Tuesday of the First Week of Advent
When I look at the world today, it can seem that peace and justice are ideals that will never be achieved. Yet, remarkably, the first reading for today, from Isaiah, announces the coming of a new kingdom in which God’s rein brings peace and justice. Isaiah looks forward to the coming of Jesus, the shoot that will emerge from the stump of Jesse. When I read through Isaiah’s remarkable words, what emerges above all is the emphasis on justice in the Kingdom of God. But this raises the question, what does Isaiah mean by justice? First, justice is the idea of living righteously by personally following God’s law. Second, justice is concerned with doing right towards others. This includes being concerned for the poor and doing what you can to improve and alleviate their material existence. For instance, Proverbs states that “the generous will be blessed, for they share their food with the poor” (22: 9); and Sirach teaches that those who help the poor and oppressed find favor with the Lord (4: 8-12).
The coming of Jesus is foretold by Isaiah as a time of great change. The end result of this change is a state of peaceful coexistence where old enmities will cease and former rivals will come together. This is portrayed allegorically in the poetic words of the scripture writer who announces the reconciliation of the wolf and the lamb, the leopard and the kid (Isaiah 11:6). It is important to see that this is not supposed to be some pie in the sky promise. The Kingdom of God starts here and now. And so, when we wait for Jesus during the season of Advent, we are in fact waiting for him to come into our lives today.
Jesus points out that many have not understood and will not understand his words. In fact, he states that the deep spiritual truth of the coming of the Kingdom has been hidden from the wise but revealed to the childlike (Luke 10: 21). These words are comforting – we are not talking here about secret knowledge that is only available to a privileged few. Yet it is also a check on our understanding of the gospel. How well do we Christians understand what Jesus is trying to teach us? Are we living as Jesus wants us to live? Do we seek the kind of justice and peace that Isaiah says Jesus has come to give us? We have many resources available to us as Christians today. We have the testimony of thousands of years of Christian history to look to for examples of faith. In addition, we have the sacraments, especially the Eucharist. In the liturgy of the mass we are presented with Jesus in the most concrete way possible, as physically present with us. As Jesus says to his disciples, “many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it” (Luke 10: 24).
Today let us avail ourselves of all the resources we have in order to prepare our hearts for Christ.
- Joel Schickel