Dec
Tuesday, 02 December – Face-to-Face
02 Dec – Tuesday in the First Week of Advent
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Isaiah 11:1-10
a scion thrusts from his roots:
on him the spirit of the Lord rests,
a spirit of wisdom and insight,
a spirit of counsel and power,
a spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
(The fear of the Lord is his breath.)
He does not judge by appearances,
he gives no verdict on hearsay,
but judges the wretched with integrity,
and with equity gives a verdict for the poor of the land.
His word is a rod that strikes the ruthless,
his sentences bring death to the wicked.
faithfulness the belt about his hips.
The wolf lives with the lamb,
the panther lies down with the kid,
calf and lion feed together,
with a little boy to lead them.
The cow and the bear make friends,
their young lie down together.
The lion eats straw like the ox.
The infant plays over the cobra’s hole;
into the viper’s lair
the young child puts his hand.
They do no hurt, no harm,
on all my holy mountain,
for the country is filled with the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters swell the sea.
That day, the root of Jesse
shall stand as a signal to the peoples.
It will be sought out by the nations
and its home will be glorious.
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Luke 10:21-24
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No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
In Pope Benedict XVI’s book “Jesus of Nazareth”, he writes that Jesus’ teaching is not the product of human learning, of whatever kind. It originates from immediate contact with the Father, from ‘face-to-face’ dialogue – from the vision of the one who rests close to the Father’s heart. We know from the gospels that Jesus frequently retreats away from people and His ministry to go off to a quiet place where He could be alone and pray. What is Jesus doing when He prays, except to meet the Father in a ‘face-to-face’ dialogue? This is the source of Jesus’ authority and intimacy with the Father, and indeed, this is what Jesus was sent to do. It is also what grounded Jesus in His ministry, allowing Him to face all that He did.
In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah foretells the coming of one who would bring peace to the world. He speaks of Jesus, the Messiah. In the gospel reading, Luke tells us that the Father reveals His face to His children through the person of Jesus. The peace that Jesus has which Isaiah foretold is given to us through this ‘face-to-face’ encounter we have with God. It is this personal encounter with God that must govern all the missionary work that we do in our daily lives, for without it, we have no peace and no passion to spread the Good News.
Only Jesus, who is the Son of the Father, has seen the Lord face-to-face, and it is this glory that Jesus reveals to those who are close to Him. This is the mission of Jesus – to reveal the face of the Father reflected in Him to those who recognize that Jesus’ teaching does not come from human learning, but from immediate and intimate contact with the Father. Many of the Pharisees and the scribes of Jesus’ time rejected this, judging that Jesus’ teaching was pure presumption. They did so because they could not accept that Jesus had something they didn’t – the capacity to see and know God face-to-face.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Daniel Tay)
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Prayer: Dear Jesus, we ask to enter into an intimate relationship with you, and to know the Father whom You have revealed to those who are dear to you. Amen.
Thanksgiving: We give thanks to the Lord for making it possible for us to meet God face-to-face.
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Upcoming Readings:
Wed 03 Dec – 1 Cor 9:16-19; 22-23, Psalm 116, Mark 16:15-20; St Francis Xavier, priest, missionary OR Isaiah 25:6-10a; Psalm 23; Matthew 15:29-37
Thu 04 Dec – Isaiah 26:1-6; Psalm 118; Matthew 7:21. 24-27
Fri 05 Dec – Isaiah 29:17-24; Psalm 27; Matthew 9:27-31
Sat 06 Dec – Isaiah 30:19-21; Psalm 147; Matthew 9:35-10:1. 5a. 6-8, St Nicholas Bishop
Sun 07 Dec – Isaiah 40:1-5. 9-11; Psalm 85, 2 Peter 3:8-14, Mark 1:1-8; Second Sunday of Advent
