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| "St. Ambrose Polyptych" (detail) by Bartolomeo Vivarini, 1477 |
Commentary:
Reading 1: Isaiah 35:1-10
Commentary on Is 35:1-10
This selection is a prophetic vision of the restoration of Israel following the exile. It is also seen as a vision of the land redeemed by the coming Messiah. Those who are most afflicted, the blind, the deaf, the lame, and the mute, will be the first to experience the saving grace of God. Christians see it as the prophecy fulfilled by Jesus.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 85:9ab and 10, 11-12, 13-14
R. (Isaiah 35:4f) Our God will come to save us!
Commentary on Ps 85:9ab and 10, 11-12, 13-14
Psalm 85 is a communal lament that focuses on the woes of the nation. These strophes reflect the joy of salvation at the restoration of the land following the destruction of the temple and the Diaspora. Those faithful to God see the reward; a land restored, justice returned, and the salvation of God. Placed in the context of the Advent season, the theme of preparation for a time of peace is announced. It is a clear tie to the herald of the Messiah, echoing Isaiah’s oracle (Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11).
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Gospel: Luke 5:17-26
Commentary on Lk 5:17-26
Here, St. Luke’s Gospel begins describing a series of controversies between Jesus and the Pharisees. In this story, also captured in Mark 2:1-12 and Matthew 9:1-8, the paralytic is lowered through the roof to be near the Jesus. (Interestingly, the roof material varies according to the audience of the particular Gospel.) The Lord’s first comments to the paralytic are, “Your sins are forgiven.” This starts the Pharisees talking since, in the Hebrew tradition, only God may forgive sins.
The Lord, in response, demonstrates his authority over sin. In the eyes of the early Palestinians, physical afflictions were believed to be a punishment visited upon them by God for the sins of the person or their ancestors. By healing the paralytic, Jesus demonstrates his compassion for the poor, his authority to forgive sins, and fulfills the prophetic vision of the Hebrew Prophets (e.g. "Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf be cleared. Then the lame shall leap like a stag, and the mute tongue sing for joy," Isaiah 35:5-6).
CCC: Lk 5:17 1116
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Reflection:
The scripture today has two messages for us. The Gospel message affirms that interior sin can manifest itself externally in damage to the health of the physical body. We have previously defined sin as “a conscious failure to love” for purposes of a pragmatic approach to this understanding.
Here is an example of sin in this context. Let’s say a person has a serious problem with something a member of their family has done. Even though that family member may have been wrong, perhaps even grievously wrong in what they did, our sin is not forgiving them. It is lack of forgiveness that does the greater harm. If we latch onto the hurt that person caused us and continue to react in bitterness, not trying to put away our feelings of anger or even hatred, we have created in our soul a canker, a festering wound. It will, like a cancer, take on a life of its own and we are almost powerless to stop it.
This kind of sin can lead to all kinds of emotional and physical problems. It is the acceptance of Christ’s love and peace which causes a conversion of the heart that cures this kind of deep injury. That is the true message of the story of the paralytic.
The second message relates to the conversion experience that comes with forgiveness. The passage from Isaiah describes the path to healing itself. He describes the Kingdom of God on earth, ruled by a loving Christ who calls us to forgive as he forgave. How light our burdens become when we hand them to Christ who came so that we would be able to lay those burdens at his feet. The passage very much leads us on our Advent journey, following St. John the Baptist’s call to repentance, conversion, and faith that sets our feet upon this path.
Today our Advent prayer is one that asks us to hold up our spirit for inspection and see if there are blemishes of sin that need to be handed to the Lord, so we might find that path more clearly and walk without that burden he so generously offers to carry.
Pax
[2] The picture is "St. Ambrose Polyptych" (detail) by Bartolomeo Vivarini, 1477
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