By Colleen O’Sullivan
Thus says
the Lord, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I, the Lord, your God, teach
you what is for your good, and lead you on the way you should go. If you would hearken to my commandments, your
prosperity would be like a river, and your vindication like the waves of the
sea; your descendants would be like the sand, and those born of your stock like
its grains, their name never cut off or blotted out from my presence. (Isaiah
48:17-19)
Jesus said
to the crowds: “To what shall I compare
this generation? It is like children who
sit in marketplaces and call to one another, “We played the flute for you, but
you did not dance, we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.” (Matthew 11:16-17)
Piety
Rejoice!
Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to
thee, O Israel.
Study
Once, when I was a seminary student, during a
school break I was invited to preach at a church near my home. I asked my family to come to the worship
service. Afterwards, I asked my father
what he thought. He said it was fine
till I got to the part about letting all the prisoners out of jail. I was dumbfounded; I had made no mention of
either prisoners or jails! Nor had I
quoted anything about setting all the captives free.
The Lord must be equally amazed and disheartened by
what we take away from all God says to us, if we even bother to listen at
all. If God were writing or speaking to
us today, I imagine something along these lines:
You know I love you with an everlasting love. I wouldn’t have created you if that weren’t
the case. But, I have to tell you that
sometimes I am greatly frustrated at your inability to listen to my voice. From the very beginning I have set before you
the way of life, yet some days it truly looks like the road less traveled. Many of you can’t even recite my
commandments, let alone live them. I
desire lives of abundance and goodness for you, yet you continue, generation
after generation, to march into exiles of your own making. I have never driven anyone from their home;
there’s no need. You’re all too good at
running in the direction of trouble.
I sent my servant John the Baptist into the world to prepare the way for
my Son. Hardly anyone listened to his
call to repentance. You were all too
busy laughing at him because of his attire and his offbeat eating habits. You said he was possessed by an evil
spirit. I persevered, however, and tried
again. I sent my only Son Jesus to
you. He was a different sort of person
altogether from his cousin. He enjoyed a
good party. He sought out those in need
of healing. He ate with sinners and tax
collectors, and you labeled him a glutton and a drunk.
What am I to do? Somber or
joyful, the call to repent or the offer of mercy – you find fault with all of
it. I will never give up in my pursuit
of you, however. I will continue to call
to you through the words of the holy Scriptures. I will sing to you in the sights and sounds
of nature. I will quietly whisper in
your ear when you are at rest. All I ask
is that you listen.
Action
Advent
is a time for listening with the ears of our hearts for the coming of our
Savior. Take a break from online
Christmas shopping. Put down your cell
phone. Stop texting and emailing. Pull yourself away from Candy Crush, Spider
Solitaire and Words with Friends. Sit in
quiet expectation that the Lord has something to say to you. If you need Advent resources to help you, two
places to find some are http://www.ignatianspirituality.com/advent
and http://www.ignatianspirituality.com/22964/advent-desire.
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