Reading 1
Is 4:2-6
On that day,
The branch of the LORD will be luster and glory,
and the fruit of the earth will be honor and splendor
for the survivors of Israel.
He who remains in Zion
and he who is left in Jerusalem
Will be called holy:
every one marked down for life in Jerusalem.
When the LORD washes away
the filth of the daughters of Zion,
And purges Jerusalem’s blood from her midst
with a blast of searing judgment,
Then will the LORD create,
over the whole site of Mount Zion
and over her place of assembly,
A smoking cloud by day
and a light of flaming fire by night.
For over all, the LORD’s glory will be shelter and protection:
shade from the parching heat of day,
refuge and cover from storm and rain.
Ps 122:1-2, 3-4b, 4cd-5, 6-7, 8-9
Responsorial PsalmR.
Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
I rejoiced because they said to me,
“We will go up to the house of the LORD."
And now we have set foot
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Jerusalem, built as a city
with compact unity.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
According to the decree for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
In it are set up judgment seats,
seats for the house of David.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!
May those who love you prosper!
May peace be within your walls,
prosperity in your buildings.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Because of my relatives and friends
I will say, “Peace be within you!"
Because of the house of the LORD, our God,
I will pray for your good.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Gospel
Mt 8:5-11
When Jesus entered Capernaum,
a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying,
“Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.”
He said to him, “I will come and cure him.”
The centurion said in reply,
“Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof;
only say the word and my servant will be healed.
For I too am a man subject to authority,
with soldiers subject to me.
And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes;
and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes;
and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him,
“Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith.
I say to you, many will come from the east and the west,
and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven.”
Meditation: Isaiah 4:2-6
“He that is left in Jerusalem will be called holy.” (Isaiah 4:3)
What a beautiful image the prophet paints! The people of Jerusalem, whose sins had darkened their souls, would be cleansed once again. Their offenses would be removed from them, and God will be for them “shade from the parching heat of day” and “cover from storm and rain” (Isaiah 4:6).
But as beautiful as this image is, there is also a sense of seriousness and even foreboding. For the people will come to this position of holiness and comfort only as the Lord “purges” them “with a blast of searing judgment” (Isaiah 4:4).
That doesn’t sound so attractive, does it? At least not in the short term. Who wants to be blasted by God’s judgment? Don’t you wish God would just wave a magic wand instead and make it as if nothing ever happened?
The truth is, it is much better for us to be purged than to be magically pardoned. Why? Because in the purging comes a transformation that mere pardon can never bring. As we take a good, long look at ourselves, we get a clearer sense of how we have offended the Lord. We come to see how our thoughts and actions have distanced us from Jesus and how they have hurt the people around us. And seeing this, we are struck to the heart, and we want to change. We want the Lord not only to forget our sins but to make us into a new creation. We want a new heart so that we will no longer hurt him and those around us. Simply put, we will want to be purged because we know that this is the only way to be set free.
During this season of Advent, spend some time looking closely at your life. Use the examination of conscience article entitled Getting to Yes on this website to help you. Then, take what you have learned about yourself before the Lord in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Let him purge you and remake you. Then, you will know what it is like to have Jesus as your comfort and your shield!
“Lord, come and set me free so that I can live in your peace. Only say the word, and I shall be healed.
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