Tuesday of the First Week of Advent

Scripture Readings

We’ve begun the season of Advent, meaning that we have also begun the series of readings from the prophet Isaiah which foretell the coming of the Messiah. Today’s reading from Isaiah describes the Messiah as one who epitomizes justice. What’s more, this is the reading from which the Church gets the list of gifts of the Holy Spirit that we receive at Confirmation: “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.” What this means for us, then, is not that we are just to admire these gifts in Jesus, but that we are actually called to cultivate them in ourselves. 

 The Messiah, according to Isaiah, judges not by appearances, but with truth and faithfulness. He will “judge the poor with justice, and decide aright for the land’s afflicted.” It is not difficult to find the poor and the afflicted, even as much as we try to ignore their existence. They appear to us in pictures and sounds through screens, and on the sidewalk and in soup kitchens. So what are we to make of Isaiah’s picture of the Messiah? Did Jesus fail to live up to this justice? Why do we have so many poor and afflicted still awaiting their justice if Christ has already come?

The answer, I think, is often too difficult to face. The answer is that we, ourselves, are called to bring justice to the poor and afflicted. Christ has brought justice for the poor, and while this justice that won’t be fully realized until heaven, all people are meant to see the face of God and know his mercy this side of heaven. We are meant to bring Christ to the world, to emulate our Messiah by adorning ourselves like he does: “Justice shall be the band around his waist, and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.” 

- Katherine Schmidt