Son of David, have pity on us By Beth DeCristofaro
Friday of the First Week of Advent
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
Son of David, have pity on me, help me see you in moments and people in my life, always guided by your light.
Study
This week we light the first Advent candle, its tiny flicker of light gleaming through darkness. Darkness exists – at times feels that it reigns - in the world and our own lives. The two blind men call out of our shared need to see God’s presence and do God’s will. Their desire for sight was one with Jesus’ desire for them to see. As we journey through Advent, we can ask for the faith that our desires be shaped into God’s desire and reflect God’s glory gleaming in the world.
The NAB notes explain this passage: “The prophet presents the positive aspects of God’s plan in terms of a series of reversals: an end to pride, ignorance, and injustice.”[i] God’s plan begins with each of us individually desiring to see, desiring to know and desiring to say yes to that plan. To do that, we must also put God at the center of our being, displacing our ego-driven wants, intolerances, and any preconceived notions that we know the mind of God. In prayer and with faith we call out, “we are blind, Lord, I trust that you will help me see.”
To do this, we really must leap by faith and put our darknesses front and center, not hiding them as if at the back of the crowd but upfront, offering them to God for healing. Are they in our relationships? In our habits? In our stubbornness? In our desire to please everybody or to put our plans over everyone else? In Advent how might we more open ourselves to the healing offered by Christ?
Action
In a homily on December 2, 2020, Pope Francis spoke of past, present and future as three elements of Advent. Seeing God’s presence more clearly can be our Advent focus. Pope Francis said in the present dimension, “daily: purifying our watchfulness. Vigilance and prayer are two words for Advent: Because historically the Lord came in Bethlehem; and He will come, at the end of the world and also at the end of our individual lives. But every day, every moment, He comes into our hearts, with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.”[ii] How open to healing are you? What must you give up to see more clearly? Where have you seen God’s love in this season of hope and anticipation?
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