Word to the Wise
Friday, December 13, 2024 - 2nd Week of Advent - Fri
[Isa 48:17-19 and Matt 11:16-19]I, the Lord, your God, teach you what is for your good, and lead you on the way you should go. If you would hearken to my commandments,your prosperity would be like a river, and your vindication like the waves of the sea...[Isaiah] "But wisdom is vindicated by her works." [Matthew]
DECEMBER 13 ST. LUCY, virgin and martyr
There's an old saying, "The proof of the pie is in the eating." Isaiah and Jesus invite us to bite! Jesus teaches us what is good, as Isaiah prophecies, and promises us that following his wisdom will result in our ultimate "vindication." But to many in our secular culture, following the wisdom of God is "pie in the sky, bye and bye." The God of Advent and Christmas/Epiphany is sidelined in favor of the God of "The Economy" and buying becomes a religious act! Our vindication comes wrapped in paper or hanging in the stocking on the mantelpiece over the fireplace.
For those who wish for an "intentional Advent/Christmas/Epiphany," vindication comes in the form of an infant found in a manger - replicated in the thousands of "nativity scenes" on display around the world in this season. In that "form" is the wisdom who brings ultimate vindication. We don't have to buy anything, we simply need to believe in him. He will teach us "what is good for us and lead us on the way we should go!" AMEN