“The desolate and impassable land will rejoice, and the place of solitude will exult, and it will flourish like the lily. It will spring up and blossom, and it will exult with rejoicing and praising”
This prophesy of Isaiah is about hope and the good time to come. The time of servitude is over. The time of freedom, time of total commit to the Lord is now.
The message of salvation is for all people. The call for holiness is for all. John the Baptist refers to it as “a time of repentance”, that is metanoia, which means change of perspective, change of direction, change of mind, change of consciousness, a new way of thinking, and a new way of seeing.
We are to make straight the way of the Lord, that is, make way for the proclamation of the Gospel.
The Word of God is meant to “Strengthen the lax hands and confirm the weak knees” And it does the following:
To the fainthearted it is a source of courage: “Take courage and fear not! Behold, your God will bring the vindication of retribution. God himself will arrive to save you.”
To the blind, their eyes will be opened.
To the dead, their ears will be cleared.
The disabled will leap like a buck.
The tongue of the mute will be untied.
The desert will be overflow with water.
In the gospel the prophesy is fulfilled in the person of Jesus. He healed a man paralyzed carried in with stretcher. Not only that this paralyzed man regained his body and was able to walk, Jesus also forgave his sins.
Two things we can understand from the readings today are: sin causes illness (soul and body) and faith in God heals.
Have a blessed Second Week of Advent.
