Tuesday of the Second Week in Advent
Today’s first reading depicts the prophet Isaiah proclaiming the coming of the Lord to Jerusalem and the fact that His coming will alleviate their suffering. Valleys will be filled in, mountains will be leveled, rugged land will be made plain… the list goes on. As I reflected upon this first reading I had a feeling of “ok, so do it!” (my way of saying “let this cup pass from me”). I’ll admit that the past few months have brought on their fair share of personal and professional stress. I don’t share this to focus on myself, act like I’m the only stressed person in the world, or even that my situation is even close to some of the challenges others in our world face. But my knee-jerk reaction to this reading was “great, take this stress away!” However, the prophet Isaiah may not have been promising the alleviation of their challenges but instead was helping those in Jerusalem to turn their gaze upon what is important and what will really help them weather those challenges – Jesus.
The beginning of the Advent season always brings a bit of excitement for me. I don’t really get into the grandiosity of the New Year’s holiday but I do very much enjoy the element of a new liturgical year that gives us an opportunity to reflect and examine how we might make room for Christ in our lives as we start this new year in the Church. This Advent, somewhat because of the stress I’ve felt lately, I’ve tried to spend some time each day in prayer – sharing my joys and burdens with Christ so that as our relationship strengthens these challenges might be alleviated just slightly. In no way am I living by the cliché “everything happens for a reason” but instead attempting to embrace that fact that there is nothing that God and I can’t handle together. Perhaps the shepherd had the same feeling when he went looking for his one lost sheep in today’s Gospel from Matthew.
Instead of reflecting on the burdens that God could lift from your shoulders today, spend some time reflecting on how you might turn your gaze upon Jesus and recognize the importance and power of that relationship.
- Mike Bennett