Daily Liturgy
Monday December 6
SECOND WEEK OF ADVENT
The Desert Shall Bloom Lame People Shall Leap
Introduction
At the time of the exile, in what is called “the little Apocalypse” (Is 34-35), a disciple of Isaiah describes the return of the Jews to Jerusalem and the Holy Land as a return to Paradise: no sin, no suffering, no fatigue even, with all sickness cured and creation sharing in the liberation of people. For God dwells among his people.
These glowing terms begin to apply more fully when Jesus comes and forgives sin and illness, the consequences and manifestations of sin. When Jesus appears, he comes to bring life to the poor. Yes, the lame people leap for joy, for God has taken pity on them through Jesus.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
you come among your people;
to those who are poor and paralyzed
you bring them your forgiveness
and your tender compassion
through your Son Jesus Christ.
God, make us deeply believe
that you want to liberate us
from our discouragement and powerlessness.
Give us a sincere, trusting hope
in your healing, compassionate love,
through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Reading 1: IS 35:1-10
The desert and the parched land will exult;
the steppe will rejoice and bloom.
They will bloom with abundant flowers,
and rejoice with joyful song.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to them,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
They will see the glory of the LORD,
the splendor of our God.
Strengthen the hands that are feeble,
make firm the knees that are weak,
Say to those whose hearts are frightened:
Be strong, fear not!
Here is your God,
he comes with vindication;
With divine recompense
he comes to save you.
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened,
the ears of the deaf be cleared;
Then will the lame leap like a stag,
then the tongue of the mute will sing.
Streams will burst forth in the desert,
and rivers in the steppe.
The burning sands will become pools,
and the thirsty ground, springs of water;
The abode where jackals lurk
will be a marsh for the reed and papyrus.
A highway will be there,
called the holy way;
No one unclean may pass over it,
nor fools go astray on it.
No lion will be there,
nor beast of prey go up to be met upon it.
It is for those with a journey to make,
and on it the redeemed will walk.
Those whom the LORD has ransomed will return
and enter Zion singing,
crowned with everlasting joy;
They will meet with joy and gladness,
sorrow and mourning will flee.
Responsorial Psalm: PS 85:9AB AND 10, 11-12, 13-14
(Isaiah 35:4f) Our God will come to save us!
I will hear what God proclaims;
the LORD –for he proclaims peace to his people.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land.
R. Our God will come to save us!
Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven.
R. Our God will come to save us!
The LORD himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him,
and salvation, along the way of his steps.
R. Our God will come to save us!
Alleluia
Alleluia, alleluia.
Behold the king will come, the Lord of the earth,
and he himself will lift the yoke of our capacity.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: LK 5:17-26
One day as Jesus was teaching,
Pharisees and teachers of the law,
who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem,
were sitting there,
and the power of the Lord was with him for healing.
And some men brought on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed;
they were trying to bring him in and set him in his presence.
But not finding a way to bring him in because of the crowd,
they went up on the roof
and lowered him on the stretcher through the tiles
into the middle in front of Jesus.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said,
“As for you, your sins are forgiven.”
Then the scribes and Pharisees began to ask themselves,
“Who is this who speaks blasphemies?
Who but God alone can forgive sins?”
Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them in reply,
“What are you thinking in your hearts?
Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’
or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?
But that you may know
that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”–
he said to the one who was paralyzed,
“I say to you, rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.”
He stood up immediately before them,
picked up what he had been lying on,
and went home, glorifying God.
Then astonishment seized them all and they glorified God,
and, struck with awe, they said,
“We have seen incredible things today.”
Intercessions
Let us pray for all people who are discouraged and lonely, that we may help them relieve their fears and restore their trust and hope. We say: Lord, hear our prayer.
– For the physically handicapped, that we may respect them as fully human persons, we pray:
– For our communities, that we may be full of hope that in Christ we can build a better Church and a better world, we pray:
– That all of us may be people of joy, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord, God of hope,
in these signs of bread and wine
we celebrate the death and resurrection
of your Son Jesus Christ.
Help us to place in him our hope
that he will raise us from our dejection,
from all our fears and resignation
to the evils of the world.
Let him heal us from our sins
and make us people who leap for joy
because of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Our living and saving God,
we thank you for your Son Jesus.
Let him be so much alive among us
that we gladly and enthusiastically
continue his work of healing
of the poor and of those who suffer,
as we remember how he has lifted us up
above our miseries.
Make us healed healers,
as we follow Jesus Christ our Lord.
Blessing
To us too, Jesus has repeatedly said: “Your sins are forgiven you. Stand up.” Let this fill us with great gratitude, and help us also to speak to one another words of reconciliation and encouragement. May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Commentary
The question posed by Jesus in today’s Gospel is a good one.
Which is easier to do: forgive sin or restore health? It is easier to say, “Your sins are forgiven,” because this requires no proof. But the truth of the matter is that it is harder to forgive sin because it is rooted in alienation from God. To restore spiritual health is the work of God alone. There are interesting features to the paralytic story. We can reflect with profit on the friendship of the men who carried the cot, gaining entrance only by bringing the man to the roof of the house. They demonstrated a real solidarity with their friend’s suffering. What of our own concern for the disabled? Do we deal with them compassionately and with respect? How many of us have become annoyed when the only open spaces in a crowded parking lot are the handicapped ones? The truth is that we should offer a prayer of thanksgiving that public authorities are concerned about the less fortunate.
The paralytic was overjoyed with his cure. After years of suffering, his gait is lighter and his step faster. Yet the Gospels are keen on linking this miracle of Jesus with his power over sin. There is no greater satisfaction in being a minister of reconciliation than to see the relief of people in being unburdened of sin. They are lighthearted, with a joy that no one can take from them. Being a minister of the sacrament of reconciliation is not a dreary task, for it reveals the goodness of people.
Isaiah today speaks of both human reconciliation and the restoring of nature as well. In those final days, the desert, no longer parched, will be fully irrigated. Ponds and marshes will replace arid waste. In our time we have the means to hasten the day of redemption in turning deserts into verdant pastures. With the technology at hand, no people on this planet should live without food and drink. It is a worthy cause to bring repeatedly to the attention of elected officials. Since human need is the cause of God, we are called to look beyond our own concerns to those of a hungry and deprived world.
Points to Ponder
The sacrament of reconciliation
The meaning of friendship
The needs of the disabled