Monday, December 4, 2023

Monday of the First Week of Advent

(Isaiah 4:2-6; Matthew 8:5-11)

It may sound like everything is rosy in Jerusalem when Isaiah utters the prophecy of today’s first reading.  But in truth the people there have committed idolatry and greed.  The good news is sandwiched between two prophecies of woe.  It is a vision that gives hope to good people living in a depraved society.

Just eleven verses before Isaiah proclaims Jerusalem the eternal school of peace, Isaiah calls it an “adulteress.”  In the verse after the prophecy he says that the people of the land “are filled with fortunetellers and soothsayers like the Philistines.” Somehow, despite corruption all around him, Isaiah believes that Israel, God’s especially chosen people, will fulfill its destiny of modeling holiness and justice.

Advent is preeminently the season of hope.  We dare to hope publicly that Jesus will come back soon.  We need him desperately to end war, to restore strong family life, and to resolve pressing issues like world-wide migration.

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