WHAT WOULD YOU
LIKE TO SEE?
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily for this First Tuesday in Advent is from today’s gospel, “What would you like
to see?”
In this gospel text from Luke, Jesus turns to his
disciples in private and says, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For
I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not
see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.” [Cf. Luke 10: 23-24.]
What would you like to see?
We often watch the evening news from Baltimore at 10 PM
on WBAL. It regularly begins with two
murders and one fire. I would like to see instead news about a new park - and
hear about a night without murders and fires.
I would like to see news about a new vaccine for
overcoming cancer.
I would like to see the Koch Brothers or other big donors
giving money to double teacher’s salaries in poor neighborhoods rather than
that money being given to political parties.
I would like to see that the Catholic Church make some of
these possible changes in the annulment process and divorces that Pope Francis
talked about.
I would like to see an end to abortion and more people
who have had abortions giving those children for adoption.
WHAT ISAIAH SAW
In today’s first reading from Isaiah 11: 1-16 we have some of the great visions that Isaiah saw.
He saw a stump - the remains of a sawed down tree - but he saw a shoot coming out of that stump
and blossoming. What looked dead is not
dead.
Two people looked at the ground. One saw a stump; the
other saw a shoot.
Isaiah saw the Spirit of
God coming down on people who seemed dead. Instead out came a spirit of
counsel and of strength, a Spirit of
knowledge and of fear of the Lord .
He saw people not judging by appearance or hearsay.
He saw Justice arising.
Then his imagination takes over and he says he see the
wolf being the guest of the Lamb, the leopard lying down with the kid, the calf
and the young lion browsing together.
THE PEACABLE
KINGDOM
It’s the vision of the Peaceable Kingdom painted from
Isaiah’s words - by Edward Hicks. He did 62 versions of that scene.
I’d like to see one of those check off lists - like
people have for all the Major League Ball Parks - and in time people would
travel to get to be in at many as possible - so I’d like to see lists for all
the Edward Hicks paintings of the Peaceable Kingdom - and people would try to
get to see as many as possible.
How about having the same idea - having lists for all the
National Parks etc.
CONCLUSION
Today make lists of what you would like to see.
For family, for beauty, for the world, for this parish,
for this Christmas.
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