Category: Uncategorized

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Isaiah 25:6-10

On this mountain the LORD of hosts
will provide for all peoples
A feast of rich food and choice wines,
juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.
On this mountain he will destroy
the veil that veils all peoples,
The web that is woven over all nations;
he will destroy death forever.
The Lord GOD will wipe away
the tears from all faces;
The reproach of his people he will remove
from the whole earth; for the LORD has spoken.

On that day it will be said:
“Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us!
This is the LORD for whom we looked;
let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us!”
For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain.

The Word of the Lord.

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The Christmas spirit is everywhere. 

Carols are being sung, Christmas trees are up, people are checking off their gift list, shopping ‘til they drop. (Or, my case, buying easily – too easily – with one click.)

Behind all of the gift wrapping and cheer is the story of the Saint who started it all, Nicholas.

Saint Nick, who lived in the fourth century, was the bishop of Myra, Turkey. Little is known about him beyond a single story which has long catapulted him into the religious and cultural imaginations of people around the world.

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There was a poor man who had three daughters. Each of his daughters was to be given in marriage. But without a dowry to offer, no husband would accept them. Their hope became so dim that the father was contemplating selling his daughters into slavery.

Saint Nick got wind of this and sold his own possessions, took the money, went late at night to the man’s house, and tossed three bags of gold through an open window.

Although the gesture was meant be an anonymous act of charity, Nick’s good deed has, in a sense, gone viral. We’ve embraced and relived his generosity ever since.

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The heart of the Christmas celebration is neither Saint Nick, nor his cultural cousin, Santa Claus, but who Saint Nick points to: Jesus Christ.

At Christmas, we celebrate the goodness of God, who gave everything he had, sending his only begotten Son who lived and died among us, and was raised from the dead. As Saint Paul says, “By his wounds, we were healed.” 

As the countdown to Christmas continues, may we take a moment each day to thank the Lord for his charity, and like Saint Nick, pay it forward.

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Image credits: (1) Crosswalk.com (2) Catholic News Agency (3) Catholic Answers

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Isaiah: 11: 1-10

On that day,
A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse,
and from his roots a bud shall blossom.
The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him:
a Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
A Spirit of counsel and of strength,
a Spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD,
and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD.
Not by appearance shall he judge,
nor by hearsay shall he decide,
But he shall judge the poor with justice,
and decide aright for the land’s afflicted.
He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.
Justice shall be the band around his waist,
and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.

Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
The calf and the young lion shall browse together,
with a little child to guide them.
The cow and the bear shall be neighbors,
together their young shall rest;
the lion shall eat hay like the ox.
The baby shall play by the cobra’s den,
and the child lay his hand on the adder’s lair.
There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD,
as water covers the sea.

On that day,
The root of Jesse,
set up as a signal for the nations,
The Gentiles shall seek out,
for his dwelling shall be glorious.

The Word of the Lord.

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We are constantly reminded in scripture that God does the impossible.

When darkness seems overwhelming, suddenly a light appears.

When hope is nearly lost, a door is opened.

Or, using the imagery from our first reading, when a tree is cut down to its roots, a shoot sprouts up, a bud blossoms. 

Life continues.

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These words come from the prophet Isaiah while Israel is living in exile. Their land has been invaded, their homes destroyed, their king dethroned.

As the Psalmist cries out, “You have rejected and spurned… your anointed… You have hurled down his throne to the ground… How long, O LORD?”  

Israel has been cut down like a tree to its stump. 

But the Lord promises them, “a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse.” Life will continue. A king will come, ushering in divine justice and everlasting peace.

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We see this promise fulfilled in Jesus, the king and ruler of all. When God takes on flesh, he does the “impossible.”

And when nailed to a tree and placed in a tomb, he does the impossible again, rising from the dead.

Time and time again, when God’s people are cut down to their roots, a shoot sprouts up, a bud blossoms. Life continues.

What’s the “stump” in my own life? What part of me seems cut down, in need of new life?

It could be the “stump” of a broken heart, a failed relationship, weakened faith, grief, doubt, a door closed.

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Advent is the time for us to renew our faith in the Lord, that whenever we feel reduced to our roots, a shoot shall sprout, a bud shall blossom.

New life is coming.

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Image credits: (1) A Jesse-Tree painting, Girolongo Genga, Fine Art America (2) ocochome.info (3) Pinterest

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Isaiah 2: 1-5

This is what Isaiah, son of Amoz,
saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

In days to come,
The mountain of the LORD’s house
shall be established as the highest mountain
and raised above the hills.
All nations shall stream toward it;
many peoples shall come and say:
“Come, let us climb the LORD’s mountain,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
That he may instruct us in his ways,
and we may walk in his paths.”
For from Zion shall go forth instruction,
and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations,
and impose terms on many peoples.
They shall beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks;
One nation shall not raise the sword against another,
nor shall they train for war again.

O house of Jacob, come,
let us walk in the light of the LORD!

The Word of the Lord.

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Over the last century, more than 100 million people have died in war. This includes the 1,300 Israelis and 16,000 Palestinians who’ve died in their ongoing war.

Meanwhile, more than 30 other armed conflicts are unfolding across the world as people fight over power, politics, theology, and access to scarce resources like land, water, and food.

Smaller conflicts also arise in our own families. Siblings argue over which toy belongs to whom, and later who gets the inheritance. Spouses spat over finances, time spent together, communication, and the kids.

It seems conflict – whether great or small – is written into our post-Eden DNA, ever since the split between Adam and Eve.

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Yet, the prophet Isaiah foretells in our first reading: “One nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again…They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.”

Swords into plowshares. Spears into pruning hooks.

That’s God’s promise to us: cosmic peace.

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Advent is an appointed time for us to help make that dream a reality by considering where we need to beat our own swords into plowshares.

Maybe we’ve become short-tempered; we need the Lord to transform words wielded in anger into words of comfort.

Maybe we need to melt a grudge into an act of forgiveness.

Or selfishness into selflessness.

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Advent is a season of grace, a time to beat swords into plowshares.

May it begin with us.

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Image credits: (1) Swords into Plowshares, Reluctant Xtian (2) Swords into Plowshares, Sergey Ivanov, Fine Art America (3) PodPoint