Word to the Wise
Monday, December 4, 2017 - 1st Week of Advent - Mon
[Isa 2:1-5 (or, in Year A, Isa 4:2-6) and Matt 8:5-11]In days to come, the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established as the highest mountain and raised above the hills. All nations shall stream toward it; many peoples shall come and say: "Come, let us climb the Lord's mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may instruct us in his ways, and we may walk in his paths." [Isaiah]
We will hear a lot from the prophet Isaiah in Advent. His majestic and challenging visions continue to ring down through the centuries. God spoke through him in the 700's BC and continues to speak through him to us today. What he says in the vision recounted today might have been startling to the inhabitants of Jerusalem in that day because any nations that might come "streaming" to Jerusalem were usually intent on destroying it! A vision of universal worship would have been foreign. But, nowadays people from many nations do stream toward Jerusalem! However, there is a realization of this in the gospel scripture for today that can make this more personal.
The man who approaches Jesus is a Roman centurion. By definition he would have been a pagan, yet he was drawn by some instinct of faith to Jesus to seek help for his paralyzed servant. Jesus marvels at the man's faith and promises him a place at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven along side the Jewish patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Furthermore, the centurion's' words of faith are enshrined in our celebration of the Eucharist: "Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant (soul) shall be healed.".
In this season of Advent, can we be drawn once again toward the coming of Jesus? Can we look beyond the secular "gods" of buy, buy, buy and see ourselves as part of something truly great for faith and have confidence that Jesus is the one to whom we can bring any concern. The centurion came on behalf of his paralyzed servant. is there someone we love that in this season we can bring to Jesus through our own intercession? If we remember that this is a tough time for lots of people (loss of job, death of loved ones, health failure), there will be no lack of concerns. "O house of Jacob, come! Let us walk in the light of the Lord." AMEN