Friday, December 2, 2016

Homily: Friday - 1st Week of Advent 2016 - Words of Comfort & Challenge

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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