The Holy Highway of Advent and Every Day

Second Week of Advent – Monday

Isaiah 35:1-10 / Psalm 85:9ab and 10, 11-12, 13-14 / Luke   5:17-26

The Holy Highway of Advent and Every Day

Isaiah’s vision of all things weak made strong, all things barren in bloom, all infirmities healed is one that is ever at the outer limits of our reach. Technology progresses and cures are found while at the same time side-effects abound, setbacks are suffered, and we realize that despite all the advances of society, we are yet forced to admit that there is so much about us that is much the same as it ever was generations ago. We are still dealing with human beings in need of healing, in need of redemption. 

And so we need to read Isaiah’s vision again and again – not as a reminder of how the more things change, the more they remain the same; but as a reminder that Isaiah’s vision is a reality on that ever-receding horizon that is always ahead of us.

There are so many powerful images of reversal in Isaiah 35:1-10 that we might miss the image of the highway Isaiah speaks of. This highway is called the holy way; it is a road for Advent people, for people who are on a journey toward holiness.

If we immerse ourselves in Isaiah 35 and look at the images the reading presents, we might be tempted to think we have made it. But Isaiah’s image of the highway reminds us that the goal is still ahead. Contemplating these images is not unlike the experience of Robert Frost’s winter traveler stopping by his neighbor’s woods:

            The woods are lovely, dark and deep,

            But I have promises to keep,

            And miles to go before I sleep,

            And miles to go before I sleep.

We can be lured in easily by the loveliness of the poetic reversals depicted by Isaiah, but when we are immersed in the world we risk becoming disillusioned at the realization that these words spoken over 2700 years ago have yet to be fully experienced. 

Perhaps the reason why Isaiah speaks about feeble hands being strengthened and weak knees being made firm is because we need them to walk along the way that leads to fulfillment of this prophecy. “Be strong!” says the prophet, you have a journey ahead. “And miles to go before we sleep.”

In the gospel today, Jesus says to the lame man, “Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.”   We are on a journey, a journey home, where there is forgiveness of sins. Our guide is the Savior we await at Christmas, and who comes to us even this day.

• Recall a journey you made, by foot, by car, by plane, train, or however; a journey that was frustratingly long. How do you feel as you consider this memory? Do you see any connection with your own long journey of faith and spiritual growth in Christ? In your prayer, speak to Christ about the challenges.