Saturday, December 10, 2011

12/15/2011 – Homily for Thursday of third week of Advent – Isaiah 54:1-10



     We are called to repentance & conversion & reconciliation this holy season of Advent, but perhaps something is holding us back.  Perhaps we feel so guilty or we are so remorseful for our sins that we can’t get past them.  Perhaps we can’t forgive ourselves for something, or we don’t believe that God or others can forgive us.  Perhaps we have been away from our prayer life for so long that we don’t know how to get back in touch with the divine in our lives, to get beyond just going through the motions.  Perhaps there are those in our community who have been away from the Church for so long that they are ashamed to come back, or they don’t think God is even there for us any longer. 
     Yet, listen to the message we hear from Isaiah today.  The prophet tells us that we should not fear, that we won’t be put to shame, that we have no need to blush, that we will not be disgraced.  We may have felt abandoned, but God will take us back with great tenderness.  What a wonderful message for us to hear this holy season of Advent. 
     When Isaiah first preached this message in his day, Israel felt very abandoned.  The people had turned their backs on God, they had sinned, they were defeated by their enemies, they had been taken into exile into Babylon away from the Temple of Jerusalem which had been the center of their faith.  They wondered where the presence of God had gone.  At this moment in our own lives, perhaps we can relate to what the people of ancient Israel were feeling at this low point in their history of faith.
     In a little more than a week, we will celebrate Christmas Eve, we will celebrate the birth of Christ into our world.  We have almost completed our Advent journey, our time of preparation for the arrival of the baby Jesus. It is not too late for us to prepare, to welcome him into our hearts & into our lives.  It is not too late for us to repent & to see the ways that God wants us to change.  Let us look inside of our hearts – let us feel the love & mercy of God that is reaching out to us today.  

No comments:

Post a Comment