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“Saint Francis Xavier”
artist and date are unknown |
Readings for Friday of the FirstWeek in Advent [1]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
Readings and Commentary: [3]
Reading 1: Isaiah 29:17-24
Thus says the
Lord God:
But a very little while,
and Lebanon shall be changed into an orchard,
and the orchard be regarded as a forest!
On that day the deaf shall hear
the words of a book;
And out of gloom and darkness,
the eyes of the blind shall see.
The lowly will ever find joy in the Lord,
and the poor rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
For the tyrant will be no more
and the arrogant will have gone;
All who are alert to do evil will be cut off,
those whose mere word condemns a man,
Who ensnare his defender at the gate,
and leave the just man with an empty claim.
Therefore thus says the Lord,
the God of the house of Jacob,
who redeemed Abraham:
Now Jacob shall have nothing to be ashamed of,
nor shall his face grow pale.
When his children see
the work of my hands in his midst,
They shall keep my name holy;
they shall reverence the Holy One of Jacob,
and be in awe of the God of Israel.
Those who err in spirit shall acquire understanding,
and those who find fault shall receive instruction.
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Commentary on Is 29:17-24
This
selection from Isaiah is probably a proverb of redemption. We hear the language
of messianic hope, as the oracle foresees a time when unjust rulers will be
cast down and those who perjure themselves making false accusations (“those
whose mere word condemns a man”), will be discredited. God, who redeemed
Abraham (by converting him from idol worship) will save all of the faithful
through the Messiah.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 27:1, 4, 13-14
R. (1a) The Lord is my light and my salvation.
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The Lord is my life’s refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
One thing I ask of the Lord;
this I seek:
To dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
That I may gaze on the loveliness of the Lord
and contemplate his temple.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the Lord
in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
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Commentary on Ps 27:1, 4, 13-14
Psalm
27 is an individual lament. Here, the singer expresses faith in God, who is the
refuge of the faithful, longing to find ultimate safety and the bounty of God’s
heavenly kingdom. This passage from the psalm captures the two major themes:
hope in God’s mercy, and complete trust in his goodness. In these strophes,
David longs for the Lord’s protection and the gift of life which flows from
God's salvation.
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Gospel: Matthew 9:27-31
As Jesus passed
by, two blind men followed him, crying out,
“Son of David, have pity on us!”
When he entered the house,
the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them,
“Do you believe that I can do this?”
“Yes, Lord,” they said to him.
Then he touched their eyes and said,
“Let it be done for you according to your faith.”
And their eyes were opened.
Jesus warned them sternly,
“See that no one knows about this.”
But they went out and spread word of him through all that land.
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Commentary on Mt 9:27-31
This story appears to happen on the same day as the previous
two healing miracles. Following his meal in the house of the tax collectors,
the Lord first heals the woman with a hemorrhage (v. 20) and then raises the
daughter of Jairus (v. 23). His fame has
spread, and the light of God’s revelation now comes to the blind (as Zechariah
promised his infant son, John the Baptist (Luke 1:76-79).
The two blind men
address Jesus with his messianic title “Son of David,” in this selection from
St. Matthew’s Gospel. The Lord proceeds to respond to that title, fulfilling a
major part of the predictive prophecies about the Messiah by causing the blind
to see. This event is seen as fulfilling the oracle of Isaiah proclaimed in
Isaiah 29:18 (“And
out of gloom and darkness, the eyes of the blind shall see”). It also
announces that the promise made to David (2 Samuel 12-17) is fulfilled “your throne shall be firmly established
forever.” The Messiah has arrived.
CCC: Mt
9:27 439, 2616
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Reflection:
The first candle, the Candle
of Hope, on our Advent wreath still burns! We are filled with hope because of
our faith. We know Christ will open our eyes that we might see God’s Glory. It
shines like a beacon as the nativity of Christ draws near. It is our
everlasting hope that we will meet him when he comes again with all the saints
in the heavenly kingdom.
There is a very strong
connection between the prophecy of Isaiah concerning redemption that flows from
the Messiah, and Saint Matthew’s Gospel, seeing that prophecy fulfilled. The
thread leads us to recall part of the celebration that started each of us on
the path of faith. In our baptismal ceremony there is a prayer called the
Ephphatha. Ephphatha is from the
Aramaic and it means, “be open” or “open.” In Sacred Scripture it is the word
spoken by Christ when he cured the deaf-mute along the Sea of Galilee (see Mark 7:31-37).
The Ephphatha prayer is used
as the celebrant touches the ears and mouth of the person during the baptismal
rite:
“The Lord Jesus made the deaf hear and the dumb speak. May he soon touch
your ears to receive his word, and your mouth to proclaim his faith, to the
praise and glory of God the Father. Amen”
This little rite does not
deal with the blind regaining their sight but it is another part of the
messianic prophecy. It deals with a person’s ability to perceive the world and
understand what is taking place. The healing works performed by Jesus become a
metaphor for our entire faith journey. How can we see the wonders of the Lord
if our eyes are blind to the works of his hand? How can we hear the choirs of
angels singing loud hosannas if our ears are closed to the Word of God? Even if
we see and hear the wonders of God’s power and glory, how can we tell others if
we are mute?
The blind can see, the deaf
can hear, and the mute sing the praises of God. These events do not necessarily
deal with the cure of physical defects but spiritual handicaps. And the
spiritual handicaps are not limited to a few individuals, but are common, even
among those who call themselves Christian.
I will once more borrow from
my new hero, Fr. Simeon OCSO (AKA Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis) in his penultimate
reflection on St. Matthew’s Gospel [4]
he says the following about the Lord’s encounter with the two blind men:
“Like a pair of
light-hungry sunflowers, the two blind men follow Jesus' orbit in unison. Jesus
had risen early from his wedding chamber, that is, from the meal with the tax
collectors and sinners (9:19; cf.
commentary on the dining scene in
9:14-17), reached midmorning on healing the woman with the hemorrhage
(9:20-22), dazzling noonday on raising Jairus' daughter from the sleep of death
(9:23- 26 ); and now, as the day begins to decline and Jesus is about to
reenter "the house", he makes the light of his glory rise in the eyes
and souls of the blind men, long deprived of the natural light that is setting. ’His rising is at the one
end of the heavens, his circuit touches their farthest ends; and nothing is
hidden from his heat’ (Ps 18:6).”
Today, as hope once more
streams from the word of God, we pray for ourselves, that the Lord will open
our eyes that we might see more clearly, our ears that we might hear his voice,
and our lips that we might praise him with each utterance we make.
Pax
[1]
The Picture is “Saint Francis Xavier” artist and date are unknown.
[2]
S.S. Commemoratio[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]
Fire of Mercy Heart of the Word Volume I, Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis, Ignatius
Press, San Francisco, CA, © 1996 p. 477.
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