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| "St. Ambrose Polyptych" (detail) by Bartolomeo Vivarini, 1477 |
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Isaiah
35:1-10
The desert and the parched
land will exult;
the steppe will rejoice and
bloom.
They will bloom with abundant
flowers,
and rejoice with joyful song.
The glory of Lebanon will be
given to them,
the splendor of Carmel and
Sharon;
They will see the glory of
the LORD,
the splendor of our God.
Strengthen the hands that are
feeble,
make firm the knees that are
weak,
Say to those whose hearts are
frightened:
Be strong, fear not!
Here is your God,
he comes with vindication;
With divine recompense
he comes to save you.
Then will the eyes of the
blind be opened,
the ears of the deaf be
cleared;
Then will the lame leap like
a stag,
then the tongue of the mute
will sing.
Streams will burst forth in
the desert,
and rivers in the steppe.
The burning sands will become
pools,
and the thirsty ground,
springs of water;
The abode where jackals lurk
will be a marsh for the reed
and papyrus.
A highway will be there,
called the holy way;
No one unclean may pass over
it,
nor fools go astray on it.
No lion will be there,
nor beast of prey go up to be
met upon it.
It is for those with a
journey to make,
and on it the redeemed will
walk.
Those whom the LORD has
ransomed will return
and enter Zion singing,
crowned with everlasting joy;
They will meet with joy and
gladness,
sorrow and mourning will
flee.
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Commentary on Is 35:1-10
This selection is
a prophetic vision of the restoration of Israel following the exile. It is also
seen as a vision of the land redeemed by the coming Messiah. Those who are most
afflicted, the blind, the deaf, the lame, and the mute, will be the first to
experience the saving grace of God. Christians see it as the prophecy fulfilled
by Jesus.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm
85:9ab and 10, 11-12, 13-14
R. (Isaiah 35:4f) Our God will come to save us!
I will hear what God
proclaims;
the LORD –for he proclaims
peace to his people.
Near indeed is his salvation to
those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land.
R. Our God will come to
save us!
Kindness and truth shall
meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the
earth,
and justice shall look down
from heaven.
R. Our God will come to
save us!
The LORD himself will give
his benefits;
our land shall yield its
increase.
Justice shall walk before
him,
and salvation, along the way
of his steps.
R. Our God will come to
save us!
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Commentary on Ps 85:9ab and 10, 11-12, 13-14
Psalm 85 is a communal lament
that focuses on the woes of the nation. These strophes reflect the joy of
salvation at the restoration of the land following the destruction of the
temple and the Diaspora. Those faithful to God see the reward; a land restored,
justice returned, and the salvation of God. Placed in the context of the Advent
season, the theme of preparation for a time of peace is announced. It is a
clear tie to the herald of the Messiah, echoing Isaiah’s oracle (Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11).
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Gospel: Luke
5:17-26
One day as Jesus was
teaching,
Pharisees and teachers of the
law,
who had come from every
village of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem,
were sitting there,
and the power of the Lord was
with him for healing.
And some men brought on a
stretcher a man who was paralyzed;
they were trying to bring him
in and set him in his presence.
But not finding a way to
bring him in because of the crowd,
they went up on the roof
and lowered him on the
stretcher through the tiles
into the middle in front of
Jesus.
When Jesus saw their faith,
he said,
“As for you, your sins are
forgiven.”
Then the scribes and
Pharisees began to ask themselves,
“Who is this who speaks
blasphemies?
Who but God alone can forgive
sins?”
Jesus knew their thoughts and
said to them in reply,
“What are you thinking in
your hearts?
Which is easier, to say,
‘Your sins are forgiven,’
or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?
But that you may know
that the Son of Man has
authority on earth to forgive sins”–
he said to the one who was
paralyzed,
“I say to you, rise, pick up
your stretcher, and go home.”
He stood up immediately before
them,
picked up what he had been
lying on,
and went home, glorifying
God.
Then astonishment seized them
all and they glorified God,
and, struck with awe, they
said,
“We have seen incredible
things today.”
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Commentary on Lk
5:17-26
Here, St. Luke’s Gospel begins
describing a series of controversies between Jesus and the Pharisees. In this
story, also captured in Mark 2:1-12 and Matthew 9:1-8, the paralytic
is lowered through the roof to be near the Jesus. (Interestingly, the roof
material varies according to the audience of the particular Gospel.) The Lord’s
first comments to the paralytic are, “Your sins are forgiven.” This
starts the Pharisees talking since, in the Hebrew tradition, only God may
forgive sins.
The Lord, in response, demonstrates his authority over sin. In the
eyes of the early Palestinians, physical afflictions were believed to be a
punishment visited upon them by God for the sins of the person or their
ancestors. By healing the paralytic, Jesus demonstrates his compassion for the
poor, his authority to forgive sins, and fulfills the prophetic vision of the
Hebrew Prophets (e.g. "Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the
ears of the deaf be cleared. Then the lame shall leap like a stag, and the mute
tongue sing for joy," Isaiah 35:5-6).
CCC: Lk 5:17 1116
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Reflection:
The scripture today has two
messages for us. The Gospel message affirms that interior sin can manifest
itself externally in damage to the health of the physical body. We have
previously defined sin as “a conscious failure to love” for purposes of a
pragmatic approach to this understanding.
Here is an example of sin in
this context. Let’s say a person has a serious problem with something a member
of their family has done. Even though that family member may have been wrong,
perhaps even grievously wrong in what they did, our sin is not forgiving them.
It is lack of forgiveness that does the greater harm. If we latch onto the hurt
that person caused us and continue to react in bitterness, not trying to put
away our feelings of anger or even hatred, we have created in our soul a
canker, a festering wound. It will, like a cancer, take on a life of its own
and we are almost powerless to stop it.
This kind of sin can lead to
all kinds of emotional and physical problems. It is the acceptance of Christ’s
love and peace which causes a conversion of the heart that cures this kind of deep
injury. That is the true message of the story of the paralytic.
The second message relates to
the conversion experience that comes with forgiveness. The passage from Isaiah
describes the path to healing itself. He describes the Kingdom of God on earth,
ruled by a loving Christ who calls us to forgive as he forgave. How light our
burdens become when we hand them to Christ who came so that we would be able to
lay those burdens at his feet. The passage very much leads us on our Advent
journey, following St. John the Baptist’s call to repentance, conversion, and
faith that sets our feet upon this path.
Today our Advent prayer is
one that asks us to hold up our spirit for inspection and see if there are
blemishes of sin that need to be handed to the Lord, so we might find that path
more clearly and walk without that burden he so generously offers to carry.
Pax
[2]
The picture is "St. Ambrose Polyptych" (detail) by Bartolomeo
Vivarini, 1477
[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.
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