03 December 2018. Advent Week 1, Monday

First Reading: Isaiah 2:4-6

Wisdom and peace when swords are beaten into ploughshares

The word that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
In days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it. Many peoples shall come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!

Responsorial Psalm — Ps 121: 1-2, 4-5, 6-9

R./: Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

I rejoiced when I heard them say:
‘Let us go to God’s house.’
And now our feet are standing
within your gates, O Jerusalem. (R./)
It is there that the tribes go up,
the tribes of the Lord.
For Israel’s law it is,
there to praise the Lord’s name.
There were set the thrones of judgement
of the house of David. (R./)
For the peace of Jerusalem pray:
‘Peace be to your homes!
May peace reign in your walls,
in your palaces, peace!’ (R./)
For love of my brethren and friends I say:
‘Peace upon you!’
For love of the house of the Lord
I will ask for your good. (R./)

Gospel: Matthew 8:5-11

Jesus welcomes foreigners to share in Israel’s blessings

When Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible distress.” And he said to him, “I will come and cure him.” The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and the slave does it.”
When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, “Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.”

Vision of a better future

In the weekdays of Advent we read the sweeping vision’s of Isaiah about a future of universal peace. He cherishes the hope that all nations and races will live together harmoniously and join in worshiping the true and only God. This future will draw us beyond all narrow racial or national boundaries so that all of humanity becomes one family of faith and love. Are we willing to open our doors and welcome all these people, so different from ourselves?
In the Gospel, Jesus is invited to the home of a Roman centurion – a soldier whose job is to represent a foreign, oppressive power – and he accepts! When the Roman who hesitates, feeling unworthy of Jesus’ presence in his home, Jesus is amazed at such genuine humility, and notes the centurion’s care for his slave, who would have been from some defeated nation. The centurion bows before Jesus, a Jew, for the sake of his slave!
Jesus praises this outsider as a genuine man, a spiritual descendant of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He still advises us to look in unlikely places and people to learn to be his true followers today. He tells us too, “I have never found this much faith” in your midst. During Advent can we too learn from outsiders how to live worthily in God’s holy presence? From unexpected sources we can learn so much.

Only say the word!

The centurion’s request in today’s gospel is very familiar to us. Before Holy Communion we repeat it almost word for word. It contains two main points: recognising his own unworthiness to have the Lord enter his home, and a total trust in the power of Christ’s word.
This centurion’s attitude is worth pondering during Advent. We recognise our limitations, aware of our needs and longing for a fuller presence of the Lord in our lives. We also share his great trust that Jesus can help us, convinced that his word can heal and renew us, recreate and refashion us. Out of our poverty we pray with trust, “Come Lord Jesus.”

Saint Francis Xavier, priest

Francisco Javier (1506-1552) youngest son of Juan de Jasso, counsellor to King John of Navarre, is named from his birthplace, Javier in Navarre, Spain. He studied in Paris with Ignatius of Loyola and with him co-founded the Society of Jesus, as one of the seven who took vows as a Jesuit in Montmartre (Paris) in 1534. From 1540 until his death he led an energetic mission into Asia, mainly in India and Ceylon, but also visiting Japan, Borneo, and other islands. It was his goal to one day bring the message of Christ to China, but he died prematurely in Portuguese Malacca and was buried in Goa, aged 46.