A reading from the prophet Isaiah (29:17-24)
In just a little while will not Lebanon become fertile land,
and fertile land be taken for a forest?
That day the deaf will hear the words of the book
and, free from shadow and darkness,
the eyes of the blind will see.
The lowly will once more find joy in the Lord
and the poorest of people will delight
in the Holy One of Israel;
for the oppressor will be no more,
the scoffer will have vanished
and all those alert to do evil destroyed –
those who cause people to sin by a word
and those who lay traps for the arbitrator at the gate
and pervert the cause of the righteous.
Therefore, thus says the Lord,
God of the House of Jacob, Abraham’s redeemer,
‘No more shall Jacob be ashamed,
no more shall his face grow pale,
for when his children see the work of my hands in their midst
they will hallow my name,
they will hallow the Holy One of Jacob
and will hold the God of Israel in awe.
The perverted in spirit will learn understanding
and murmurers accept instruction.’
Changes in the natural world herald changes in people’s hearts. Just as fertility increases in Lebanon, so, in a reversal of Isaiah’s call vision in chapter 6, the deaf will finally begin to hear, and the blind will begin to see. But it will be the lowly and the poorest who will once again delight in the Lord, for their hearts have always been open to God. This opening up to God’s word will come because the ‘scoffer’ who belittles faith, the ‘oppressor’ who harms God’s people, and those who pervert others are brought to nothing. This vision announces the way of salvation, in which the humble are the first to see God’s truth. Then comes a solemnly introduced word of God, that the shame of Jacob is ended, for they see what God’s hand can do, and hallow the name of the Holy One of Israel.
Psalm 27 (26) The psalmist also rejoices in God’s light, trusting in the full vision of the goodness of the Lord ‘in the land of the living’.
A reading from the holy gospel according to Matthew (9:27-31)
As Jesus went on from there two blind men followed him crying out, ‘Have mercy on us, son of David.’ And when Jesus reached the house the blind men came up to him and he said to them, ‘Do you believe I can do this?’ They said, ‘Yes, Lord.’ Then he touched their eyes saying, ‘According to your faith, let it be done to you.’ And their eyes were opened. Then Jesus sternly warned them, ‘Take care that no one knows about this.’ But when they had gone away, they talked about him all over the countryside.
Once more on this first Friday of Advent it is a question of the blind being able to see. These two blind men already have faith, for they herald Jesus as ‘son of David’, but Jesus questions them further. It is by touch that he heals their eyes, saying ‘according to your faith, let it be done to you’. They are forbidden to speak about the cure, for Jesus is cautious about unwanted popularity and acclaim. But the two formerly blind men, who had enthusiastically proclaimed him ‘son of David’, are not going to be silenced.
How much sight do you have, how much do you need?
Pray for a new vision of faith, which is not rigid and is willing to grow.