FIRST WEEK OF ADVENT (C) : Saturday, 7th December 2024

Advent makes us step back. We step back for various
reasons: to take stock; to count our blessings; to start
preparing for the Christmas bake and preparations; to buy
gifts, and many myriad activities. The end is coming; the
beginning is already here. But there is little doubt that I am
wounded. We are wounded. Our country is wounded. The
world is wounded. Perhaps this Advent will instill hope for
healing.

Prophet Isaiah and the Psalm today are indeed consoling.
Both remind us of healing and restoration, and that God is our
ultimate healer. “People of Zion, you will live in Jerusalem
and weep no more” and ‘He heals the broken-hearted, He
binds up all their wounds’ are indeed telling of a God who
knows our wounds – wounds we have inflicted upon
ourselves, onto others, and wounds we deserve due to the
consequences of our sins against God.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus visits the sick in the various
towns and villages: “And when He saw the crowds, He felt
sorry for them because they were harrassed and dejected.”
Jesus identifies deeply with the wounded. The image of the
Sacred Heart reminds me that Jesus is the wounded healer. He
has been wounded and healed and raised by the Father. His
mission is reconciliation. Jesus expands the reach of His
healing touch by comissioning those closest to Him to “Go to
the lost sheep…cure the sick.

Lord God, let this Advent prepare us to find solace in
knowing that Christ meet us in and through our woundedness.