SAINT LUCY, VIRGIN AND MARTYR (MEMORIAL)

The Lord is the eternal God.

We’ve all likely caught glimpses of God’s great power. Maybe we looked at the starry heavens on a clear night or watched ocean breakers surge onto the shore. We might have witnessed long-estranged brothers embrace or gazed at a newborn baby. In today’s first reading, Isaiah contemplates the immensity of the One “who has created these things” (Isaiah 40:26), and he comes to an unexpected conclusion: “He gives strength to the fainting; for the weak he makes vigor abound” (40:29).

Encountering our Creator’s immensity might naturally make us feel that he is aloof and far removed from our lives. After all, “His knowledge is beyond scrutiny” (Isaiah 40:28). But Isaiah reminds us that because our Lord is the eternal God, he can see our past, present, and future at once. So his knowledge includes everything about us.

This is wonderful news! Even when we feel hidden and disregarded, we are infinitely precious to our God. He knows us inside and out, and he never tires of listening to our thoughts and prayers, our desires and disappointments. No matter how weak we feel, he delights in encouraging us.

Perhaps at this point in Advent, you are feeling worried or weary. In the hustle and bustle, what have you forgotten to plan or do? How will you get through this first Christmas without a departed loved one? How can you keep those prickly relatives from offending each other during Christmas dinner?

Your loving Father knows all your concerns. He has the resources to take care of everything. That’s all part of his glorious magnificence. But right now, he’s asking you to lay down your burdens at his feet and let him, the eternal God, strengthen and comfort you.

God’s loving invitation echoes in Jesus’ simple words from today’s Gospel: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). That’s his call to you today. The Lord of the universe is your personal friend. Draw near and let him love you, renew your strength, and give you just what you need to soar on eagles’ wings (Isaiah 40:31).

“Almighty and eternal God, thank you for loving me so tenderly.”

Isaiah 40:25-31
Psalm 103:1-4, 8, 10
Matthew 11:28-30