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| “Healing of the Lame Man” (detail) by Raffaello Sanzio, 1515-16 |
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 Babylonian exile. It is also
seen by the Hebrew people 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.
"v. 5. eyes of the
blind be opened: The most unfortunate among the exiled will be among the
first to share these blessings (see Matthew 11:5 for a
sign that the Messianic age has arrived). v. 8. The "way" is
holy because it leads to Zion, the holy city. v. 9. The "redeemed"
are those who are being brought out of exile. They have been ransomed from
bondage as had their forefathers at the time of the Exodus. The NT (John 6:48-51; 1 Corinthians
10:1-4; Hebrews 12:18-24)
understands the coming of Christ in terms of a new and definitive Exodus. Note
that the Exodus from Egypt is a type both for the return from Exile (OT) and
for salvation through Christ (NT)." [4]
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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. When used 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 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 Hebrew people, 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 in 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. In doing so, we might find
our path to Christ’s peace more clearly, and walk without that burden he so
generously offers to carry.
Pax
[1]
The picture is “Healing of the Lame Man”
(detail) by Raffaello Sanzio, 1515-16.
[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
republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4] Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc., © 1968, 16:60, p.
280.
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