A Glimpse into the Heart of God
In this Sunday’s First Reading (Isaiah 35:1-6) the prophet consoles the anxious of heart with the words, “Be strong, fear not! Behold your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.” Then he proceeds in describing the new order when the Messiah comes, “The eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing for joy.”
We see this fulfilled in the Gospel (Matthew 11:2-11). In prison, John the Baptist hears about the wonderful works of Jesus and so he sent his disciples to the Lord to ask if he was indeed the awaited Savior. Jesus answers, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight; the lame walk; lepers are cleansed; the deaf hear; the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. Blessed is he who takes no offense at me.”
To what does this answer point out? That Jesus, by his deeds, is proven to be the Son of God. His works testify about who he is, for only God can perform his mighty and compassionate deeds. Only God can produce miracles; believers who do the same do so only by the power of God.
By his nature Jesus showed us who our Father in heaven is. He is a father whose goodness is beyond compare, eagerly waiting to give good things to his children. He does not delight to see his children sick, poor and dying – all of these are evil consequences of man’s fall, of his disobedience that began after succumbing to the serpent’s temptation. The fact is that God’s love for us burns in his heart, so much so that he wanted to rescue us from all the works of darkness. He gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). St. Paul, pondering on this, adds, “He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else?” (Romans 8:32).
The Bible cannot be clearer – the devil comes only to steal, kill and destroy, but Jesus came to give us life and have it abundantly (John 10:10). God is not glorified by sickness, death and poverty, but by healing and by providing for the needs of his children.
This Advent may we be inspired to have a fresher image of our God— of a loving God who is for us, and not against us. Truly, our God is not a distant God who cares less for his children, but a God who in his love decided to immerse in our humanity. In Christmas he became our Immanuel – the “God who is with us.”