Friday of the First Week of Advent

Isaiah tells of a time when nature will blossom, a time when the deaf will hear, and the blind will see. The lowly will find joy in God. Life will have a positive slant. The tyrants and arrogant will have had their time and that time is over. It is now the time for the poor, the lowly, the blind, the deaf, the lame. We begin the Advent season each year with these same readings. We yearn for the time Isaiah foretells. As we begin each Advent season, we see ways that the poor are still with us. People are blind and deaf to hearing the word of God. We look around at the world today. We see disease, we see people out of jobs, we see so much that could be different. We lament. When God? When will your time come? When God? When will your reign be manifest in our broken world?

At the same time, we begin this Advent season with deep faith. This faith tells us; Yes, God is working in the world. When we look carefully, we can see signs. The signs may be small; but they are here. They may be in the health care workers who put their lives on the line in this time of Covid-19. They may be in the extra time we spend in silent prayer each morning. The signs may be in the smile we receive or give to the person on the street. Any of these signs can be words to the deaf or sight to the blind. May we continue sharing them all through this Advent season.