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| “St. Francis Xavier” by José Ibarra, c. 1740 |
(Monday of the First Week of Advent)
Reading 1: Isaiah 2:1-5
This is what Isaiah, son of
Amoz,
saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem
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.”
For from Zion
and the word of the LORD from
Jerusalem
He shall judge between the
nations,
and impose terms on many
peoples.
They shall beat their swords
into plowshares
and their spears into pruning
hooks;
One nation shall not raise
the sword against another,
nor shall they train for war
again.
O house of Jacob, come,
let us walk in the light of
the LORD!
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Commentary on Is 2:1-5
We are given in this reading,
Isaiah’s vision of a time of unity, the great messianic destiny. He sees a time
when all peoples will recognize God as the one true God and flock to call.
(Isaiah uses the “highest mountain” metaphor in the Hebrew context. High places
were places closet to God. Mountain tops frequently were places were altars
were built. “Highest” would then be above all others.) The “highest mountain”
meaning that all other beliefs become subservient to the One God. He sees the
unity of all the nations under one God and one Messiah.
The prophet sees the Law of the
Lord governing all peoples and a time of great peace as a result of the
universal unity of people in faithfulness to God. “O house of Jacob, come, let
us walk in the light of the Lord!” Isaiah implores the
faithful of the house of Jacob (the Israelites) to fulfill his vision quickly.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm
122:1-2, 3-4b, 4cd-5, 6-7, 8-9
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
I rejoiced because they said
to me,
“We will go up to the house
of the LORD."
And now we have set foot
within your gates, O
Jerusalem.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
with compact unity.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
According to the decree for Israel
to give thanks to the name of
the LORD.
In it are set up judgment
seats,
seats for the house of David.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem
May those who love you
prosper!
May peace be within your
walls,
prosperity in your buildings.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Because of my relatives and
friends
I will say, “Peace be within
you!"
Because of the house of the
LORD, our God,
I will pray for your good.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
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Commentary on Ps 122:1-2, 3-4b, 4cd-5, 6-7,
8-9
Psalm 122 is a
song of praise that anticipates the great procession into God’s house. While
the Hebrews would have used this as a literal processional song, we see it as
anticipating our entry into the New Jerusalem, the Kingdom of God.
Supporting Isaiah’s vision of the messianic kingdom,
this psalm of praise points also to Jerusalem
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Gospel: Matthew 8:5-11
When he (Jesus) entered Capernaum
a centurion approached him
and appealed to him, saying,
“Lord, my servant is lying at
home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.”
He said to him, “I will come
and cure him.”
The centurion said in reply,
“Lord, I am not worthy to
have you enter under my roof;
only say the word and my
servant will be healed.
For I too am a man subject to
authority,
with soldiers subject to me.
And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and
he goes;
and to another, ‘Come here,’
and he comes;
and to my slave, ‘Do this,’
and he does it.”
When Jesus heard this, he was
amazed and said to those following him,
“Amen, I say to you, in no
one in Israel
I say to you, many will come
from the east and the west,
and will recline with
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
at the banquet in the Kingdom
of heaven.”
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Commentary on Mt 8:5-11
This story of the Centurion is shortened by a
couple verses to focus our attention on the authority of Jesus and the role
faith can play in accessing that authority. The Centurion’s description of his
own understanding of authority translates to his faith that Jesus can command
all things without needing to move. In the longer version, Jesus also condemns
the Jewish people for their lack of faith and heals the Centurions servant as
requested.
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Reflection:
Our Advent Season has begun
and we begin the battle (or more appropriately continue the battle) we fight
against the forces of secular morality as they try to apply their own imprint
on the run up to Christmas. Cardinal
Dolan provided a great little reflection on what we should be doing in a recent
article published in Catholic New York[4]
He tells the story about a time when the Bishops were all in silent prayer
before the Blessed Sacrament and he was approached by a hotel worker who asked
if there was a problem saying “Who are the Bishops waiting for?” Here is a part of his reflective answer:
“Advent, of course, is our
spiritual ‘getting ready’ for Christmas. We try to squash into four weeks all
the hoping, longing, preparing...all the waiting of the People of Israel, our
older family members in the household of the faith.
As we bishops were doing in
front of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, we now, in Advent, wait for Jesus:
...We wait for His grace and
mercy, sure to come;
...We wait for Him to answer
our prayers, sure He will, but unsure when, where, or how;
...We wait for reasons to
explain suffering, struggle, and worries;
...We wait for Him to call us
to be with Him for all eternity.
And, lest we forget, the Lord
waits for us!
...Jesus waits for us to open
up to His grace and mercy;
...Jesus waits for us to
admit that, as a matter of fact, we do need a Savior!
...Jesus waits for us to
admit that He is the answer to the questions our lives of searching pose.
...Jesus waits for our ultimate
return to Him, for He ‘has gone to prepare a place for us.’”
While we wait in breathless
anticipation for all of God’s blessings, we must focus on how we submit to the
Lord and receive his grace. It is not a
passive waiting – our time of Advent. It
is full of expectation, on both sides.
Pax
[2]
The picture used today is “St. Francis Xavier” by José Ibarra, c. 1740
[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the
Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and
is for private use only.
[4]
Catholic New York, 2012, “Who
Are We Waiting For?”
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