PROMISE OF SPIRITUAL ABUNDANCE


SAINT NICHOLAS, BISHOP (OPT)

Isa 29:17-24; Ps 27:1,4,13-14; Mt 9:27-31

They will hallow the holy Name of God

We continue our reading of the Book of the Prophet Isaiah and his detailed description of the coming of the Messiah. As noted earlier, this description of the Messianic era is so apt that we cannot help but wonder about the power and mystery of God’s prophetic Spirit. The passage we read today uses the analogy of the fertility of a land to communicate the spiritual richness of the Messianic time. “In a short time, a very short time, shall not Lebanon become fertile land and fertile land turn into forest? The deaf, that day, will hear the words of a book and, after shadow and darkness, the eyes of the blind will see.” The fertility of the land of Lebanon here symbolises the outflow of the grace of redemption which would stream from Judah and Jerusalem to all the nearby countries. The people would feel the presence of God and his salvific graces at work in their lives and be transformed into believers in God. Those with little faith before would abound with faith in God through the outpouring of God’s grace through the presence of the Messiah. The conversion of these people is compared to the turning of barren land into fertile land, and fertile land to forest land. The spiritual light from the presence of the Messiah will be so strong, that it will drive darkness from the eyes of the blind, and make the deaf hear the words of a book.

Just as light drives the darkness away, the Messiah will make evil and evil-doers extinct by the outpouring of heavenly graces accompanying his appearance. The house of Judah will grow radiant when they experience the wonderful works of ‘God among them and even beyond their borders. These prophecies have been fulfilled and forgotten. They are now for us to meditate on and apply to our lives; the reading of these prophecies is to help us appreciate the wonderful gift of salvation God has sent us in his Son’s assumption of our nature. The poor and lowly are often the most disposed to receive the salvation of God, for the gifts of God are not dependent on anything we have done, but on our faith in God. Hence, everyone in need of salvation would receive for the asking. “They will hallow the Holy One of Jacob, stand in awe of the God of Israel. Erring spirits will learn wisdom and murmurers accept instruction.” We continue in sin because we are not convinced of the presence of God and the spiritual largesse made available to us by the gift of his Son Jesus Christ. Advent is a season to prepare and receive the gift of salvation from God anew. We should reconsider what we have received in the coming of Jesus Christ as a baby for our salvation.

The Gospel passage gives us a good illustration of the fulfilment of these prophecies, two blind men who received their sights at the instance of their faith in Jesus Christ. “As Jesus went on his way two blind men followed him shouting, ‘Take pity on us, Son of David.’ And when Jesus reached the house the blind men came up with him and he said to them, ‘Do you believe I can do this?’ They said, ‘Sir, we do.’ Then he touched their eyes saying, ‘Your faith deserves it, so let this be done for you.’ And their sight returned.” Our entrance into the secure city of God is according to the measure of our faith in Jesus Christ. The two men implored the help of our Lord because they believed that their sight would be restored by him. He ignored their pleas for a while to confirm their faith in him. Our vocation is to mediate God’s love and compassion to others as St. Nicholas did. He was the bishop of Myra, in Lycia (now in Turkey) in the third to fourth century. People remembered him for his love for the poor, and the gifts he gave them during Christmas. His symbol of three golden balls represents the three purses of gold he is said to have given secretly to a poor man who could not afford dowries for his three daughters. The origin of Santa Claus is traced to him as a tradition that developed from people’s veneration of him and emulation of his love for the poor and the less privileged. God’s sending of his Son in our nature is the greatest act of love for us men. We pray for the grace to understand this love and make ourselves instruments of God's love for the poor.

Let us pray: We humbly implore your mercy, Lord: protect us in all dangers through the prayers of the Bishop Saint Nicholas, that the way of salvation may lie open before us. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. 

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