Meditation
for Monday of the Second Week of Advent
(Is 35:1-10;
Lk 5:17-26)
“The desert shall rejoice and
blossom.” The dry land shall be fruitful again; the weak shall be strengthened,
the fearful shall be courageous. There shall healing for the infirm, “For
waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.” And there
shall be a highway there, which shall be called the ‘Holy Way’, the unclean
shall not pass over it. The beautiful words of Isaiah dispel the dryness of the
desert, and the new and enriching look of the wilderness manifest the
transforming power of God.
In our meditation, we see how
this transforming power of God takes a living presence among us in Christ Jesus.
The Gospel says as Jesus was teaching, “The power of the Lord was with Him to
heal.” This is the power that can transform dryness to fruitfulness, sin to
righteousness, and sickness to health. The friends of the paralyzed man were
attracted in faith by the healing power of Jesus. First, Jesus spoke to him
saying, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” After the Pharisees complained, He
addressed the paralytic saying, “I say to you, rise, take up your bed and go home.”
Just as Isaiah addressed the word
of God to dry lands that streams may break forth in them, so did Jesus speak to
the paralyzed man and his sickness transformed to health. Pause and meditate on
this transforming power of Jesus. See how He makes such opportunities available
to us in faith like a highway of holiness in the desert of sin. So, we move
forward in faith, and lay before Him our ‘dryness’ that He may speak to them
gracious springs life gush forth upon us. Amen.
Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,
Tedi-Muwo, Lagos.
Monday December 5, 2022.
