RBWords

     Many of us can remember when we were children,  and had one of the many bumps and scrapes on the playground, going to Mom who would put a band aid on the injury and give us something to eat and wipe away the tears!  It was the best of comforts.  Isaiah gives us the promise of this comfort and the Gospel of Matthew gives us its fulfillment.  Jesus heals "the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute and many others," and then feeds the whole crowd with the seven loaves and the few fish. He really wipes away the tears of hurt and hunger.

     Advent is the time of  promise and fulfillment.  In the midst of great sorrows and injury, a sure promise gives hope, a precious need.  The fulfillment of the promise strengthens that hope and enables a tomorrow that is worth looking forward to.  In Advent, the promised Messiah draws us toward the actual birth of the Messiah.  This is not just piety, but the ultimate understanding that God will not abandon us to our helplessness but will give us the strength we need.  In the "holiday season," that can be the one thing that get us through!  AMEN