Monday, November 21, 2011

12/1/2011 – Homily for Thursday of the first week of Advent – Isaiah 26:1-6


          Isaiah is a prophet whom we often hear from in the season of Advent, since his prophecies are seen as precursors to Jesus’ entry into our world.  In today’s reading from Isaiah, we hear of a lofty city that is brought down by the Lord, a city that ignores justice, a city that ignores the cries of the poor. This city is turned to dust that is trampled down by the footsteps of the poor and the downtrodden. 
         With all the missionary work I have done throughout the world, I truly believe that the Lord does hear the cry of the poor.  Yet, as a nation & as Christians, we often struggle with what it means to hear the cry of the poor.  As most of you know, I recently came back from a visit to Winnipeg, Canada, where I spent time with friends whom I initially met when I worked full-time at a soup kitchen & food bank there.  It was through those experiences that I had first hand interactions with the homeless and street people, with prostitutes and drug addicts.  I left that experience in Winnipeg with more questions than answers.  And even though it’s not easy to struggle with the poor & to journey with them, it is something with we are called to do as followers of Jesus. We don’t have to look overseas or the large urban areas of our country to hear the cry of the poor, as it is right here in our own community in Yazoo City.  That is probably obvious to all of us.
         So we might ask ourselves today: How are we responding to the poor in our midst?   Are we creating a just society, or are we a lofty city that will be taken down by the Lord?  

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