Friday of the First Week of Advent
Isaiah today: “And out of gloom and darkness, the eyes of the blind shall see.”
“The lowly will ever find joy in the LORD.”
In the gospel, Jesus encounters two blind men—Have pity on us, Son of David. They did not need to ask Jesus to do anything, he knew what they longed for—to be able to see. Elsewhere in the gospels, Jesus encounters blind men in similar stories. They cry out to him “Have pity on us.” Have mercy on us. In two of those accounts Jesus asks the question: “what do you want me to do for you?” Lord, that I might see. They knew who he was. They knew he could heal them. They did not hesitate. In each case Jesus gave them the gift of sight.
The eyes of the blind shall see. In our quiet moments, at prayer, do we hear Jesus ask us that same question “what do you want me to do for you?” When we hear it, how do we respond? This too is a good Advent reflection – what is it we await? What do we need the Lord who comes to do for us? How do we experience our need this year? In the Our Father we pray, “give us this day our daily bread.” What is the bread we need? How do we welcome the Lord Jesus to assist us on our journey?
As Psalm 25 invites us, “To you O Lord, I lift up my soul. We lift up our hearts to the Lord.” We ask that he open our eyes, our hearts, our minds. Come Lord Jesus.
Reflection by Fr. Peter Ullrich, OSB
Posted in Articles for Advent, Articles for Advent, Daily Reflections