“At this
Christmas when Christ comes, will He find a warm heart? Mark the season of
Advent by loving and serving the others with God's own love and concern.”
― Mother
Teresa
“At this Christmas when Christ comes, will He find a warm heart? Mark the season of Advent by loving and serving the others with God's own love and concern.”
― Mother Teresa
December 1, 2020
Tuesday of the First
Week of Advent
Lectionary: 176
On that day,
A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse,
and from his roots a bud shall blossom.
The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him:
a Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
A Spirit of counsel and of strength,
a Spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD,
and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD.
Not by appearance shall he judge,
nor by hearsay shall he decide,
But he shall judge the poor with justice,
and decide aright for the land’s afflicted.
He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.
Justice shall be the band around his waist,
and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.
Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
The calf and the young lion shall browse together,
with a little child to guide them.
The cow and the bear shall be neighbors,
together their young shall rest;
the lion shall eat hay like the ox.
The baby shall play by the cobra’s den,
and the child lay his hand on the adder’s lair.
There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD,
as water covers the sea.
On that day,
The root of Jesse,
set up as a signal for the nations,
The Gentiles shall seek out,
for his dwelling shall be glorious.
Responsorial Psalm PS 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17
R. (see 7) Justice shall flourish in his time, and
fullness of peace for ever.
O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king’s son;
He shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
Justice shall flower in his days,
and profound peace, till the moon be no more.
May he rule from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
He shall rescue the poor when he cries out,
and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.
He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;
the lives of the poor he shall save.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
May his name be blessed forever;
as long as the sun his name shall remain.
In him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed;
all the nations shall proclaim his happiness.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Behold, our Lord
shall come with power;
he will enlighten
the eyes of his servants.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel LK 10:21-24
Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said,
“I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to the childlike.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
No one knows who the Son is except the Father,
and who the Father is except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”
Turning to the disciples in private he said,
“Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.
For I say to you,
many prophets and kings desired to see what you see,
but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.”
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New Growth in Faith
Name your stump. Today's first reading contains that often-quoted, sometimes sung prophecy in Isaiah about the coming of the Messiah, a new branch growing from the dead stump of the tree of Jesse. Jesse was the great King David's father. Out of this family tree, Jesus was born.
The tree of Jesse was a healthy, fruitful family because of their faith in God, which inspired them to be good servants of his kingdom. David became a servant-king 1,100 years before the human birth of Jesus. His reign was strong and branched out into the whole nation of Israel.
During much of his son Solomon's reign, the tree continued to flourish, but then it became diseased. Israel cracked in two, divided and weakened by a civil war after Solomon's death. Foreign enemies came and cut down the tree, taking the Israelites into captivity. The Jews never again had a king as great as David.
Through the prophet Isaiah, God promised that the tree of Jesse would spring back to life. In the midst of suffering and loss, God was offering a reason for hope based on faith in him. Think of a chopped-down tree in your own life. What relationship has been cut off? What ministry has died? Has a job been axed? Has a dream withered? Name your stump.
The Jews thought that when the new shoot finally grew from the stump of Jesse's tree, it would be a new king like David and he would rescue them from their human enemies. Of course, we know that Jesus was the Messiah that Isaiah had prophesied, and he was quite a different sort of king.
The branch of Christ grew into Christianity and its many branches of Christ-rooted ministries. Jesus rescued us from the spiritual enemy and its weapons of sin. Faith-filled followers serve God's kingdom, producing many good fruits.
Now think of your own tree stump. If we watch for our stumps to come back to life and grow the same old tree, we will fail to see our Messiah.
A cut-off relationship cannot be restored unless Christ becomes the center of it and each person's heart is converted and healed from the cut.
A dead ministry will take new shape only when Jesus resurrects it; the roots will be the same, but the new growth will be surprisingly different.
Christ's life is springing forth from the axed job as he points the way down a path that will glorify God. The withered dream will pass through the cross of Christ to be resurrected into a glorified new goal that will be empowered by a Pentecost of the Holy Spirit.
When we allow Isaiah's prophecy to come true for us in our current situations, we hear Jesus say, as we read in today's Gospel passage, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see!"
Do you have faith to see? Fertilize your tree stump by increasing your prayer time, scripture reading, other spiritual reading, and participation in parish programs. Jesus himself is the new growth that will be born in you, but you have to nurture your soil.
Today's Prayer
Thank you, my Lord, for coming out to meet me and revealing to me my Father's love. Keep my heart from pride, so that I always feel my need for You. Amen.
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God Bless You.....
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