, and that is the gift of Jesus our Saviour.
So it can be said that with the celebration of the birth of Jesus at Christmas, all the other blessings from God will follow.
That is why the celebration of the Christmas, the Word-made-flesh, is so important, and the season of Advent prepares us to receive this great blessing.
The only thing that can ever block this blessing from God, the only thing that can block Jesus from entering into our hearts at Christmas, is none other than sin.
Sin blocks out the blessings that Jesus wants to give us at Christmas, and the greater the sin, the lesser the blessings we will receive.
That is why the message of Advent is about repentance and about the blockages to God's blessings.
So as we come to the middle of the Advent season, let us meditate on what the 1st reading is telling us, that God want to teach us what is good for us and the way we must go and to be obedient to His commandments.
Then our happiness would have been like a river and our integrity like the waves of the sea.
So let us repent of our sins and turn to God during this season of Advent, so that we can be filled with the joy and peace of Christmas.