Friday, December 4, 2015

1st Week of Advent, Saturday, 05-12-15

Isaiah 30:19-21, 23-26 / Matthew 9:35 - 10:1, 6-8

There will be times when we will inevitably think that God punishes us when we sin.

How else can we explain a string of unfortunate events that happened when we did something wrong and have yet to admit it and confess it.

Could it be that God sends us some spiritual lashes so as to wake us up to our own sins and be repentant?

To think of God as a punishing God is abhorrent  indeed because we believe that God is love.

Yet, we are not wrong to say that God will discipline His people so that they will walk in His ways.

This we can see in the 1st reading, especially in the last line of the passage - On that day the Lord dresses the wound of His people and heals the bruises His blows have left.

Yes, God disciplines His people and yet God also dotes on His people with care and compassion.

It was the same care and compassion that Jesus showed when He saw the crowds and felt sorry for them because they were harassed and dejected.

Advent is also a time to enter into the silence of God's care and compassion so that in turn we will show care and compassion for the harassed and the dejected that we see around us.