Monday of the
First Week of Advent
(Isaiah 2:1-5; Matthew 8:5-11)
At the end of World War II the British air force almost
completely destroyed a German city.
There was, however, a Catholic church with a tall steeple still standing. The pastor of the church looking from the
steeple saw a single bomber flying near. He thought that the plane would target
the church and quickly evacuated the premises.
Sure enough, the church was bombed but the priest saved his life.
War is terrible. It
destroys the spirit as well as the body. It is dismissive to physical
structures, no matter their value or significance. For this reason Isaiah in today’s first
readings looks toward war’s end. He foresees
the time when peace will reign perpetually on the earth. Then, all nations will come to Jerusalem to
learn God’s righteous ways. To hasten
the coming of that time, Isaiah says, Jews have to walk in God’s ways today.
During Advent we Christians take to heart Isaiah’s
message. We express aloud our yearning for
lasting peace and strive to purify our lives of hatred. But we realize that eternal peace is not in
the end our doing. We have a part to
play for sure, but Christ is the one who is to transform our world. He will turn the tables on the hostile and
promote clean-hearted. We raise our
heads along with our hopes for his coming.
