Presence

Heavenly Father, embrace me as I am today. Accompany me during these few moments of prayer.

First Reading

Isaiah 11:1-10 NRSVue

A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see or decide by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge for the poor and decide with equity for the oppressed of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist and faithfulness the belt around his loins. The wolf shall live with the lamb; the leopard shall lie down with the kid; the calf and the lion will feed together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.

First Reading Reflection

We often look forward to having a good time. We hope that a party or holiday will be wonderful. We dream of a better life or a better time to come. Today’s reading from the Book of Isaiah is an illustration of the Kingdom of God, which is what we truly long for. A person would arrive who would be wise, understanding, powerful and just, namely, Jesus. There would be peace for all, even the animals would lie down together, and violence would end. Advent brings out our best hopes for our families, communities, countries and indeed for the whole world. It is an opportunity to make peace with one another, to look out for the very needy, and to work towards building a world of peace and justice. These two deepest longings of humanity are what the Kingdom of God is all about.

Gospel

Luke 10:21-24 NRSVue

At that very hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

Then turning to the disciples, Jesus said to them privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see but did not see it and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”

Gospel Reflection

Many looked forward to the coming of the Messiah, the Christ. He was the hope of the ages to come. But when he did come, many did not recognise him. Jesus praises us that we have seen him. We have seen in him the image of God. God our Father, through Jesus, turned everything on its head. Most Jews at that time expected the Messiah to be a powerful king and ruler, a military man, perhaps. Not a child born a refugee, into poverty and obscurity.  As Victor Hugo wrote in Les Misérables, “If you love, you have seen the face of God.” By loving everyone, especially those on the margins, the weak, the poor, the suffering, the homeless, we are loving as God loves, and we are living as Jesus lived. This is what Pope Francis calls ‘social love’. Social love includes our daily relationships, our families and friends, but it also goes beyond them to include a love for the whole world, especially for those who live with injustice, war and violence.

Closing Prayer

Dear God, show me concrete ways to practice ‘social love’, and to live more like Jesus, in the coming days. Help me to advance your Kingdom of justice and peace. Amen.