“No more will you weep,” says the Lord God in today’s reading from Isaiah, Chapter 30. What welcome words as we near the end of a very difficult year. Let’s place ourselves within this reading, as well as today’s gospel.

Both unfold similarly, drawing us along. They begin with the Lord taking notice of our illnesses and troubled hearts. Moved by a heart full of pity, the Lord offers us comfort and healing. He reassures us that he will provide for our needs. “He will be most gracious to you when you cry out, as soon as he hears he will answer you” (Isaiah 30:19).

Then the readings shift into a sort of pep talk in which the Lord rekindles our hope and sense of purpose. God reminds us that he’s here to show us the way and to accompany us should we become stuck. The Teacher reveals himself and says, “This is the way; walk in it” (Isaiah 30:21).

Jesus models what we are to do by going around to all the towns and villages “proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom and curing every disease and illness” (Matthew 9:35). He points to the abundant harvest and essentially tells us, “You’ve got this.”

Therefore, this Advent season let us, as Pope Francis writes in Fratelli Tutti, “seek out others and embrace the world as it is, without fear of pain or a sense of inadequacy, because there we will discover all the goodness that God has planted in human hearts. Difficulties that seem overwhelming are opportunities for growth, not excuses for a glum resignation that can only lead to acquiescence” (78).