Wednesday of the 1st week of Advent
Saint John Damascene, Priest, Doctor
Gospel – Matthew 15:29-37
“they praised the God of Israel”. Advent is the seeing the working of God in us, around us and praising the Lord”. By incarnation God is our midst and He is taking care of the lame, the crippled, the blind, the dumb and many others. And the people were astonished and praising the God of Israel. Again, Jesus sees the needs of the people. “I feel sorry for all these people. They have been with me for three days now and have nothing to eat”. He finds a solution from what they had. From seven loaves he fed the whole crowd. God is living in our midst. The miracles, like the feeding of the crowd, are not only acts of compassion but signs of God’s presence and provision. They call us to trust and commit ourselves fully to Him. Here we need more than astonishment and praising. Here we need a real and deeper relationship with God who is in our midst. This relationship is believing in Jesus as Savior. This is going beyond the circumstantial relationship to a discipleship. This is making Jesus the center of our life. Advent challenges us to center our lives on Jesus, allowing Him to shape our actions, decisions, and priorities. Let’s reflect: How can you move from simply being astonished by God’s works to building a deeper, transformative relationship with Jesus, making Him the center of your life in this Advent season?
Don Giorgio