Bible Diary

Daily Reading

Friday of the First Week in Advent

LECTIONARY
179

FIRST READING

IS 29:17-24

Thus says the Lord GOD:
But a very little while,
and Lebanon shall be changed into an orchard,
and the orchard be regarded as a forest!
On that day the deaf shall hear
the words of a book;
And out of gloom and darkness,
the eyes of the blind shall see.
The lowly will ever find joy in the LORD,
and the poor rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
For the tyrant will be no more
and the arrogant will have gone;
All who are alert to do evil will be cut off,
those whose mere word condemns a man,
Who ensnare his defender at the gate,
and leave the just man with an empty claim.
Therefore thus says the LORD,
the God of the house of Jacob,
who redeemed Abraham:
Now Jacob shall have nothing to be ashamed of,
nor shall his face grow pale.
When his children see
the work of my hands in his midst,
They shall keep my name holy;
they shall reverence the Holy One of Jacob,
and be in awe of the God of Israel.
Those who err in spirit shall acquire understanding,
and those who find fault shall receive instruction.

PSALM

PS 27:1, 4, 13-14

Response: The Lord is my light and my salvation.

The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life’s refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?

One thing I ask of the LORD;
this I seek:
To dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
That I may gaze on the loveliness of the LORD
and contemplate his temple.

I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.

GOSPEL

MT 9:27-31

As Jesus passed by, two blind men followed him, crying out,
“Son of David, have pity on us!”
When he entered the house,
the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them,
“Do you believe that I can do this?”
“Yes, Lord,” they said to him.
Then he touched their eyes and said,
“Let it be done for you according to your faith.”
And their eyes were opened.
Jesus warned them sternly,
“See that no one knows about this.”
But they went out and spread word of him through all that land.

Daily Reflection

In today's Gospel, Jesus walks the streets of Capernaum while two blind men follow him shouting, "Have mercy on us, son of David!" Stumbling along in personal darkness, each of them had only one thing in mind - healing.

A lot is left to the imagination as to how the two men succeeded in navigating the streets, let alone following Jesus into a house. Finally they met him in the quiet of a house, where they had been invited inside. It was there that Jesus asked them a critical question. "Do you believe I am able to do this?" What a question! No longer were they dealing with another's situation but their own. Others had been healed, but what about them? What to say? Their answer was not just "Yes but "Yes, Lord." They not only believed in Him as God, they believed He could do Godly things. They couldn't see Him; they couldn't even see the miracles he'd performed; yet they believed.

Do I believe in the same way?