Isaiah 2:1-5; Matthew 8:5-11Reflection by Sister Briana Elisabeth Craddock, OSB
Teacher, St. Philip School, St. Philip, Posey County, Indiana
I spent the majority of my childhood in Southern California in the San Fernando and Conejo Valleys. Both areas are surrounded by mountains, and I spent a lot of time looking at the mountains and climbing the hills that made up the cities of my childhood. Even now, as an adult, I feel both a sense of security and a sense of awe when I visit my family in California and see the mountains stretched out before me. In today’s first reading, Isaiah tells us that the “mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest mountain” and that “all nations shall stream toward it”. Mountains have an allure all their own, and as the “highest mountain”, the mountain of God would have a special attraction for most people. Unlike the mountains of Southern California, the purpose of God’s mountain is to be a place where people can go to receive instruction regarding ways to live justly and peaceably with one another. Perhaps the allure is not the height or the strength of the mountain, but the gifts God, who dwells on this mountain, can give to all of us. We seek peace. We seek healing. We seek justice. These are gifts that God provides. We just need to “stream toward God” as the nations stream toward the mountain.
What captivates me? Does it get in the way of what God can give to me? What am I seeking from God this Advent?
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