Word to the Wise
Saturday, December 7, 2024 - 1st Week of Advent - Sat
[Isa 30:19-21, 23-26 and Matt 9:35-10:1, 5a, 6-8]The Lord will give you the bread you need and the water for which you thirst. No longer will your Teacher hide himself, but with your own eyes you shall see your teacher, while from behind, a voie shall sound in your ears: "This is the way; walk in it," when you would turn to the right or to the left. Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, and curing every disease and illness. At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few, so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest..... As you go, make this proclamation: 'The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Cure the sick, raise the dad, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give." [Matthew]
DECEMBER 7 ST.AMBROSE, bishop and doctor of the church
Advent existed long before what we call "the holiday season." Our cultural celebration of Christmas in the USA dates only to the 19th century. But the cultural celebration of "the holiday season" has created a context in which one must work intentionally to observe the liturgical season of Advent. However, the cultural context offers an opportunity to make the spiritual/pastoral meaning of Advent take on flesh and blood. There are many who feel depressed and lonely because of the holiday context. The losses and trials of the past year seem magnified. Their big question is often, "Does anyone care?"
Jesus' charge to his disciples is two-fold: proclaim and heal. In our day we may need to find alternatives to curing the sick, raising the dead, cleansing lepers or driving out demons. Often the key is to distinguish between "presents" and "presence." Our personal caring "presence" may have a greater impact than any "presents" that we bring. We become the visible "Teacher" that Isaiah speaks of, the one who brings comfort and direction. The Kingdom of heaven is not in the Catechism or the Code of Canon Law, but in the living presence of love. That is the meaning of the Incarnation, and Jesus challenges us to "incarnate" our faith - put skin on it. "Advent love" reaches out to the "troubled and abandoned" to proclaim "the reason for the season!" AMEN