By Colleen O’Sullivan
On this mountain
the Lord of hosts will provide for all peoples A feast of rich food and choice
wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.
On this mountain he will destroy the veil that veils all peoples, the
web that is woven over all nations; he will destroy death forever. The Lord God will wipe away the tears from
all faces; The reproach of his people he will remove from the whole earth; for
the Lord has spoken. (Isaiah 25:6-8)
At that time:
Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, went up on the mountain, and sat down
there. Great crowds came to him, having
with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute, and many others. They placed them at his feet, and he cured
them. The crowds were amazed when they
saw the mute speaking, the deformed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind
able to see, and they glorified the God of Israel. (Matthew
15:29-31)
Piety
The Lord
is my shepherd; I shall not want. (Psalm
23:1)
Study
We are in the first week of Advent, the season
during which we prepare to celebrate once again the birth of Jesus, our Immanuel,
God with us; the season when we are invited to be especially aware of the ways
in which Christ enters our hearts each day; the season when we await with
joyful hope and expectation the glorious return of Christ the King. As I was thinking about Advent and pondering
today’s Scripture readings, I was reminded of one of the contemplations in the
Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola.
Before focusing on the Incarnation, the person
making the Exercises is asked to imagine the Holy Trinity looking at all the
people on earth. I picture the Father,
Son and Holy Spirit looking at us and shaking their heads. After all, it only took one generation for
people to turn away from God and do the one thing God asked them not to. Even when confronted by their Creator, they
wouldn’t own up to their sin and, instead, blamed each other and the wily
serpent. By the second generation, people
weren’t content just to turn away from God; they turned against one another,
brother murdering brother. Not a pretty
picture at all. Century after century
was just more of the same.
Above all else, our God is compassionate and
merciful. I picture the Holy Trinity
wanting to help us find a way out of our self-created mess, because they love
us. I hear them conferring with one
another and saying, “What our people really need is a Savior. There is no other way for them out of their
misery.”
This promise of salvation is the message the
prophet Isaiah proclaims in today’s first reading. He says that life will not always be like
this – full of hunger, suffering and dying.
Our God has promised something better.
Our God will save us.
As we go on to the Gospel reading, we see Jesus,
God’s Son and our Savior, looking at all the sick and suffering people at his
feet, reaching out in love and compassion, making them whole, just as he
touches you and me with healing and forgiveness. During Advent, we reflect on the times we
have experienced his loving kindness even as we look forward to the day when
all creation is redeemed, when there is no more weeping or crying, when we are
with Christ forever.
Action
Imagine the Holy Trinity looking at you. What do they see and hear? In what part of your life do you most need
the compassionate touch of a Savior? In
prayer, ask our Lord for healing. God
will never leave you comfortless.
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