Monday of Secon Week in Advent, December 11, 2006

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Now to the Scriptures for the Day, December 11, a Monday in Advent's Second Week:

Isaiah 35:1-10. Psalm 85:9-14. and Luke 5:17-26:

"Our God will come to save us and kindness and truth shall meet; justice and peace shall kiss!" These words touched me this morning and I love the way the Psalmist expresses his praise of God.When I read the Gospel, I came back to the Psalm response and verse eleven. In the original Hebrew there is a beautiful play on words which even seem to rhyme. Meeting and Kissing are the parallels in verse 11. The Hebrew Soncino commentary says about this verse the following, "Mercy and Truth"-- The Divine Salvation is dependent upon human co-operation. When truth, that is, righteous conduct, is practised in the land, it receives the blessing of God's mercy." In the Gospel a paralytic is helped by his friends as he is lifted to the roof, then let down through the ceiling into the midst where Jesus is talking at table with some friends. He startles everyone by saying, "Your sins are forgiven." I think he meant both the paralytic and the men who had such trust and faith in Jesus to create such an act of mercy for their friend. Jesus then explains what he is doing by showing that the first statement of forgiveness is more important; he moves to heal the man which is done immediately. The Lord heals us both spiritually and physically. We need both and should ask for both with the same creative actions and trust and faith that the paralytic's friends had. Jesus heals on two levels--the spiritual and the bodily level. Even in the word for healing and the word for Savior in the Koine Greek of the New Testament both salvation and healing are implied. The miracle itself is a miracle of truth (reality) and compassion--the two leading thoughts from our Psalm. It was an easy step for me in my reflection to see this parallel in the Psalm verses and the Gospel. Yes, justice and peace kiss and our God comes to save us is the message for the second Sunday of Advent. Neither God nor God's son Jesus do things by halfs. They heal and save the whole person. I join those who at this healing then praised God for the mercy and forgiveness worked through Jesus. The ending is compelling: "the people around Jesus praise God for the incredible things they saw that day." It takes faith and trust to believe in the incredible mercy, love, and forgiveness of God our Savior and Healer. Amen.