A Cure for the Wandering Heart

The Fourth Sunday in Advent – December 23, 2018

First Reading: Micah 5:1-4a

Psalm: Psalm 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19 (4)

Second Reading: Hebrews 10:5-10

Alleluia: Luke 1:38

Gospel: Luke 1:39-45

A Cure for the Wandering Heart

One of my favorite hymns is Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing by Robert Robinson.

It is a hymn of aspiration wanting God to provide a way to keep us close to Him and to guide us safely home while recognizing that it will be a daunting task because we have wandering hearts that have a hard time staying focused on God as our hearts desire. A portion of a verse below shows his struggle and his plea to God to provide a cure.

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love.
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it. Seal it for Thy courts above.

Today’s readings are about God’s cure for the wandering hearts in Israel and in us today in events leading up to the birth of His Son, our King and Shepherd, on Christmas Day.

The first reading is from the Book of the Prophet Micah where he has finished pronouncing judgement against Judah and its leaders for their wandering hearts and the sins it causes and is now declaring God’s plan for salvation for them in the form of a ruler who is origin is from of old, from ancient times.

I can imagine the Israelites saying, “How long, O Lord?” And the Lord says, “until the time when she who is to give birth has borne.” In other words, when Mary has borne her son, Jesus. 

And the rest of His kindred shall return to the children of Israel. The Catholic Haydock Commentary sees the rest of His kindred as possibly referring to the Inclusion of the Gentiles.

This new ruler will stand firm and shepherd His flock by the strength of the Lord, in the majestic name of the Lord, His God. In other words, with God’s power and authority.

The result of this king’s reign will be that His people will remain and no longer wander for His greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth and he shall reconcile them to God and be their peace. This prophecy encompasses the entire reign of Jesus from His first coming through His Second coming and on into eternity.

The selection from Psalm 80 seems to be embracing this Messianic prophecy using many of the same thoughts. We cry out in response Lord, make us turn to you; let us see Your face and we shall be saved. And they will see God’s face in Jesus.

The writer to the Hebrews in the second reading contrasts the old covenant with the new covenant in that God gives the Messiah, the Christ, a body to offer once for all in order to consecrate us to God. The characteristic of Christ and His new covenant is the declaration, “Behold, I come to do Your will.” Not our will but His, in accordance with the Our Father.

The Alleluia and the Gospel reading celebrate the trusting, consecrating obedience of Mary, the One who is to give birth, as she embraces God’s will for her life, setting aside her own to become the mother of Jesus, our Ruler and Shepherd.

What is the cure for the wandering heart? It is a path, following Jesus and Mary and all the Saints on pilgrimage to the Father’s house where we will find our hearts’ desire in its fullness.

The First Sunday in Advent – December 2, 2018

The First Sunday in Advent – December 2, 2018

First Reading: Jeremiah 33:14-16

Psalm: Psalm 25:4-5, 8-9, 10, 14 (1b)

Second Reading: 1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:2

Alleluia: Psalm 85:8

Gospel: Luke 21:25-28, 34-36

This Sunday marks the beginning of Advent, the period in which we prepare ourselves to celebrate the first coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ at Christmas.  It is a time of identification, remembrance and preparation.  

Identification because as the Catechism says we are seeking through the liturgical calendar, through the holy days, through the liturgy, through prayerful meditation on the Scriptures to travel back in time and relive the Biblical and historical events with the people who went through them.

Remembrance because often we forget who God is, who we are and what His plans are for us.  We have forgotten our destination in the tyranny of the present.  And so the cycles of the liturgical years call us back to remembrance, to get our bearings once again and to remember what is really important, our eternal relationship with our Creator and Destiny, the God who loves us and gave Himself for us.

Preparation because not only do we need to get ready to properly celebrate the first coming of Jesus at Christmas but we also need to get ourselves ready for His second coming which is now over 2,000 years closer than it was at the birth of Jesus in the manger.

And these things are what today’s readings are about.

The first reading from the Book of Jeremiah which was written to give the Israelites hope in the midst of the judgments and exile that were coming upon them because what was right and just weren’t what had been happening in Israel.  And so the Lord speaking through Jeremiah reassures the people of Israel and Judah that His promise of a Messiah is still going to come true for them in spite of their unfaithfulness.

This prophecy looks forward to both the first and second comings of Jesus.  Jesus came the first time in the incarnation as our Savior but His people by and large weren’t ready, they missed the day of their visitation.  And so even though the Messiah came, the people weren’t ready so Judah could be made safe and Jerusalem secure.  They weren’t ready for righteous and justice to be established in their land by their King.  A second coming is necessary.  The first coming was an introduction, Behold your King, Behold the Lamb of God who take away the sins of the world.  The Second Coming is when Jesus will come as a conquering king to establish righteousness and justice so that Judah will be safe and Jerusalem secure.

The Psalm for today reveals the character of our King who guides and instructs the open, trusting and teachable ones in gentleness and kindness.  They are the ones who will be ready for the day of their visitation.

The Thessalonians are doing well as the Apostle Paul writes to them in the second reading.  They are abundant in love towards one another and all.  They have been receptive to the instructions and spiritual direction provided by Saint Paul and his companions.  They are conducting themselves in manner pleasing to God.  But the Apostle Paul who is familiar with his own human frailty and theirs isn’t about to become complacent and so he prays fervently for them.  There is more that God wants to pour out in their lives.  He wants them to be ready for the second coming which he mentions in this passage.

Jesus in the Gospel reading exhorts His disciples and us to be ready for His second coming and for the tribulations leading up to it.  We need to maintain our vigilance and pray and conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel.  Jesus and Paul understand our weakness and the temptations that beckon us to turn aside from the salvation God has planned for us.

Jesus has done everything and is doing everything He can to lead us to heaven, to the Father’s house.  This Advent is another invitation to draw near to Him, to identify, to remember, to prepare for what He has for us in the future.