Restoration seems to be the main theme of the readings for mass today. The first reading from the prophet Isaiah talks about the current condition of the Israelite people, “When the lord washes away the filth of the daughters of Zion, And purges Jerusalem’s blood from her midst with a blast of searing judgement.” So, the Israelites were definitely not in a state of grace at the time. However, after they are cleansed from their sins, God promises to be their “shelter and protection; shade from the heat of the day and refuge and cover from storm and rain.”
As a side note, the psalm and part of the gospel today, have expressions that we use at mass. The psalm says “peace be within you”. We say “peace be with you” at mass. Then, we also say similar words to what the centurion said in today’s gospel, when we attend mass as well. The centurion said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.” Frankly, it sounds like the centurion was thinking more of other people than himself, whereas we pray for our own healing at mass when we say “only say the word and my soul shall be healed.” (Not to be critical of the New Roman Missal in any way, this is just an outside observation.)
The centurion in today’s gospel sought healing and restoration for his servant. What an awesome boss to work for! This man set the example for Christians everywhere, in more ways than one. No wonder Jesus bragged on him. The centurion wasn’t afraid to get personally involved in the lives of those who worked for him. Servants were not just people he used, to get things done. This is something we really should pay attention to if we supervise other people in any capacity. What an awesome world we would live in, if everyone had this centurion’s attitude. It works the other way around too. Workers could also view their employers and supervisors as fellow human beings and try not to grumble about them very much. There are stresses and pressures that employers and supervisors have to deal with too, that isn’t always their fault.
Back to the theme of restoration, that today’s readings for mass encompass. Advent actually has quite a lot to do with restoration. Most parishes offer reconciliation services during advent because This time of year is when we seek to become a better person, the person that God meant for us to be. Communal reconciliation services remind us that none of us are perfect and without sin though.
We might not have always lived up to our potential because of the affects of the sins that we have committed, or those committed against us, or because of some unexpected health issue or turn of events in our lives. But, advent gives us hope that our souls can be healed. It is a journey, and today is the second day of our journey this advent season.
The challenge today, might be to look within ourselves in order to discover what needs to be healed. What hurt, resentment, obstacle, or sinful attitudes are keeping us from a closer relationship with Jesus, and with those we live and work with? The first step toward healing, and ultimately the restoration of peace, happiness and joy in our lives, is to identify what has darkened our soul to begin with. Until it is identified, it can’t be healed. The prophet Isaiah and the centurion in the gospel today, both identified what needed healing and restoration, and then trusted that the Lord could do what they personally, could not.
It takes a lot of faith to believe that things can change for the better. It is much easier to feel depressed because things aren’t going very well in our lives, and this is a big obstacle to healing. Depression is an inward spiral. Our thoughts are often an inward spiral, but the fault is usually viewed as being outside of ourselves. Jesus can cure us, if we have faith in him and believe that he can help us change things around.
The centurion in today’s gospel sets the right example, by not dwelling inside his own thoughts or needs as much, but by seeking out the Lord’s help and thinking of others instead. The restoration we are all seeking, is to be restored to a right relationship with God, and with one another. We want to be one of the people Jesus talks about at the end of today’s gospel, “many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven.”
Isaiah 4: 2-6
Ps 122: 1-2, 3-4b, 4cd-5, 6-7, 8-9
Lk 10: 21-24
