According to Your Faith

According to Your Faith

Memorial of Saint Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Thus, says the Lord GOD: But a very little while

and Lebanon shall be changed into an orchard, and the orchard be regarded as a forest! On that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book; And out of gloom and darkness, the eyes of the blind shall see. The lowly will ever find joy in the LORD, and the poor rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.  Isaiah 29:17-19

As Jesus passed by, two blind men followed him, crying out, "Son of David, have pity on us!" When he entered the house, the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I can do this?" "Yes, Lord," they said to him. Then he touched their eyes and said, "Let it be done for you according to your faith."  Matthew 9:27-29

 

Piety

“When he entered the house, the blind men approached Jesus...”

“Enter into your mind’s inner chamber. Shut out everything but God... when you have shut the door, look for him. Speak to God and say with your whole heart: I seek your face; your face, Lord, I desire.”  -St Anselm

Study

The weekly readings fall into a nice pattern.  Sunday sets up a major theme that is explored throughout the week.  Each daily scripture adds breadth and depth to what came before it.

Today breaks that pattern. If redemption has always been at the heart of God’s plan, then today looks ahead to tomorrow.

Tomorrow is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  From that point forward in time, the wheels of the redemption plan are set in motion.  Prophecy becomes action.  What is promised in Isaiah starts to unfold in a little Palestinian village. Isaiah 29 foretells the Canticle of Mary and all the amazing reversals it portends. Matthew 9 reminds me of Mary’s reaction to the message of the angel.

How different is this:

"Let it be done for you according to your faith."  Matthew 9:27-29

From this:

Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Luke 1:38

For the redemption story to unfold, we need a few willing characters to take the stage.  Sprinkle faith the size of a mustard seed…let’s wait and see what unfolds.

Action

If there is any characteristic that Advent cultivates in our being, that is the request to wait. With each passing commercial that seduces us to desire a Mercedes-Benz or Lexus with a bright silver or red bow, society gives us an equal and opposite force for immediate gratification.

Wait.  Later.

Want. Now.

The NABRE introduction to the Book of Isaiah sets the redemption stage eight centuries before the Immaculate Conception.  This greatest of the prophets appeared at a critical moment in Israel’s history: when the Northern Kingdom collapsed, under the hammer-like blows of Assyria, in 722 B.C. Just a generation later, Jerusalem witnessed the army of Sennacherib drawn up before its walls.

With the literal barbarians at the gate, Isaiah voices what had to be a very unwelcome message.  Wait. “In a very little while?”  Indeed.  Eight centuries later, Jesus appears on stage.  A refugee born under the belligerent rule of the Romans. Hardly the conquering king everyone has been waiting to lead them to victory. (We Americans are so proud of the fact that we will celebrate 242 years of independence from the belligerent British.)

Advent Waiting is as countercultural today as the message of Isaiah was in his day.  What personal pleasure can you put off today in order to bring happiness and light to someone else? That is not procrastination. That is the road to redemption.