I got a call from a local newspaper once. A brother priest,
who is also a dear friend, had been named pastor of one of our parishes. The
local neighborhood newspaper was doing a story on the new pastor, and they so
they called up some of the priests who knew him well to give comment for the
story. I was asked some basic questions, establishing my credibility, I guess,
and then was asked why I thought Father would be a good pastor. And I said
Father is a lot like the prophet Isaiah, and even Jesus himself, he believes in
comforting the afflicted, and afflicting the comfortable.
The book of the Prophet Isaiah is divided into two parts,
the first 39 chapters are called the Book of Woes, in which Isaiah warns Israel,
challenges Israel, about their falling away from God’s covenant. In the book of
Woes he describes the devestation that will befall Israel, Jerusalem, and the
Temple, if they do not repent.
The last half of the book of Isaiah is called the Book of
Consolation, in which, Isaiah speaks to those Israelites who had been taken off
into Babylonian Captivity. There was a failure to repent, and destruction had
come, but Isaiah offers a word of consolation and promise to them, a word of
hope.
In today’s passage, Isaiah has just delivered a word of
warning to those who were spiritually blind, deaf to the word of God. The
unfaithful of Jerusalem he says have become spiritually drunk,
stupefied, blind
and deaf to God, and had closed their minds and hearts to the truth of the
prophets.
Then Isaiah turns the image around, speaking of the day of
the coming of the Messiah, he says On that day the deaf shall hear; And out of
gloom and darkness, the eyes of the blind shall see. The lowly will ever find
joy in the LORD, and the poor rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
It’s a wonderful reversal reminding us quite a bit of Mary’s
Magnificat, in which she prophesies how the once mighty will be cast down, and
the lowly will be lifted up.
Nearly every page of scripture contains some challenge for
the comfortable and comfort for the afflicted. In our own affliction, it is
good to know that God draws close to us,
that our sufferings mean something, and there will be a reward for remaining
faithful to God throughout our earthly pilgrimage.
Yet, we must also allow the word of God to challenge us, to
stir us out of our complacency, to stretch us, to impel us to new vistas of
charitable service.
In our Advent pilgrimage, may we be comforted in our
afflictions and challenged in our complacency, for the glory of God and
salvation of souls.
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