In today's first reading, Isaiah 29: 17-24, Isaiah prophesies about a time when "the deaf shall hear the words of a book; and out of gloom and darkness, the eyes of the blind will 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."
On that day, the humble, those alert to do good, those who are ready to forgive, those who show mercy to others, those who support justice and do not set snares to bring down the just "shall have nothing to be ashamed of, nor shall [their faces] grow pale. [Those who] see the work of...[God's] hand in [their] midst, they shall keep my name holy; they shall reverence the Holy One of Jacob, and be in awe of the God of Israel."
As I listen to the news each evening, I often hear about evil being perpetrated by "the tyrant," by those "alert to do evil," and by "those whose mere word condemns a man [and those] who ensnare [a] defender at the gate and leave the just [person] with an empty claim." I pray that our Savior comes to all of us, transforming our hearts of stone to human hearts, whereby we become alert to doing good, to supporting justice, to removing "booby traps," and to referencing the Lord, our God!
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