When
the LORD washes away the filth of the daughters of Zion, And purges Jerusalem’s
blood from her midst with a blast of searing judgment, Then will the LORD
create, over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her place of assembly, A
smoking cloud by day and a light of flaming fire by night. For over all, the LORD’s glory will be
shelter and protection: shade from the parching heat of day, refuge and cover
from storm and rain.
Isaiah 4:4-6
When
Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and appealed to him,
saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.”
He said to him, “I will come and cure him.” Matthew
8:5-7
Piety
“Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof;
only say the word and my servant will be healed. “
Study
God promised.
Jesus delivered. Of all the words
in the readings today – many very powerful – our first Monday of Advent
preparation can focus on three little words – “I will come.”
Throughout biblical history, the people waited for God
to deliver upon the promise made by and through prophets through the ages. The Lord not only delivered by coming into
our world, he is willing to come into our very homes and bodies to provide
compassionate healing.
“I will come.” In
the first reading from Isaiah, we learn that when the Lord comes, there will be
cleansing by fire and smoke. No longer
will people look to earthly rulers for shelter and protection – the protection
of the widow and orphan (the “anawein”) was, after all, the duty of the government
and the king. Instead, God promises that
He will provide that refuge, that shelter, that protection. Not just
symbolically, as in Isaiah’s writing, but in actually as Matthew explains with the
centurion’s story.
“I will come.” Advent
is when we await the tangible presence of the Lord. In today’s first reading, that presence is symbolized
by the smoke and fire. In the Good News,
it is symbolized by the direct encounter that the centurion has with Jesus. In the New Testament, we trade symbolic
presence for actual presence as the centurion and the Lord have a direct
personal encounter. God is as real as the
clouds of the daytime and the fires that light the darkness.
One contrast is between the safety and security of the tabernacle
in which we are unworthy to enter and the fact that the Lord comes not only
down into our world, but is willing to enter into our house and our very
being. When Jesus becomes aware of a
need, he does not have to weigh the pros and cons of what to do. He reaction is simple and simply: “I will
come.”
In response to His presence, nothing is more necessary
than that we follow our mission in life.
Through that action, we will earn our worth before Christ. The centurion recognizes the power he has
over the men in his command. However, despite
that positional power, he still makes himself subordinate to the Lord.
The protection of the Lord extends beyond the Israelites. The prophet Isaiah writes that the Lord’s
protection will extend “over all.” We
see that prophecy come to fruition in the encounter with the centurion. Jesus could just as easily healed someone in a
Jewish household. But, as a sign that
His protection extends “over all” and that His church will increase, he cures a
member of the centurion’s household.
Action
Jesus’s protection extends over all – including us as
well. How will we use the example of the
centurion’s faith to build the Kingdom?
Tomorrow is “Giving Tuesday.” It is a “created-event” for charities in
which people are encouraged to turn their focus away from the consumption of
Black Friday and Cyber Monday and the 23 shopping days left until Christmas.
Consider pledging some volunteer time or financial
support to a charity that features compassionate healing in honor of the cure
of the centurion’s servant. That healing
can be at a disaster site like Illinois tornadoes, the Philippines typhoon, or people
afflicted with mental health issues like the late son of Virginia State Sen. R.
Creigh Deeds who committed suicide after attacking his father last month.
Whom will you come to cure?
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