02 Dec 2011, Friday of the First Week of Advent

Reading 1 Is 29:17-24

Thus says the Lord GOD:
But a very little while,
and Lebanon shall be changed into an orchard,
and the orchard be regarded as a forest!
On that day the deaf shall hear
the words of a book;
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.
For the tyrant will be no more
and the arrogant will have gone;
All who are alert to do evil will be cut off,
those whose mere word condemns a man,
Who ensnare his defender at the gate,
and leave the just man with an empty claim.
Therefore thus says the LORD,
the God of the house of Jacob,
who redeemed Abraham:
Now Jacob shall have nothing to be ashamed of,
nor shall his face grow pale.
When his children see
the work of my hands in his midst,
They shall keep my name holy;
they shall reverence the Holy One of Jacob,
and be in awe of the God of Israel.
Those who err in spirit shall acquire understanding,
and those who find fault shall receive instruction.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 27:1, 4, 13-14

R. (1a) The Lord is my light and my salvation.
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life's refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
One thing I ask of the LORD;
this I seek:
To dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
That I may gaze on the loveliness of the LORD
and contemplate his temple.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.

Gospel Mt 9:27-31

As Jesus passed by, two blind men followed him, crying out,
"Son of David, have pity on us!"
When he entered the house,
the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them,
"Do you believe that I can do this?"
"Yes, Lord," they said to him.
Then he touched their eyes and said,
"Let it be done for you according to your faith."
And their eyes were opened.
Jesus warned them sternly,
"See that no one knows about this."
But they went out and spread word of him through all that land.


Meditation: Isaiah 29:17-24

“On that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book; And out of gloom and darkness, the eyes of the blind shall see.” (Isaiah 29:18)

In his poetic description of the glorious future awaiting Israel, the prophet Isaiah announced that the “tyrant” would be no more and that the “arrogant” would cease to be. He went on to say that Jacob would have no reason to be ashamed (Isaiah 29:20,22). What a sense of hope this must have given the peo­ple of Jerusalem!

But who is this tyrant and scoffer? None other than the devil. The Hebrew name Satan means an adversary or accuser, as in the “accuser of our brothers” (Rev­elation 12:10). He is the enemy who wants to keep us bound in guilt and shame. He is the accuser who wants to prevent us from tak­ing hold of the freedom that Jesus came to give us.

The good news is that the future that Isaiah saw is now. By reconciling us with God, Jesus has defeated the devil. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches: “The Word became flesh for us in order to save us by rec­onciling us with God, who loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins” (CCC, 457). Later on, the Catechism quotes St. Ambrose in a similar vein: “The Lord who has taken away your sin and par­doned your faults also protects you and keeps you from the wiles of your adversary the devil… . One who en­trusts himself to God does not dread the devil” (2852).

In his love, God has remembered us. In his mercy, he has redeemed us. We are safe when we trust in Jesus and fix our eyes on him: “Sub­mit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). Satan knows that all he has left is his voice to try to turn us away from God. He knows that his days are numbered. We don’t have to live under his accusations! We don’t have to live with the guilt and shame of our past sins. As Isa­iah wrote, we have no reason to be ashamed. And where there is no shame, the way to God is opened wide.

“Thank you, Jesus, for having won my redemption! Thank you for pardoning my sins and removing the guilt and shame that have weighed so heavily upon me!”