The Word today, Advent2B23
- Admin
- Feb 26, 2024
- 3 min read
December 11 - December 16, 2023
St Damasus 1, pope
Isaiah 35:1-10 Transformation is the message today, first in images (the desert in bloom), then in physical cures (the blind shall see etc.) and finally in the human heart (everlasting joy on their faces).
Luke 5:17-26 The effort of the friend is very impressive in this story…and their efforts meet with a double response, healing and forgiveness. On a spiritual level, we can be “paralysed” too and in need of a word of mercy.
St Finian, bishop
Isaiah 40:1-11 Powerful images in this reading should awaken a deep longing in our hearts. Let us come again to the great shepherd of our souls, holding us and leading us in all circumstances.
Matthew 8:12-14 The parable of the lost sheep makes a direct link with Isaiah. Of course, the ninety-nine who don’t stray at all also don’t really exist! We are, all of us, lost sheep and in need of guidance.
St Lucy, virgin
Isaiah 40:25-31 Our reading today is really a meditation on God and in particular on the “beyond-ness” of God (his transcendence). The fact that God is so other in this reflection is a source of hope and renewed energy.
Matthew 11:28-30 “Yoke” was a term used by the rabbis to refer to the guidance of Torah, by which we plough straight furrows in life. Jesus himself is now our Law and his guidance is light.
St John of the Cross, doctor
Isaiah 41:13-20 The opening line of this poem give the key to the rest: Do not be afraid. The reading goes on to explore such deep trust using several metaphors: harvesting, drought and barrenness.
Matthew 11:11-15 So, who really was John the Baptist? In Jesus’ estimation, John was the greatest of the old dispensation. In orthodox tradition he is called the forerunner, the prodromos. Yet even he falls into the second rank compared with the least in the kingdom of heaven!
Isaiah 48:17-19 There is a great promise in this reading, but also one big “if ”: if only you had been alert to my commandments. Isaiah can tell us the rest!
Matthew 11:16-19 There’s no pleasing some people seems to be the message of this passage. Brief technical note The very last line, puzzling to us, calls for special comment. The passage comes from the Q community, who produced the Sayings Source (Q), behind Matthew and Luke. In the view of that community, John, Jesus and their members were all children of transcendent wisdom. Originally, the last verse read: But Wisdom was vindicated by her children. (Q 7:35; see Luke 7:35.) For Matthew, Jesus himself is our Wisdom and so he alters the text and continues his portrait to Jesus as wisdom in Mt 11:25-30.
Ecclesiasticus 48:1-4, 9-12 Elijah remained a figure of fascination long after his death, as we hear in this reflection. An Elijah-type figure was expected to usher in the Messiah. The blessedness of this is caught in the very unusual beatitude which closes the reading.
Matthew 17:10-13 As noted above, the expected Elijah-type figure was based on Mal 3:1. By identifying John as Elijah, Jesus affirms the significance of the present moment and his own ministry.
References
-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2023, December 10). Second Sunday of Advent. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121023.cfm
-Sunday readings. (n.d.). Hearers of the Word. https://www.tarsus.ie/SundayReadings/
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