RBWords

     The images from the prophet Isaiah today always remind me of Handel's magnificent oratorio, THE MESSIAH.  The music reflects the contrasting moods of the passage from the "tender" words of "Comfort ye, my people!" and "He shall feed his flock..." to the exuberance of "Every valley shall be exalted..." and "O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion!..."  Power and tenderness are combined to present a picture to the hopes of our imagination if only we are open to it.

 

     The gospel passage from Matthew highlights the shepherding image in Isaiah.  I recently preached a retreat for the permanent deacons of the Gallup, NM, diocese.  One of the deacons, a Navaho gentleman, had spent many years of his life as a shepherd of sheep in the mountains of the Navaho reservation, and spoke to me of that way of life.  "Pastoral" images of this kind can easily escape our understanding because what was a common way of life to Isaiah and Jesus is not common in the U.S.A. anymore.  Our imagination can "sentimentalize" the hard work of caring for the flock!  Indeed, Jesus' use of shepherding images was offensive to the Pharisees because of a prevailing prejudice about them in the towns!

 

     Advent images of Jesus anticipate his later life.  At the moment we may be only contemplating the baby in the manger if we've gotten that far in "decorating."  We have the advantage of centuries of reflection on God's providential care and can use that to prepare for celebrating the birth of that baby.  As the great Catholic Southern writer, Flannery O'Connor, put it in her prayer journal:  "God is feeding me and what I'm praying for is an appetite."  AMEN