2nd Sunday of the Great Advent with the readings of 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time, year C

Second week of the Great Advent: Noah

Genesis 9:1 – 19

God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them: Be fertile and multiply and fill the earth. Fear and dread of you shall come upon all the animals of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon all the creatures that move about on the ground and all the fishes of the sea; into your power they are delivered. Any living creature that moves about shall be yours to eat; I give them all to you as I did the green plants.Only meat with its lifeblood still in it you shall not eat. Indeed for your own lifeblood I will demand an accounting: from every animal I will demand it, and from a human being, each one for the blood of another, I will demand an accounting for human life.

Anyone who sheds the blood of a human being, by a human being shall that one’s blood be shed; For in the image of God have human beings been made.

Be fertile, then, and multiply; abound on earth and subdue it.

God said to Noah and to his sons with him: See, I am now establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you: the birds, the tame animals, and all the wild animals that were with you — all that came out of the ark. I will establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all creatures be destroyed by the waters of a flood; there shall not be another flood to devastate the earth. God said: This is the sign of the covenant that I am making between me and you and every living creature with you for all ages to come: I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth, and the bow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and every living creature — every mortal being — so that the waters will never again become a flood to destroy every mortal being. When the bow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature — every mortal being that is on earth. God told Noah: This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and every mortal being that is on earth.

The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth. Ham was the father of Canaan. These three were the sons of Noah, and from them the whole earth was populated.

Wisdom 11:22 – 12:2

Before the LORD the whole universe is as a grain from a balance or a drop of morning dew come down upon the earth. But you have mercy on all, because you can do all things; and you overlook people's sins that they may repent. For you love all things that are and loathe nothing that you have made; for what you hated, you would not have fashioned. And how could a thing remain, unless you willed it; or be preserved, had it not been called forth by you? But you spare all things, because they are yours, O LORD and lover of souls, for your imperishable spirit is in all things! Therefore you rebuke offenders little by little, warn them and remind them of the sins they are committing, that they may abandon their wickedness and believe in you, O LORD!

Psalm 145: 1-2. 8-11. 13-14

I will extol you, O my God and King,

and I will bless your name forever and ever.

Every day will I bless you,

and I will praise your name forever and ever.

The LORD is gracious and merciful,

slow to anger and of great kindness.

The LORD is good to all

and compassionate toward all his works.

Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,

and let your faithful ones bless you.

Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom

and speak of your might.

The LORD is faithful in all his words

and holy in all his works.

The LORD lifts up all who are falling

and raises up all who are bowed down.

2 Thessalonians 1:11 – 2:2

Brothers and sisters: We always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and powerfully bring to fulfillment every good purpose and every effort of faith, that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, in accord with the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ.

We ask you, brothers and sisters, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our assembling with him, not to be shaken out of your minds suddenly, or to be alarmed either by a "spirit", or by an oral statement, or by a letter allegedly from us to the effect that the day of the Lord is at hand.

Luke 19: 1-10

At that time, Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town.Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man,was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said, "Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house."And he came down quickly and received him with joy. When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying,"He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner." But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over." And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost."

Questions:

- It is written in the book of Genesis: “God said to Noah and to his sons with him: See, I am now establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you.” – How did Noah's attitude and behavior benefit others, humans and living creatures? Are my attitudes and behavior also beneficial to others? How do I relate to the rest of Creation? How do I perceive God’s faithfulness to His covenant in my life? How do I, for my part, try to be faithful to God’s covenant with us?

- It is written in the book of Wisdom: “…for your imperishable spirit is in all things! Therefore you rebuke offenders little by little, warn them and remind them of the sins they are committing, that they may abandon their wickedness and believe in you, O LORD!” –Do I notice in my life moments of spiritual or moral doubts? How do I overcome these doubts? Where can I find help, when I need it? What is the role of the Holy Spirit in thesetrials?

- It is written in the Second Letter to the Thessalonians: “We ask you, brothers and sisters, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our assembling with him, not to be shaken out of your minds suddenly, or to be alarmed either by a "spirit", or by an oral statement...” – How do I feel when I hear conflicts and arguments in religious and spiritual matters? What's my position (attitude) in these situations?

- Jesus said in the Gospel: “Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.” – How do I relate in my thoughts and speech to people who are considered evil, sinful? Do I try to verify that what is said of them is true? If so, how is it possible to reject the evil without rejecting the person, or forgetting that I sin too? How do I pray for them? What can I do to help them come closer to God?

Questions for children:

- It is written in the book of Genesis: “God said to Noah and to his sons with him: See, I am now establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you.” – How has Noah's attitude and behavior benefited others, humans and creature? Are my attitudes and behavior also beneficial to others? How do I keep the covenant with God?

- It is written in the book of Wisdom: “…for your imperishable spirit is in all things! Therefore you rebuke offenders little by little, warn them and remind them of the sins they are committing, that they may abandon their wickedness and believe in you, O LORD!” – What is myapproachto the matter of truth and lies, tothe good and bad in my life? Do I ask the Holy Spirit to guide me in the right and best way?

- It is written in the Second Letter to the Thessalonians: “We ask you, brothers and sisters, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our assembling with him, not to be shaken out of your minds suddenly, or to be alarmed either by a "spirit", or by an oral statement...” – Does it happen to me that the opinions I hear from friends, on TV or from the internet raise questions about my faith? Where can I look for the answers and deepen my knowledge about the faith?

- Jesus said in the Gospel: “Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.” – How do I react when someone recognizes his mistake and asks forgiveness? How do I behave when I notice my own mistake? What does Jesus teach us through the story of Zacchaeus the tax collector?