The Advent Task: Grow in Integrity
18th December, 2015
Jer 23: 5-8; Mt 1: 18-24
There is one name that is common in both the first reading and the Gospel...David! David was such a loved person to the Lord, even after the blunders that he made and received the deserved punishment! What was so special about David? Obviously, he was not the perfect of the people available. But he was the most integral of all, because when he made and mistake and that mistake was pointed out, he accepted it and repented. When we talk of integrity, we are not speaking of a spotless perfection in a person, but of the capacity to look at reality and accept it for what it is. Even Joseph had his own plans of keeping Mary away, but when Lord God revealed his plan, he was able to look at the divine plan and accept it, and carry out the task entrusted to him.
Not just the Messiah, but the Lord wishes that each of us come in the line of David, in his humility, in his docility, in his availability, in short, in his integrity.When we begin to grow in our integrity, we would be earning more and more critiques or even hate mongers. What is going to be our response - merely find fault with these critiques or grow more and more in our personal and collective integrity!
