Friday of the Second Week of Advent

“Christ the Redeemer”
by Tiziano Vecellio, 1533-34

 
Readings for Friday of the Second Week of Advent [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary: [3]
 
Reading 1: Isaiah 48:17-19
 
Thus says the Lord, your redeemer,
the Holy One of Israel:
I, the Lord, your God,
teach you what is for your good,
and lead you on the way you should go.
If you would hearken to my commandments,
your prosperity would be like a river,
and your vindication like the waves of the sea;
Your descendants would be like the sand,
and those born of your stock like its grains,
Their name never cut off
or blotted out from my presence.
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Commentary on Is 48:17-19
 
This reading from the Book of Isaiah (in Deutero-Isaiah) is part of what is known as the recapitulation of the Hymns to the Lord Redeemer (Isaiah 40:12 – 48:22). [4] In these verses we see the oracle predict God’s leadership of the faithful into salvation (salvation that flows from and becomes an actual part of God’s act of creation). Hearkening back to Abraham, whose descendants he promised would “be like sand,” God promises to be the salvation of the faithful.

Isaiah proposes the words of a holy covenant: If you follow the commandments of God, he will give you prosperity, justification or forgiveness, and your line of descendants will be many and always have God’s help.
 
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6
 
R. (see John 8:12) Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.

Blessed the man who follows not
the counsel of the wicked
Nor walks in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the company of the insolent,
But delights in the law of the Lord
and meditates on his law day and night.
R. Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.

He is like a tree
planted near running water,
That yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.
R. Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.

Not so the wicked, not so;
they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
For the Lord watches over the way of the just,
but the way of the wicked vanishes.
R. Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.
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Commentary on Ps 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6
 
Psalm 1 serves as a preface to the whole book of psalms. The psalmist here exalts those who follow the Lord’s commands, and reflects upon the blessings they will receive. As in Romans 6:19ff, this selection emphasizes the contrast between the salvation of the just and the punishment of the wicked.

This wisdom psalm begins by extolling the virtue of those who follow the law. The focus is to look to God for guidance, and not to trust only in the counsel of men. Those who reject the law will be blown away like “chaff,” an image used in the Gospel as well (Matthew 3:12).

This portion of the psalm is later echoed in Isaiah 48:17-19, like an overlapped formula of covenant.  Blessed is the man who “delights in the law day and night,” but “the way of the wicked vanishes.” It also takes up the theme of following right paths and staying true to the teachings of God: “Blessed the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked nor walks in the way of sinners, nor sits in the company of the insolent, but delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on his law day and night.”
 
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Gospel: Matthew 11:16-19
 
Jesus said to the crowds:
“To what shall I compare this generation?
It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another,
‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance,
we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.’
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said,
‘He is possessed by a demon.’
The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said,
‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard,
a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’
But wisdom is vindicated by her works.”
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Commentary on Mt 11:16-19
 
St. Matthew recalls the Lord’s lament that many of the people he has come to save have behaved like children. Jesus compares those he has encountered with the wicked in the psalms because they do not follow the prophet, John the Baptist: “John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.'” Nor do they hear the words of the Messiah: “The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, ‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’" Then he implies the truth will become known, based upon the impact of John the Baptist and Jesus on the world: “But wisdom is vindicated by her works.”

The people of that time expected teachers to play the religious roles they were assigned according to what was generally accepted. St. John the Baptist and Jesus did not do that. As a prophet, St. John was not respected but called “possessed.” And Jesus himself, though he came as the salvation of the poor, is called “glutton and a drunkard” for having reached out to “tax collectors and sinners."

While this passage is perhaps more accurately translated in Luke 7:35 as “wisdom is vindicated by all her children,” it is clear, in either case, that the Lord expects future generations to see the salvific role of the Messiah and his forerunner, St. John the Baptist.
 
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Reflection:
 
We can sense the Lord’s frustration with the crowds that had been following him.  It is made clear that they have their own ideas about how the messiah will return.  They know from prophecy that Elijah must come, announcing the arrival of the messiah, but in spite of the facts that point to St. John the Baptist meeting all the criteria, the people see him instead as eccentric at best and at the worst, crazy. 
 
Likewise, they expect the messiah to come like King David of a previous age, summoning the military might of the region, charismatically galvanizing the Jews into a military force that will throw off the Roman yoke.  Instead, they see this carpenter’s son who became a rabbi and now sits down with the worst sort of people. He even ignores the rich and powerful who could play a role in a Davidic uprising.
 
Ah, we feel for the Lord who in his frustration with their lack of understanding says, “But wisdom is vindicated by her works.” In other words, he invites them to see what events will flow from his actions, works of mercy and words of hope.  Many of those present will not understand what he is saying in Jesus’ lifetime.  In fact, we know that a fair number will probably be standing outside the praetorium crying, “Crucify him!”
 
We shake our heads and feel sorry for our Hebrew forebears.  They could not see the signs, and trusted instead to their own wisdom.  But we must pause and ask ourselves, do we not fall into the same trap?  Are we not, in our prayers, asking God to do what we want in the way we want it?  The Jews of Jesus’ time were not necessarily evil but rather they were not open to seeing God outside of the box they put him in.
 
This, indeed, is the real lesson we take from the Gospel today.  We must be open to God’s will and not be demanding that God operate according to ours.  We must, in our prayer, ask that God open our eyes so that we can see how he comes to us, loving us as only he can.  Our prayer today is that God might open our minds and hearts to see more clearly his fingerprints in our lives and in doing so, understand how we can build his kingdom on earth.
 
Pax.
 

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[1] The picture is “Christ the Redeemer” by Tiziano Vecellio, 1533-34.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4] Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc., © 1968, 22:31-32, pp. 374-75.