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 Below you will find a short reflection for today, World Human Rights Day, December 10, the 2nd Tuesday of Advent. We encourage you to share this reflection by forwarding this email to others who you think might appreciate it. We also encourage you to read the Pray-Study-Act (PSA) e-bulletin for this second week of Advent which features, in the "Action" section, the Global Wave of Prayer to End Hunger which begins today. Our friends at NETWORK are offering you the option to sign up and participate and to take action on behalf of ending hunger. Links are included in the PSA. Click here to see more information.
World Human Rights Day
by Rev. John Dear, S.J.
Isaiah 40:1-11 | Matthew 18:12-14
"A voice cries out: 'In the desert, prepare the way for the God of peace!'" ~Isaiah 40:3
Isaiah sums up our advent vocation: "A voice cries out: 'In the desert, prepare the way for the God of peace. Make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.'" We are to be voices in the desert, prophets of peace and justice, people who announce the new life of nonviolence and God's good news of disarmament. To prepare the way is to denounce war and injustice, to speed their demise, and to plow a new trail toward social, economic, and political conversion in the spirit of Gospel nonviolence.
"Cry out," says a voice. We are commanded to speak out publicly for justice. The oracle underscores this task by repetition. "Comfort, give comfort to my people. Speak tenderly. Proclaim to her. Cry out! Go up onto a high mountain and cry out at the top of your voice. Be a herald of good news. Do not be afraid to cry out and to say to all the cities: 'Hear is your God!'" (Isaiah 40:1-2, 6, 9)
Isaiah, as did Jesus, spoke out publicly, even though his message of peace was widely rejected....
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