On that day the deaf shall hear
the words of a book;
And out of gloom and darkness,
the eyes of the blind shall see.
The lowly will ever find joy in the LORD,
and the poor rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
Everyone, I suppose, has some notion of what heaven and the Kingdom of God must be like. We hear of angels, saints with halos, and streets of gold. Personally I've dreamed of a good bicycle with impenetrable tires and an inexhaustible credit card.
The scriptures give us rather different scenarios, as in today's passages from Isaiah and Saint Matthew. There we hear of the deaf hearing, the blind seeing, and the impoverished rejoicing in the Lord. These are the things we should expect to find in heaven. As one who remembers having no running water in the house, has always worn glasses, and never heard well, these readings speak to me. They call me back to basics.
They also remind me that, "There are more things in heaven and earth... than are dreamt of in your philosophy." as Hamlet said to his friend Horatio.
Recently, when I recite "Our Father who art in heaven" I wonder at the majesty those words suggest. No one was surprised when Yuri Gagarin reported that he found "neither angels nor God" when he reached the edge of space. (Apparently he said nothing like that; his atheistic bosses misquoted him.) American school children, of course, knew in the 1950's about the spherical earth, our thin envelope of atmosphere, and immeasurable space.
But still we stand in wonder at the enormous breadth, length, height, and depth of God's glory. To our endless delight, it is far beyond human imagination. And, frankly, like the blind men in Matthew's gospel, we can't stop talking about it.
Having set into Advent with its promised and glorious destination, let us be disciplined by the Word of God, talk about that, and not be distracted by the world's cacophony.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.