“Joyous Anticipation” by Colleen O’Sullivan

“Joyous Anticipation” by Colleen O’Sullivan

Wednesday of the First Week of Advent

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)

Rembrandt, Christ Healing the Sick, c. 1646-1650,
Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

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 15:30-31).

Piety

You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
And I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.  (Psalm 23:5-6)

Study

Advent encompasses four weeks of anticipation, four weeks of listening to everything God promises us, and four weeks of practicing patient waiting for those promises to come to fruition. 

Today’s readings first show God wanting to throw a sumptuous banquet for all of us, complete with fine dishes and choice wines.  Besides feeding us and celebrating with us, God intent is to destroy death and to wipe away every tear from our eyes. 

In today’s psalm, the Lord is portrayed as the Shepherd under whose care you and I will lack for nothing.   God is the One who will walk beside us through the worst of our experiences and the One who leads us to pastures where we can rest and be refreshed.  

Turning to today’s Gospel, Jesus is the Compassionate and Merciful One, healing crowds of sick and disabled people and rejoicing when they become whole once again.  When the healing is accomplished, Jesus takes pity on the crowd, for they have had nothing to eat and, with nothing but a small amount of bread and fish, manages to satisfy everyone’s hunger and even have leftovers after everyone has eaten their fill.

Advent is the season for being grateful for all the ways in which God’s love has already touched our lives and time for joyously anticipating the fullness of God’s love when Christ returns as King in glory.

Action

Take a few minutes today to enjoy The Lord's My Shepherd by Stuart Townsend.  As you listen, reflect on what the words mean to you in your life and give thanks for the love which you’ve already experienced.

Image credit by Rembrandt - kolekcje.mkidn.gov.pl : Home: Info: Pic, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17430832