Journey toward the Banquet on the Holy Mountain of the Lord to Come – From Sunday to Wednesday of the First Week of Advent, 2021

Now we are already halfway through the First Week of Advent this liturgical year. How is your Advent preparation to welcome the incarnated Christ to your heart so far?  Are you vigilant all the time so that you won’t miss the signs of his coming, while working on the preparation diligently, as reminded by the Gospel Reading of the First Sunday of Advent, Cycle C, Luke 21:25-28, 34-36? Remember, what we are preparing for during Advent Season will lead us to enjoy salvific benefits of the fulfillment of God’s promise to bring the Lord of justice, a just shoot raised up from the Davidic royal lineage, as prophetically envisioned in the First Reading of the First Sunday of Advent, Cycle C, Jeremiah 33:14-16. 

The Lord of justice, a just shoot raised out of the Davidic royal line (Jeremiah 33:14-16) shall dwell in the House of the Lord established on the Mount Zion, where the faithful from all nations gather to worship as one, as in the prophetic vision from the First Reading of Monday of the First Week of Advent, Cycle I, Isaiah 2:5-1. And Jesus himself has affirmed this in this statement to a faithful Roman centurion, “Many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 8:11), from the First Reading of Monday of the First Week of Advent, Cycle I, (Matthew 8:5-11).

The Lord of justice, a shoot sprung up from the Davidic royal lineage (Jeremiah 33:14-16), residing in the House of the Lord on the Mount Zion (Isaiah 2:1-5) is, indeed, a shoot sprout from the stump of Jesse, the father of David, to blossom, as the Spirit of the Lord, namely, the Holy Spirit, is upon him, endowing him with the gifts of the Spirit, primarily wisdom, which leads to the gift of understanding, and so forth, for justice, as reflected in the First Reading of Tuesday of the First Week of Advent, Cycle I, Isaiah 11:1-10.  And the Gospel Reading of Tuesday of the First Week of Advent, Cycle I, Luke 10:21-24, the incarnated Christ in Jesus fulfills the shoot sprout from the stomp of Jesse, blossoming with the gifts of Holy Spirit (Isaiah 11:1-10), who is the shoot sprung up from the Davidic royal lineage (Jeremiah 33:14-16).

In fact, Christ has been wisdom ever since the time before the Creation, ever since the pre-incarnation period (i.e. Proverbs 8:22–31).  Therefore, in the Gospel Reading of Tuesday of the First Week of Advent (Luke 10:21-24),  the wisdom hidden from those who are proud of their own human wisdom but revealed to anawim , whose who are poor and humble and righteous in God’s eyes, means Christ, incarnated in the human flesh of anav , named Jesus (Luke 10:21-22). And those whose faith makes them worthy to be Christ’s disciples are blessed to be able to see this wisdom, hidden from the faithless but revealed to the faithful (Luke 10:22-24).

So, on Wednesday of the First Week of Advent, Cycle I, in its First Reading (Isaiah 25:6-10a),  Christ, whose coming in incarnation, is not only the Lord of justice, a just shoot raised out of the Davidic royal line (Jeremiah 33:14-16),  the one who resides in the House of the Lord on the Mount Zion (Isaiah 2:1-5), and the blossoming with the wisdom and other gifts of the Holy Spirit, sprout from the stomp of Jesse, the father of David (Isaiah 11:1-10), but also the Lord of hosts, who provide for anawim, treating them to a splendid banquet, upon removing what divides us and restoring our wholeness, taking place on the holy mountain of the Lord, the Mount Zion. This image is reflected as the splendor of God’s restoration for joy in Isaiah 35:1-10. And, the Gospel Reading of Wednesday of the First Week of Advent, Cycle I, Matthew 15:29-37, which describes Jesus restoring people to their health and feeding four thousand hungry people on the mountain in Galilee, reflecting the healing and banquet on the holy mountain of the Lord, the Mount Zion, hosted by the shoot out of the root of Jesse, the just shoot out of the Davidic royal lineage.  And, the banquet on the holy mountain of the Lord, Christ, is eschatologically envisioned in the heavenly wedding banquet at the nuptial union of Christ, the Lamb of God, to the Church (Revelation 19:6-9).

So, stay tuned as we further advance on our Advent journey, as we continue to remain vigilant for the signs of the coming of the incarnated Christ, in reading the scriptures for this Advent Season.  We will see more and more of the Christ, who has been already incarnated since the Annunciation but still hidden in the womb of Mary.