The candle on the Advent wreath this week is symbolic of hope, the hope we have that something good will happen even if we have not quite obtained it yet. I think of having hope kind of like being  being in the middle of a large project - like that of, say, quilting. 

 

Last month, I attended my grandmother's funeral; she had been an avid quilter for most of her life. Family and friends attending the funeral each brought with them one of the quilts she had made and given - quite an array of beautiful, painstakingly made quilts. I remember when I was a kid, how overwhelming the quilting process seemed. First she would cut each tiny shape of colorful fabric; then she would sew them together. That in itself was quite a process. But then, once the broad shape of the quilt was done - then would come the quilting process. Using invisible thread and a needle, and hand-penciled designs, she would attach the colorful cloth design to the batting and the backing with individual tiny stitches. It takes a long time.

 

Yet at the funeral, we found ourselves confronted by the reality of each of these individual stitches. No one stitch by itself seemed all that significant, but the continual progress - the continual hope that the quilt would be someday completed - that made itself very visibly and physically felt. Quilts were draped over half the pews; quilts covered the walls.

 

Making one tiny stitch, and then moving on to make yet one more - that represents something of hope.  The continual progress more hope and more hope, so that hope reinforces itself.

Today's readings are a bit like the invisible thread of quilting. Both readings have the theme of sight, which is important for hope, because with sight we can see even far-off things in the distance and hope to get there eventually, even if we are not there yet. So, today's first reading is a prophecy about when God will be with us (Isaiah 29:17-24). Isaiah says that when all seems dark, eyes will see. The darkness will not have gone away, but because we can see glimmers of hope beyond the darkness, we will rejoice in God. Isaiah is the same prophet who proclaims, "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light," referring to the Israelites (and to us) who wait for the messiah, the person who will be our light. And so, the presence of light, even small lights, becomes a road sign to us when our faith journeys are dark.

The second reading (Matthew 9:27-31) capitalizes on this theme of darkness and light by depicting Jesus restoring sight to the blind. Like the Old Testament people who waited for Jesus, these blind men walk in darkness. But when Jesus heals them, they realize two things: first, they see light and have hope. But second, and most important, they HAVE the light and recognize who the light is. Jesus is with them, physically present. Unlike their Old Testament predecessors, they do not wait in hope, but having found what they were hoping for, they go and spread the good news (one by one, stitch by stitch) that the hoped for person is here!

Today let us pray for the grace to continue in our path of discipleship, with the hope that the work we do leads us to the love of Christ himself.

- Jana M. Bennett