Wednesday of the Second Week of Advent
The other day I was helping my son paint. We were doing such detailed work that most of the time I was hoping my face six inches from the wall. Soon the wall, and the stencil became all I could see. When I looked in any other direction my eyes could not easily refocus on any distance even with my glasses. What did help me to see better was focusing my eyes on a new distance. In effect, my eyes needed retrained to see what was beyond the end of my nose. The readings today are an example of God retraining us to look to the Lord for hope.
Isaiah calls out to the Israelites, who are likely in exile Babylon, with words to focus the people back on the Lord. “Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these things.” (Isaiah 40:26a) The prophet wants them to notice the might and strength of the Lord. The words challenge the doubt and lack of trust that the children of Jacob had for the Lord.
God is so good that “he does not faint or grow weary, and his knowledge is beyond scrutiny.” Not only this, the Lord gives his strength to those who are weary or who grow faint. How often during this busy season of preparation do we grow weary, or place our strength in worldly things. Perhaps the darkness of the world saps our strength and hope because we can see beyond the nightfall. Yet the scripture promises “they that hope in the Lord will renew their strength.”
Today’s psalm encourages us to trust the Lord completely as well. “Bless the Lord, O my Soul,” is a mantra that gives us over to the Lord. The psalm reminds us that God is merciful and forgives all our sins. God is so gracious; he will not deal us punishment according to our wrongdoings. The Lord abounds in kindness and love. In trusting and acknowledging this love and mercy our spirit is strengthened. The process of turning our lives over to God on a daily basis helps us to remember all of the blessings the Lord has bestowed upon us.
Finally, the Gospel from Matthew challenges us to yoke ourselves to the Lord. There are times we find ourselves relying only on our self. It is at times like these we grow weary because we have forgotten our true source of strength. When we yoke our self to the Lord, our burdens are halved because we are not carrying them alone. The yoke not only helps the Lord share our burden it also helps guide us to hope in the Lord and ultimately follow God’s will for us.
Today as you continue your Advent journey consider a simple prayer: I yoke myself to You O Lord. Strengthen me during this Advent season so that my soul will find hope and rest in Your coming into our world. Amen!
- Michael Montgomery