Advent: Preparation for the Lord's Feast

 Reflection on Today's Readings, Wednesday, First Week of Advent, Year B, December 2nd, 2020

Texts: Is. 25:6-10a; Ps. 23:1-6; Matt. 15:29-37

God always takes the first step to invite us into communion with himself. Today, prophet Isaiah says, "On that day: The Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of fat things, a feast of choice wines".  It is the Lord who is sending us invitation. He is inviting us to love feast; he bids us to share in his love, in his joy, and in his peace. The feast is used here to invoke the state of love and joy. The description of the feast brings to mind love and joy that are beyond all telling: It is "of fat things full of marrow, of choice wines well refined." This shows that God has in store for us the best we could ever desire.

The title of God mentioned in the reading, the Lord of hosts, invokes the image of a commander of armies. The army, here, means a group of people set out to advance a cause. God fights our cause for us, he works out our salvation. Today's gospel reading perfectly shows that Jesus Christ is the Lord of hosts. He goes about bringing health, salvation and happiness to people. The reading says, "And the crowd came to him, bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, so that the throng wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel." When we come to his feast, he attends to us, he brings us salvation and restores us to perfect health. His feast is a communion with him. Communion with God brings salvation. 

Advent is a period of waiting for this communion with our God. We wait by preparing through repentance and conversion so as to make ourselves fit for his dwelling when he comes. Hence, at his arrival, we can say with Isaiah, "This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation." We rejoice in his salvation when we glorify him. Our Lord is coming to bring us salvation, let us not lose hope, let us prepare ourselves through deeper and deeper repentance and conversion.

Lord our God, grant us the grace to deepen our repentance and conversion so as to be more fit for communion with you. Amen.

Rev. Fr. Andrew Olowomuke