Category: Bible Reading & Meditation
“Comfort, give comfort to My people, says your God.” –Isaiah 40:1 The Lord commanded His heavenly court to give comfort to His people on earth. This “comfort” does not mean feeling good and indulging in “creature comforts,” but being freed from slavery to a pleasure-seeking lifestyle (see Is 40:2). God’s comfort is not an exterior gratification of the senses but an interior freedom from sin and guilt (Is 40:2). An angel obeyed God’s command to comfort His people by crying out: “Earthquake!” (That is probably what is meant by the reference to filling in the valleys and laying low the...
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“John the Baptizer made his appearance as a preacher in the desert of Judea.” –Matthew 3:1 Today the Church introduces us to a crusty character named St. John the Baptizer. He dressed in a garment of camel’s hair (Mt 3:4). If you know anything about the revolting habits of camels, you understand why you wouldn’t want to cut their hair. John not only dressed oddly but also ate strangely. He’d snatch up a grasshopper and dip it in some honey as we would dip a potato chip or a chicken nugget. Then he’d munch on the grasshopper (Mt 3:4). John...
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“John the Baptizer made his appearance as a preacher in the desert of Judea.” —Matthew 3:1 Today the Church introduces us to a crusty character named St. John the Baptizer. He dressed in a garment of camel’s hair (Mt 3:4). If you know anything about the revolting habits of camels, you understand why you wouldn’t want to cut their hair. John not only dressed oddly but also ate strangely. He’d snatch up a grasshopper and dip it in some honey as we would dip a potato chip or a chicken nugget. Then he’d munch on the grasshopper (Mt 3:4). John...
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Jesus “touched their eyes and said, ‘Because of your faith it shall be done to you’; and they recovered their sight.” —Matthew 9:29-30 The Church prepares us for Christ’s Christmas coming by proclaiming Jesus healing the blind (see Is 29:18; 35:5). This applies not only to the physically blind, but especially to the spiritually blind, who have been blinded by the darkness of sin (see 1 Jn 2:11) and “the god of the present age” (see 2 Cor 4:4). The cause of spiritual blindness is sin, and we are freed from spiritual blindness by repentance. When we sin, it is...
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“Trust in the Lord forever!” —Isaiah 26:4 Advent is a time to prepare our hearts for the coming of Jesus at Christmas. Just as a mother has nine months to prepare her home for the arrival of her baby, so we have four weeks to prepare the way of the Lord in our life. It’s easy to give Jesus only lip-service, and not life-service (see Mk 7:6-7). A litmus test for our hearts is to compare our lifestyle and our actions against the Word of God: 1) Are you keeping God’s commandments? Jesus says: “If you love Me, keep My...
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