Readings: Isaiah 35:1-10; Psalm 85; Luke 5:17-26
In the first reading, we have an account of Isaiah’s vision of God restoring His people, changing their destiny and ending their sorrow and shame. This reminds us of God’s power to transform our lives and situation.
In the Gospel, Jesus demonstrates the wisdom and the power of God, the wisdom of God through His powerful teaching and the power of God in His healing. His teaching was so powerful that even the religious leaders and doctors of the Law came from all the villages in Galilee, Judea and Jerusalem to listen to Him.
In the presence of Jesus, the power of God was manifested in the forgiveness and the cure of a paralytic.
Dear friends, in the presence of Jesus, there is power. When we come before the Lord, whether at Mass, in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, when we pray with a community of believers whether physically or virtually, or just two or three of us coming together to pray and worship in His presence. Whichever way we have come, there is a mighty power in His presence.
To come to the presence of Jesus is to come into the presence of a healer, a saviour, a redeemer, a destiny changer, a way maker, a miracle worker, a joy-giver, a teacher of truth.
Whenever we come into the presence of the Lord, let us always come with faith and awareness of the One before whom we have come, let us come with expectation and reverence, no one comes to His presence properly and go back the same way, untouched and unchanged.
Sometimes He touches or changes us by His words, sometimes He removes the veils covering our eyes and mind, sometimes He takes away our worries, He wipes our tears, He breaks our yokes, He sets us free, He reassures us and calms our fears, He blesses us, sometimes He heals us miraculously as He did the paralytic and sometimes He leaves us saying “we have seen great things today.”
Sermon preached by Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Baraka Gukena Okami on December 7, 2020