Pleasing and Prepared

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today, the First Sunday of Advent, celebrate our efforts to live as followers of Jesus and nudge us to be aware of Christ in our end time.

Advent Begins

The reading from the Prophet Jeremiah proclaims the Righteous Branch and the Covenant with David.

* [33:14–26] This is the longest continuous passage in the Hebrew text of Jeremiah that is missing from the Greek text of Jeremiah. It is probably the work of a postexilic writer who applied parts of Jeremiah’s prophecies to new situations. The hope for an eternal Davidic dynasty (vv. 14–17; cf. 2 Sm 7:11–16) and for a perpetual priesthood and sacrificial system (v. 18) was not realized after the exile. On the canonical authority of the Septuagint, see note on Dn 13:1–14:42. (Jeremiah, CHAPTER 33 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 25 is a prayer for Guidance and for Deliverance.

* [Psalm 25] A lament. Each verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Such acrostic Psalms are often a series of statements only loosely connected. The psalmist mixes ardent pleas (Ps 25:1–2, 16–22) with expressions of confidence in God who forgives and guides. (Psalms, PSALM 25 | USCCB, n.d.)

The reading from the First Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians describes a Life pleasing to God.

* [4:2] Instructions: these include specific guidelines on the basis of the Lord’s authority, not necessarily sayings Jesus actually uttered. More profoundly, as 1 Thes 4:8 implies, the instructions are practical principles that Paul worked out in accordance with his understanding of the role of the Spirit. (1 Thessalonians, CHAPTER 4 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Gospel of Luke describes a vision of the Coming of the Son of Man and gives an Exhortation to Watch.

* [21:26] The powers of the heavens: the heavenly bodies mentioned in Lk 21:25 and thought of as cosmic armies. (Luke, CHAPTER 21 | USCCB, n.d.)

Maureen McCann Waldron (2015) comments that the readings in the final weeks of Ordinary Time and the first weeks of Advent are meant to have us ponder the life we have today.  How can I live that life?  Am I wandering in my own desert aimless and confused? Or, do I really believe in my heart that God is here in my everyday life with me, helping me to be safe and secure?

Jesus talks about the anxieties of daily life and cautions us to “not become drowsy” from them.  I know I have experienced anxiety in life over family, health and work.  We can fret about everything from terrorism to our “To Do” list.  But Jesus is offering us hope, consolation and his endless love.  He tells us to pay attention at all times and to pray for strength.  What he really wants is for us to know how very deeply each one of us is loved and cherished by him.  I find this very consoling.

Relying on that love releases my fierce grip on control of my life.  We can stop each morning, set aside our “To Do” list and pray.  We can ask God to help us feel how deeply we are loved and to help us let go of things that really don’t matter. (McCann Waldron, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “The coming of the Son of Man,” by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD).

"He says that they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Christ will not come secretly or obscurely but as God and Lord in glory suitable for deity. He will transform all things for the better. He will renew creation and refashion the nature of people to what it was at the beginning. He said, 'When these things come to pass, lift up your heads and look upward, for your redemption is near.' The dead will rise. This earthly and infirm body will put off corruption and will clothe itself with incorruption by Christ's gift. He grants those that believe in him to be conformed to the likeness of his glorious body."(excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 139) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Jeremiah 33:14-16 asks how can we better embrace this season and the grace God has in store for us? Today’s first reading gives us a beautiful image that can help us: “a just shoot” rising up to give us new life (Jeremiah 33:15).

This Advent, commit yourself to trusting in Jesus, the “just shoot.” Let him meet you where you are, lead you to deeper surrender, and make you ready to receive his presence at Christmas!

“Lord, your ways are so different from my ways. Help me to receive all the grace you have for me this Advent.” (Meditation on Jeremiah 33:14-16, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler notes that it is odd for Jeremiah to speak of a time of peace and justice brought about by a new shout from the vine of David in the form of a new Covenant. In Advent, we are preparing for the coming of Jesus at Bethlehem and the return of Christ at the end time. Paul urges the Thessalonians to multiply their goodness. Friar Jude reminds us of the message in Luke that there will be an accounting at the end of the world or at our personal end time.

 

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, writes of an evolutionary faith informed by Scripture and a foundational trust in God’s never-ending love and creativity.

I believe that as “children of the resurrection” (Luke 20:36), we are both burdened and brightened by a cosmic and irrepressible hope—and we can never fully live up to it. We are both burdened and brightened with the gift of an optimism whose headwaters are neither rational, scientific, nor even provable to those who do not have it. Yet it ticks away from a deep place within us. [1]

The contemplative mind is an evolutionary mind, and I think it’s the mind of Christ. It allows the future to reveal itself, without present circumstances totally predicting it. We all need some degree of predictability, but in faith, I can live without certainty to some degree. Living in that tension, that in-between, could be called evolutionary thinking or it could be called trusting in deep time. I’m trusting there’s a deep river flowing. Even when not much is happening on the upper river, I still trust the deeper river. [2] (Rohr, n.d.)

As we begin Advent and our preparation for Christmas, we consider that our fullness of life with Jesus comes with a reminder to be prepared for the end time.

References

Jeremiah, CHAPTER 33 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved December 1, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/jeremiah/33?14 

Luke, CHAPTER 21 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved December 1, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/21?25 

McCann Waldron, M. (n.d.). OnlineMinistries. Retrieved December 1, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/Archive/2015/112915.html 

Meditation on Jeremiah 33:14-16. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved December 1, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/12/01/1143366/ 

1 Thessalonians, CHAPTER 4 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved December 1, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1thessalonians/4 

Psalms, PSALM 25 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved December 1, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/25?4 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Evolutionary Thinking. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved December 1, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/evolutionary-thinking-12-1-2024/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Look up, Your Redemption Is Drawing Near. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved December 1, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=dec1 

Redeemed Restored and Healed

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today present to us the continuing care of God for our welfare as the Spirit prompts us to seek physical and spiritual healing.

The Path to Full Life

 

The reading from the Prophet Isaiah describes the return of the Redeemed to Zion.

* [35:1–10] This chapter contains a number of themes similar to those in Deutero-Isaiah (chaps. 40–55), for example, the blossoming of the wilderness (vv. 1–2; cf. 41:18–19), which is now well-irrigated (v. 7; cf. 43:19–20); sight to the blind (vv. 5–6; cf. 42:7, 16); a highway in the wilderness (v. 8; cf. 41:3); and the return of the redeemed/ransomed to Zion (vv. 9–10; cf. 51:11). Nevertheless, it forms a unit with chap. 34 (see note on 34:1–35:10) and reflects, along with that chapter, themes found in chaps. 1–33. (Isaiah, CHAPTER 35, n.d.)

Psalm 85 is a prayer for the Restoration of God’s Favour

* [Psalm 85] A national lament reminding God of past favors and forgiveness (Ps 85:2–4) and begging for forgiveness and grace now (Ps 85:5–8). A speaker represents the people who wait humbly with open hearts (Ps 85:9–10): God will be active on their behalf (Ps 85:11–13). The situation suggests the conditions of Judea during the early postexilic period, the fifth century B.C.; the thoughts are similar to those of postexilic prophets (Hg 1:5–11; 2:6–9). (Psalms, PSALM 85, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus Heals a Paralytic

* [5:20] As for you, your sins are forgiven: literally, “O man, your sins are forgiven you.” The connection between the forgiveness of sins and the cure of the paralytic reflects the belief of first-century Palestine (based on the Old Testament: Ex 20:5; Dt 5:9) that sickness and infirmity are the result of sin, one’s own or that of one’s ancestors (see also Lk 13:2; Jn 5:14; 9:2). (Luke, CHAPTER 5, n.d.)

Nicky Santos S.J. comments that the call to discipleship is the larger context within which the healing of the paralytic is situated. The faith of the leper and the paralytic (as well as of his friends) is contrasted with that of the Pharisees and teachers of the law who come from all over not because they believe in Jesus but rather because they want to trap him. While Simon Peter follows Jesus because he is awed by the miraculous catch of fish and while the leper is cleansed and the paralytic healed, the disciple is called to have that faith of the leper and the paralytic that preceded their being cleansed and healed. It is the faith that Levi, the tax-collector despised by most, has when he immediately responds to Jesus’ invitation to follow him. He leaves everything behind and follows Jesus.

As we journey along during this season of Advent, it might help to ask ourselves what kind of disciples are we? Do we constantly need tangible proof that God loves us? Are our minds and hearts troubled by doubt and anxiety? Or do we have that deep faith in Jesus that no obstacle is big enough to shake? Today’s reading encourages me to continue to abandon myself to the care of God. At the same time, it also reminds me to be that instrument of God’s care to others; to be like the friends of the paralytic. (Santos, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “Jesus heals spiritually and physically,” by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD).

"When the Savior says to him, 'Man, your sins are forgiven you,' he addresses this to humankind in general. For those who believe in him, being healed of the diseases of the soul, will receive forgiveness of the sins which they formerly committed. He may also mean this: 'I must heal your soul before I heal your body. If this is not done, by obtaining strength to walk, you will only sin more. Even though you have not asked for this, I as God see the maladies of the soul which brought on you this disease.'"(excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 12) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Isaiah 35:1-10 comments that God can answer our spiritual thirst beyond our expectations—even when it seems like we don’t deserve it. That’s because he is a God of mercy and compassion. The same God who came to earth as a child so long ago still wants to come to us each and every day. He still wants to heal us and restore us. He still wants to redeem us from all our sins and teach us how to live in his love.

So if you’re thirsty, go ahead and ask him for a drink—but don’t limit him. Just a small sip might do, but “just enough” is never enough for the Lord. No, he wants to give you nothing less than his own presence within you: his Spirit directing your paths, strengthening you against temptation, and filling you with love for him and for the people around you.

It’s amazing, isn’t it? All because God loves you.

“Holy Spirit, I am thirsting for you. Let your life well up within me.” (Meditation on Isaiah 35:1-10, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler summarizes all the blessings always intended for the people of Israel as Isaiah describes their restoration from exile. Luke raises the connection between sin and health as he describes the healing of the paralytic. Friar Jude reminds us to expect the most loving answer from God to our petitions for healing.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, shares that evolutionary thinking and faith are inherently linked. Evolutionary thinking is the very core concept of faith, where we trust that God alone steers this mysterious universe, where there is clearly much hidden from us and much still before us—and where “eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and the human heart has not conceived, what God has prepared for those who love God” (1 Corinthians 2:9).

Evolutionary thinking is contemplative thinking. It leaves the full field of the future in God’s hands and agrees to humbly hold the present with what it only tentatively knows for sure. Evolutionary thinking agrees to knowing and not knowing simultaneously. It sends us on a trajectory, where the ride is itself the destination, and the goal is never clearly in sight. To stay on the ride, to trust the trajectory, to know it is moving, and moving somewhere always better, is just another way to describe faith. We are all in evolution all the time, it seems to me. [2] (Rohr, 2022)

We express gratitude for the care of God that invites us to meet Him in the people and events of our journey.

References

Isaiah, CHAPTER 35. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved December 5, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/isaiah/35?1 

Luke, CHAPTER 5. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved December 5, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/5?17 

Meditation on Isaiah 35:1-10. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved December 5, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/12/05/548780/ 

Psalms, PSALM 85. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved December 5, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/85?9 

Rohr, R. (2022, December 5). An Evolving Faith — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved December 5, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/an-evolving-faith-2022-12-05/ 

Santos, N. (n.d.). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved December 5, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/120522.html 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Your God Will Come and Save You. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved December 5, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=dec5