“On that day, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom.…”
When a tree is cut down, it seems to be the end of it. But sometimes, impossibly, a tiny green spark of life peeks up from that stump, turns into a shoot, and then, improbably, a renewed life, a blossom. That’s the vision Isaiah wants to offer us in today’s readings. And more: Natural enemies living contentedly beside each other. Wolves and lambs resting next to each other. Babies playing by a cobra’s den and a little child shepherding not only calves but young lions. It’s a vision of peace and life and a renewal, which Isaiah offers to us as we begin Advent. It’s a hope offered by a prophet that is fulfilled with the birth of Jesus.
We will hear from Isaiah for the first two weeks of Advent, when the focus will be on the first reading.
Part of the message of Isaiah is that nothing is impossible with God. Enemies are at peace. There will be “no harm or ruin” on the earth. We are offered hope, even as we feel like “a people who walks in darkness.”
This Advent we are being offered a time of preparing our hearts for Christmas and for the hope and love God so wants to give us. But we often hesitate to enter in. We are busy, and it can be hard to sit in silence when we don’t exactly know what to say. But the good news is that today is the day we can begin. It’s simple. We know how unworthy we are in our hearts. How difficult we can be. How much we want our own way. Impatience with our families and selfishness with so many.
Here is the impossible, joyful news. God already knows exactly who we are and how we live our lives. We may think we are undeserving, but it simply doesn’t matter. God already loves us more than we can imagine. These weeks of Advent are a time to simply whisper in a quiet moment, “Thank you. My heart wants to welcome you, but I don’t know where to start. Help me to enter into Advent.”
That’s it. We have made the first step and God’s delight at our overture must ring out in the heavens, with joy and an impossible, unexpected love for us. Every day this month as we simply ask God to come to us, we are opening our hearts in new and deeper ways and God is rejoicing.
Today we remember St. Francis Xavier, one of the first Jesuits whose deep faith, enthusiasm and joy for the word of God helped him to spread the Good News around the world. In the most uncomfortable and unfamiliar places, his deep faith brought happiness to countless people. May this Advent take us to unfamiliar places in our hearts and share in the joy of his faith.
Loving God, give me the quiet and peace in my heart that helps me to hear and feel your great love for me. Open my ears to those you place in my life, and help me to believe in the impossible promises of Isaiah and of your great, unimaginable and personal love for me.
Maureen McCann Waldron
The most important part of my life is my family – Jim my husband of 47 years and our two children. Our daughter Katy, a banker here in Omaha, and her husband John, have three wonderful children: Charlotte, Daniel and Elizabeth Grace. Our son Jack and his wife, Ellie, have added to our joy with their sons, Peter and Joseph.
I think family life is an incredible way to find God, even in (or maybe I should say, especially in) the most frustrating or mundane moments.
I am a native of the East Coast after graduating in 1971 from Archbishop John Carroll High School in suburban Philadelphia. I graduated from Creighton University in 1975 with a degree in Journalism and spent most of the next 20 years in corporate public relations in Omaha. I returned to Creighton in the 1990s and completed a master’s degree in Christian Spirituality in 1998.
As our children were growing up, my favorite times were always family dinners at home when the four of us would talk about our days. But now that our kids are gone from home, my husband and I have rediscovered how nice it is to have a quiet dinner together. I also have a special place in my heart for family vacations when the kids were little and four of us were away from home together. It’s a joy to be with my growing family.
Writing a Daily Reflection is always a graced moment, because only with God’s help could I ever write one. I know my own life is hectic, disjointed and imperfect and I know most of us have lives like that. I usually write from that point of view and I always seem to find some sentence, some word in the readings that speaks right to me, in all of my imperfection. I hope that whatever I write is in some way supportive of others.
It’s an incredibly humbling experience to hear from someone who was touched by something I wrote. Whether the note is from someone across campus or across the world, it makes me realize how connected we are all in our longing to grow closer to God.
