The lame can leap

Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Thus says the LORD:
Say to those whose hearts are frightened:
Be strong, fear not!
Here is your God,
he comes with vindication;
with divine recompense
he comes to save you.
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened,
the ears of the deaf be cleared;
then will the lame leap like a stag,
then the tongue of the mute will sing.
Streams will burst forth in the desert,
and rivers in the steppe.
The burning sands will become pools,
and the thirsty ground, springs of water.

Isaiah proclaims in our weekend readings "Here is your God, He comes with vindication; with divine recompense. He comes to save you."  Isaiah captures so beautifully the dual purpose of God's coming, the dual nature of his involvement in human life. God is both a truth-teller and a healer, a righteous judge and a loving Savior.

Then comes the good part: The work of healing and salvation. "Then will the eyes of the blind be opened," promises the prophet,  "the ears of the deaf cleared; then will the lame leap like a stag, then the tongue of the mute will sing." Once we have opened ourselves fully to God, and laid our lives before him in complete candor and honesty, then we find that the unexpected and life-giving healing comes. Our eyes are opened and our ears unstopped; suddenly, the lame can leap and the speechless can sing.