If a shoot can sprout from Jesse's aged stump, then hope sure does spring eternal even in circumstances we've given up for dead.

John the Baptist was announcing a new thing. Not only in his preaching and baptizing but also in his proclamation of the one who is to come, he heralded a time when people would have to recenter their lives in the face of new realities.

CHRISTMAS IS ON its way. You can feel it rushing in toward us like a runaway train, uncontrollable and inevitable. It transforms the environment of the church as much as the landscape of the community, not to mention the economic reality of many parishioners.

The wolf shall be a guest of the lamb," Isaiah prophesizes. "Justice shall flourish . . . and fullness of peace forever," sings the psalmist. Scripture offers us an inclusive vision of God's kingdom, where enemies reconcile and God's justice and peace rule.

Today, John the Baptist, asks us to think of ourselves as trees. A mighty oak comes to mind or a graceful birch. Apple trees are lovely, and who could deny the splendor of a magnolia tree? Being a tree has a calming effect.

When I met Monsignor, he was well into his eighth decade. His 6-foot, 2-inch frame was now stooped by arthritis. But I had a sense of what an imposing figure he must have presented.

A number of years ago, Rodney King asked the right question. King was at the heart of a conflict with Los Angeles police. The videotape of police beating King sparked retaliatory riots.

Brought together in this holy gathering, we pray for the mercy of God.

Repent! Augustine of Hippo once said in a homily, "The Lord Jesus began his preaching of the gospel with the admonition, 'Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.'

Truly, when the day of judgment comes, we shall not be examined as to what we have read, but what we have done, not how well we have spoken, but how we have lived.