December 11, 2009
By Melanie Rigney
Friday of the Second Week in Advent
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 48:18-19)
Happy those who do not follow the counsel of the wicked, nor go the way of sinners, nor sit in company with scoffers. Rather, the law of the Lord is their joy; God's law they study day and night. They are like a tree planted near streams of water, that yields its fruit in season; its leaves never wither; whatever they do prospers. (Psalms 1:1-3)
“For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, ‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is vindicated by her works.” (Matthew 11:18-19)
Piety
Jesus, guide me to a more Christ-like life, and help me to find the confidence to live it without regard to how others might view what I do in your name.
Study
Do you ever second-guess the things you do, turn over and over again in your mind the way you acted or reacted in a situation? Maybe a joke about your perceived perfection hit a little too close to home, or maybe upon successfully resisting a long-time temptation, you were a tad disappointed you didn’t hear the angels or at least your friends sing your praises. Or maybe you’d like to take back a careless remark or look that wounded someone you care about.
There’s something of Satan in that, sometimes. Not so much in the acts themselves as in the mulling and the navel gazing and the wearing of hair shirts.
Today’s readings are full of advice on the way Lord desires that we live. We find in Psalms that studying God’s law will make us like a tree whose leaves never wither. The other two readings promise us vindication, a setting free: “If you would hearken to my commandments, your prosperity would be like a river, and your vindication like the waves of the sea,” Isaiah tells us. And in the Gospel reading, Jesus, after sharing the way he and John were both criticized, concludes, “Wisdom is vindicated by her works.”
Nothing there about telling yourself you’re a total loser and unlovable when you’re the subject of gossip—or when you’re the one who messes up. Yet, because we are human, we do mess up, and we sometimes do question even our good life choices when the reward isn’t as immediate or tangible as we like.
But here’s the joy thing. As Catholics, we have a beautiful way to receive and celebrate vindication. It’s the sacrament of reconciliation. It’s an opportunity to ponder those “I am a fraud, a Pharisee, a sinner of the worst kind” moments that weigh on our souls… and to find vindication and a fresh start in God’s love. Reconciliation isn’t for simply confessing, and turning around and engaging in the same behavior the next day. It’s about being thankful for being set free, and growing even a little bit better and more Christ-like through that vindication and trust.
Action
Go to confession or a reconciliation service this Advent season. Let God help you make a fresh start.
