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Friday – First Week – Advent
Readings: Isa 29:17-24; Mt 9:27-31.
Reading 1 (Isa 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.
Gospel (Mt 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.
Written by: Fr. Anthony Dinh M. Tien, O.P.
I. THEME: Be patient to wait for what we hope.
Advent is the season to look for Christ’s coming. The Church expects her faithful to prepare, not just a few hours before the mid-night Mass, but the whole four weeks. Why do the faithful need such a long time? The reason is for them to have an opportunity to reread the history of the salvation through God’s words, an examination of their life to see the difference between a person who has God and a person who doesn’t have Him, and recognizing what are the advantages of the one who possesses God. Once people recognized these things, they will know God’s important presence in their life and be more eager to prepare for Him in their life.
Today readings help people to recognize God’s important presence in their life. In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah pointed out the benefits which people will enjoy when God entered people’s life. In the Gospel, Jesus not only healed the blinds but also helped them to recognize the benefit of completely putting their faith and hope in him.
II. ANALYSIS:
1/ Reading I: The vision of the Messiah’s day.
1.1/ The benefits which the Messiah will bring for his people: The prophet Isaiah foretold what will happen during the Messiah’s reign.
(1) People will collect fruits of the harvest: “Is it not yet a very little while until Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be regarded as a forest?”
(2) All the sick will be healed: “In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see.”
(3) The poor will live: “The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the LORD, and the poor among men shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.”
(4) The wicked will be destroyed: “For the ruthless shall come to nought and the scoffer cease, and all who watch to do evil shall be cut off,who by a word make a man out to be an offender, and lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate, and with an empty plea turn aside him who is in the right.”
1.2/ The Israelites will recognize God’s power and revere Him: The reason why God let the foreign armies trample the Israelites was because they didn’t revere Him and follow what He taught them; but if they repent and return to Him, they will see God’s power will be manifested on their enemies. The prophet Isaiah ascertained that once they let God to care and to protect them, they will no longer be ashamed with their enemies: “Jacob shall no more be ashamed, no more shall his face grow pale.For when he sees his children, the work of my hands, in his midst, they will sanctify my name; they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and will stand in awe of the God of Israel. And those who err in spirit will come to understanding, and those who murmur will accept instruction.”
2/ Gospel: “According to your faith be it done to you.”
2.1/ Jesus tested the two blinds: Matthew reported that “as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.”When he entered the house, the blind men came to him.” Why didn’t Jesus heal these two blinds while they were still on the road and let them wait till they got home? The waiting time helps people to appreciate what they are waiting for; because what people quickly and easily receive, will not help people to rightly appreciate what they got, and sometime make them to despite or to waist the gift. For example, the money people collect after hard working hours will help them to carefully spend more than the inherited money.
2.2/ Procalmation of faith: Before bestowing on them the gift of seeing, Jesus asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.”And their eyes were opened.
Jesus came to the world not only to do miracles, but also to arouse faith from people so that they will believe in him. Many people who came to Jesus only for miracles and forgot about the one who has power to heal. They forget that the miracle they enjoy happens only once, but they do need many other miracles for their life. Moreover, they didn’t recognize God’s love and many blessings He prepared for them. The Fourth Gospel paid a special attention to what happened after miracles, especially people’s different reactions.
2.3/ The Messiah’s secret: In the Gospel according to Mark, many times Jesus demanded the healed to keep “the Messiah’s secret.” Today passage is one example of these. Jesus sternly charged them, “See that no one knows it.”But they went away and spread his fame through all that district.
People, especially those who want to be famous, often like people to talk about what they did. Why did Jesus want the two blinds to be quiet? Moreover, to praise God’s goodness is the good thing to do so everybody might know Him, why did Jesus prevent such a good thing? There are at least two reasons why Jesus dis that.
(1) The main reason is Jesus didn’t want people to familiarize with the image of a powerful Messiah who has power to do all things and to set people free from foreign armies, as the Jewish tradition believed so. Since not too long after this miracle, Jesus must endure all sufferings in his Passion, and even accept his death on the cross to redeem people. When they see a Messiah who must suffer that much, will they still believe in him? They need to accept God’s mystery of salvation through the way of suffering.
(2) The other reason is Jesus didn’t want people to come to him only because of miracles, but also of faith and love. Love which is based on benefits is not the real love. For example, none of us would like others to love us because we have money or power to give; but we want them to love us as we are, and be loyal to us though we will loose all.
III. APPLICATION IN LIFE:
– Waiting time is needed for people to recognize the importance of the thing we are hoping for. If everything can be easily and quickly received, we will not rightly appreciate the value of the gift and easily waste it.
– The received gift has only outside value, but the giver’s love is much more precious than the gift. Many times in our life, we didn’t recognize the love of God, parents, and people.
– God didn’t want us to come to Him only when we need to ask Him for favor. Once we had the thing we wanted, we no longer come to Him and enjoy all worldly allurement. He wanted us to come to Him with a sincere love, an eagerness to learn His wisdom, and a strong will to put His teaching into practice so that we can achieve a peaceful and happy life for ever.