Daily Retreat 12/11/06
2006 Dec 11 Mon:Advent ; Damasus I, pp
Is 35:1-10; Ps 84(85):9ab and 10,11-12,13-14; Lk 5:17-26
From today’s readings: “The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom.... Truth shall spring out of the earth, and justice shall look down from Heaven.... Then astonishment seized them all and they glorified God, and, struck with awe, they said, “We have seen incredible things today....”
Advent Transformation
Yesterday, the Gospel focused on John the Baptist, the voice of one crying out in the desert, “Make straight the way of the Lord!” Today, in the first reading, the prophet Isaiah reflects further on how even a desert wasteland is to be transformed by the coming of the Lord: “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!” What a difference the advent of Christ makes!
But Isaiah’s point, of course, is not about God’s ability as a landscape engineer to transform a desert into a field of flowers - rather, that’s just a vivid metaphor to help people understand God’s ability as engineer of salvation to transform even the most parched soul into a fruitful, joyful and radiant child of God!
Since we all have barren areas of our lives, wastelands of unrealized hopes and dreams, deserts of despair and burning sands of disappointments and pulverized love, Isaiah’s prophecy is for all of us who turn to the Lord for ransom, redemption, and transformation - what a difference the advent of Christ makes!
Is 35:1-10; Ps 84(85):9ab and 10,11-12,13-14; Lk 5:17-26
From today’s readings: “The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom.... Truth shall spring out of the earth, and justice shall look down from Heaven.... Then astonishment seized them all and they glorified God, and, struck with awe, they said, “We have seen incredible things today....”
Advent Transformation
Yesterday, the Gospel focused on John the Baptist, the voice of one crying out in the desert, “Make straight the way of the Lord!” Today, in the first reading, the prophet Isaiah reflects further on how even a desert wasteland is to be transformed by the coming of the Lord: “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!” What a difference the advent of Christ makes!
But Isaiah’s point, of course, is not about God’s ability as a landscape engineer to transform a desert into a field of flowers - rather, that’s just a vivid metaphor to help people understand God’s ability as engineer of salvation to transform even the most parched soul into a fruitful, joyful and radiant child of God!
Since we all have barren areas of our lives, wastelands of unrealized hopes and dreams, deserts of despair and burning sands of disappointments and pulverized love, Isaiah’s prophecy is for all of us who turn to the Lord for ransom, redemption, and transformation - what a difference the advent of Christ makes!
posted by FrPitstick | 12/08/2006
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