So what happened?
It's fair to say that
the history of the Middle East
has been far from peaceful.
Even while Our Lord
walks in Galilee,
the land is oppressed.
After He ascends,
the temple is destroyed
and the Jewish people
are scattered.
The state of Israel
has only had some
stability since the late 1940s
and even then
it has been rocked time and again
by violence, hatred and bloodshed.
But if Israel has been turbulent
even in Our Lord's day,
how can Jeremiah say
that Israel will dwell safely
in the days of the great King?
[PAUSE]
The prophecy is clear:
"Behold, the days come,
saith the Lord,
that I will raise unto David
a righteous Branch,
and a King shall reign and prosper,
and shall execute
judgment and justice in the earth."
If the King is Jesus
then the prophecy has gone wrong,
hasn't it?
And what of this branch?
Ah! The branch may hold the key.
[PAUSE]
What is this branch?
Branch of what?
As we approach Advent,
we think of the Root of Jesse
and the Line of David,
and we see Jesus born
as a member of
the ancient royal family.
We think of Jesus' words
"I am the vine
and ye are the branches."
And we see an image
of something growing.
But there is something else.
The Greek for "branch"
also means "a shoot"
and "sunrise"
the dawning of a new day.
So the branch here,
is budding
it's just come forth from the stem.
And this is what Jeremiah sees.
When Jesus walks in Galilee,
He is the Branch budding.
Indeed, for all the time we know Him
from His birth to His death
to His resurrection,
He is just budding.
His day is only dawning.
And it is still dawning.
[PAUSE]
The Day of the Lord
is still coming,
though it is
for the faithful now.
The dark and troubled world
full of hatred and work
won't see this yet,
but we do.
Christians see
the Day of the Lord
when they come to Mass.
[PAUSE]
Christians all over the world
gather together
to meet Our Lord in the Sacrament.
We meet in our here and now
but are gathered to
the Lord's table in His here and now.
In the Mass, we find peace,
we find stability and joy,
for in the Mass,
the Heavenly Kingdom
touches our world
and we see beyond
into the Day of the Lord.
[PAUSE]
We should not expect
to understand Jeremiah's words
with our concept of Time.
The Creation of the World
took six days
and on the seventh day
God rests from His labours.
But the world is still being created.
New plants,
new animals,
new stars and planets.
New people are being born
every day.
We have not yet reached the Seventh Day,
but it has begun to dawn,
the branch has begun to grow,
and the promises of God
are met.
Next Sunday begins the new year
as we wait for the coming
of Our Lord.
Let us be patient!
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