Look carefully at today's readings. The gospel message reflects Isaiah's insights and wisdom: "... out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see." There were two blind men who had followed Jesus? Why? Because they believed he could and would heal their malady. Jesus answered their petitions: "Let it be done to you according to your faith."
The Isaiah readings of the last five days of Advent have been a sharing in the prophet's efforts to teach us of the wonders of God's kingdom ... likened to a mountain and a house on a mountain. These are insights that help us build our own faith many centuries later. Just as Isaiah was trying to form a genuine spirituality for his hearers, his written word is a key for us to open even wider the doors of faith in our contemporary lives. Isaiah's words, poetic in many instances, are God's way of calling us to understand his kingdom.
Today Isaiah continues the theme of transformation ... the change needed to fully understand and participate in the kingdom of God. The kingdom of Lebanon has changed. Oppression which once ruled is now gone. A new way of living has come about. We know this: a new way of living does not come about simply by wishing it. Transformation is the result of hard work. For us today the means for transformation, for metanoia, is attempting to participate as fully as possible in the waiting spirit of the days of Advent.
Imagine walking into a room sparsely decorated. Simplicity speaks loudly in the room. There are no distractions. A definite sense of peace persists in the room. In this room are minds are freed from any distractions. This is the place where we meet the Holy Spirit. This is the space that becomes sacred because God is present. Here we learn what we need to do in our lives to bring about transformation. The room is the season of Advent. In this quiet, in this peace, we are given new vision, a new understanding of who we are -- like the two blind men it is the gift given to us because of our faith in Jesus Christ.
