Wednesday of the Second Week of Advent
(Isaiah 40:25-31; Matthew 11:28-30)
Today’s reading from the second part of the Book of the
Prophet Isaiah highlights the paramount virtue during Advent – hope. Hope enables humans to tolerate desperate
situations by providing a plausible remedy.
In the reading Jewish exiles in Babylon are experiencing hardship. They were defeated with heavy losses during
the siege of Jerusalem. Now as strangers
with a distinguished heritage they face ridicule and contempt. God, speaking through the prophet, assures
the people that they will not remain marginalized for long. He, forever young and strong, will see them
through the trial to peace and prosperity again.
The well-known passage from the Gospel of Matthew likewise gives
a message of hope. Jesus tells those who
feel overburdened by the many laws of Judaism not to give up. Rather they are to find hope in a
relationship with him. He provides
comfort and strength with his love for them.
He is the long-expected Messiah who has come to save them from their sins.
Many find the Church today a legalistic overseer with
countless rules. Because they have lost
the sense that she is the Body of Christ, they leave her. Christ would have us tell them to wait and
try developing a spiritual relationship with him. We, Christ’s body, are to share their joys
and sorrows, work and recreation in his name.
