Seeking Instruction
Dec. 4: Monday of the First Week of Advent
Do we recognize God’s authority? His ability to teach us? We should! In the end, we’ll learn one way or another what He wants to teach us.
Reading 1
Is 2:1-5
This is what Isaiah, son of Amoz, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
In days to come, The mountain of the LORD's house shall be established as the highest mountain and raised above the hills. All nations shall stream toward it; many peoples shall come and say: "Come, let us climb the LORD's mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, That he may instruct us in his ways, and we may walk in his paths."
For from Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and impose terms on many peoples. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; One nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again.
O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD!
In the Second Coming, everyone will recognize Jesus as the Lord. The question is, will it be too late?
This isn’t a question of foreign nations, either. We have to look in our own hearts, and see whether we actually seek God out for instruction.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 122:1-2, 3-4b, 4cd-5, 6-7, 8-9
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
I rejoiced because they said to me,
"We will go up to the house of the LORD."
And now we have set foot
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Jerusalem, built as a city
with compact unity.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
According to the decree for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
In it are set up judgment seats,
seats for the house of David.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!
May those who love you prosper!
May peace be within your walls,
prosperity in your buildings.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Because of my relatives and friends
I will say, "Peace be within you!"
Because of the house of the LORD, our God,
I will pray for your good.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
This Psalm is meant to be sung by pilgrims visiting Jerusalem. But of course, like today’s first reading implies, we can sing it, as well. We’ll all go to the Lord, today, tomorrow, sooner than we think. Will we be rejoicing?
Alleluia
See Ps 80:4
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Come and save us, LORD our God;
let your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
“Hey, God, You don’t even have to do anything but look at us, and we’ll be saved. It’s not even a big deal to You, because You’re God.”
The worst problems in your life are simple for the Creator of the Universe.
Gospel
Mt 8:5-11
When Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully." He said to him, "I will come and cure him." The centurion said in reply, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come here,' and he comes; and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, "Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I say to you, 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."
Most times, the first reading and the Gospel are related to each other. I really don’t see a connection here, though. The reading from Isaiah pertains to Advent; this seems to just be a miracle story. It something we reference in every mass, of course.1
What I find interesting about it, though, is the two different kinds of command and authority referred to here. The centurion says (I don’t think he’s bragging) that when he issues an order, it gets obeyed. He says the same would be true of Jesus.
It’s really not, however. The one he says “Go” to has to decide for himself, as a human being with a will of his own, whether he’ll actually go or not. Same with the other, and his slave, etc. He’s commanding people, who chose to obey.2
But when Jesus tells the servant to be healed, the servant has no choice in the matter. Neither does the disease. In fact, going back to the very beginning, existence only happens because God says so.
Jesus is the Word. Him saying it is what makes it so.
The centurion has faith that Jesus can command disease itself. Jesus is amazed (remember, He is True Man, as well as True God), because this soldier isn’t even an Israelite. Like most people reading this, he’s a Gentile, yet, because of his faith, he’ll recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven.
We can hope, and pray, that we have such faith, too.
Personal note: this is obviously the source of the congregation’s response to the elevation of the host: “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.” It’s been twenty years, and I still say the old version half the time.
Being slaves and soldiers, they don’t have much of a choice, but still, it’s a choice.