Repent and be renewed in the Spirit

THE WORD IN ADVENT - Second Wednesday

December 11, 2019: Isaiah 40: 25-31; Matthew 11: 28-30

There's a legend said of the eagles, that they have 70 years of life! But to reach that seventy they have a decisive phase to go through... in their 40s, they say, their talons lose their flexibility and become useless, their beaks become bent and unable to pick any prey. They become weak and malnourished because their prowess is all blunt, with such talons and beaks. What do they do? That is where the beauty lies - they go to a high mountain by themselves pluck out their talons one by one and break their beaks down against the rocks, and wait till they grow back; when the new talons grow they pluck every feather and wait... wait till the new ones grow... with new feathers, new sharp talons and new strong beak, they take off, for a new lease of life! A new life, a renewed life!

What an imagery for the season of advent... to wait on the Lord! Waiting here is not a passive waiting, it is an active renewal, as we said of the eagle... repenting of our ways to put on new life! And those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles! The readings today are profusely filled with hope, a hope that comes from the abundance of love that the Lord has for us! 

It is strengthened by that love, that we can run but still not get weary; even if we are weary, the Lord again invites us, come to me all who are weary, for I shall give you rest. When we feel burdened and stressed, let us picture before our eyes, the Lord with his open arms, like the open wings of the eagle...inviting us into God's love, into God's protection, into God's peaceful presence!

Let us accept this invitation in this season of wait, to Repent and be renewed in the Spirit!