SINCERE REPENTANCE LEADS TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

The readings...

"The Heavenly Father sent His only begotten Son to teach us to be united as one in harmony in the Body of Christ." [Is. 11:1-10]

"Christians are called to live their living faith in imitation of Christ in appreciation of God's fulfilled promise of a new heart and a new spirit." [Rom. 15:4-9]

"Those who do not allow the Holy Spirit to sanctify them so they can bear spiritual fruits will be thrown away as worthless matter." [Mt 3:1-12]

The homily...

Good morning! From today's First Reading, we learn that the coming of Jesus was prophesied by Isaiah hundreds of years prior to His coming. Jesus is described as the Righteous Judge of all. He does not judge by what He sees or hears because He knows the hearts of all. Nothing can be kept secret from Him.

The Book of Isaiah tells us that the truth of the Lord shall fill the earth. Today, we can look back at this prophecy and truthfully say from its fulfillment that it was inspired by the Holy Spirit. In a way, we can also say that the wolf lives with the lambs.

Thanks to the teachings of Jesus Christ, we can see the believers and non-believers living together, socializing together and even working together. The teachings of Jesus, the Son of God, have totally transformed the world during the past two thousand years.

The reading from the Book of Isaiah ends by telling us that we will see the day when the people from all nations shall inquire about Jesus. Today, we see that all around us. The people of all nations hunger for the knowledge and wisdom of Christ. This is especially true with the approach of Christmas. Every year, at Christmas, the non-believers are overwhelmed by the actions of the Christians and their display of tremendous love and goodness towards others. Consequently, the Lord is glorified endlessly.

The Second Reading from the Letter to the Romans encourages us to live our faith in imitation of Christ in appreciation of God's fulfilled promises of the gift of a new heart and spirit to all those who are baptized in Christ.

We are encouraged to be of one mind in accordance with the teachings of Jesus so that we can glorify the Heavenly Father as one voice. This means that we are to set aside our childlike differences that lead to division, quarrels, insults, gossip, violence, and everything that the prince of darkness, Satan, stands for. As christians, we are God's elect and such behaviours are not acceptable.

We should be thankful to God, the Lord of the Jewish people, for having set aside the Jewish Nation for a period of time, so that in His mercy, He may be glorified through us. Without God's mercy, we would be nothing. In appreciation of His Divine goodness, we should living our Christian faith in the image of Jesus Christ.

The Gospel of today reminds us of our obligation to be baptized in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. It reminds us to repent from our former sinful way. It reminds us that it is only through sincere repentance and by living our Christian faith in love and charity that we will bear fruit by the power of the Holy Spirit.

And if we do not live our Christian faith in Christ by allowing the Holy Spirit to purify us for our sanctification, we will be cut away from God's people. We will be thrown in the fire as dead branches are pruned from the trees and thrown away into the fire.

Not knowing when the Lord will call us to Heaven, as Christians, we cannot afford to even waste one day. Our Christian faith must be lived now! If we hurt someone's feelings, we must apologize now before it is too late. If we stole from someone, we must pay him back now before it is too late. If we neglected our daily communion with the Lord, we must start it now, today. If we ignored the poverty of our neighbours, we must feed and cloth them now. If we neglected our Christian obligation to support the Church, we must start supporting the Church now.

The Word of God in today's Gospel is very powerful! It reminds us to evaluate our attitudes, to change our ways and to walk as one if we are to continue claiming that we are truly a Christian in Christ so the Heavenly Father may be glorified through our thoughts, our actions and our words! Amen.

Total: 678 words

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