The Flowers, their Promise and their Fulfillment – Sermon by Father Levine

Fr. Joseph Levine; Holy Family Catholic Church and Missions, Burns, Oregon; December 14, 2025

The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom. They will bloom with abundant flowers, and rejoice with joyful song.

Now, here in Harney County we love our desert and, in the springtime, when everything is green and the flowers are blooming it is stunning indeed, but we also know how fragile it all is and how precious is the water that brings life. Wouldn’t our ranchers just love it if it were just a tad bit warmer in the winter, just a tad bit cooler in the summer, and just a tad bit wetter all year around, so that green pastures were abundant for a longer period of time.

In biblical language, however, the desert speaks of the absence of life. There is another passage in Isaiah, related to today’s prophecy, in which we read, when the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the desert becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field a forest. (Is 32:15) Notice, how there is a progressive upgrading from the lifeless desert, to the fruitful field, to the abundant forest, reminiscent of Eden, in which there grew every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden. (Gen 2:9) The same passage in Isaiah continues, Then right will dwell in the desert, and justice abide in the fruitful field. And the effect of justice will be peace, right will produce calm and security. My people will dwell in peaceful country, in secure dwellings and quiet resting places. (Is 32:16-18) Here we see that the desert, the fruitful field, and the forest have become metaphors for the human life, both the interior life of the soul and the life of the people together in community. The flourishing life of peace the community is the fruit of the flourishing of justice in interior life of souls; justice in the soul is the right order in the soul that comes from God by way of faith and the gift of sanctifying grace.

Flowers blooming in the desert are a promise of fruit; following the metaphor, the blooming flowers speak of the desert becoming a fruitful field and the fruitful field a forest; in the Gospel, then, the miracles of Jesus, the blind gaining their sight, the lame walking, the lepers that are cleansed, the deaf hearing, and the dead raised, are all “flowers” in the desert; the “good news” that these flowers proclaim to the poor is the promise of the fruitful field, which is the flourishing of the Christian soul, which are in turn “flowers” promising the Edenic forest of eternal life. In the miracles of Jesus, the glory of the Lord is revealed, but revealed as “flowers”, promising salvation. Those who want just the “flowers” will take offense at Jesus because they do not want to move from the “flowers” to the fulfillment of the promise.

Strengthen the hands that are feeble, make firm the knees that are weak, say to those whose heart is frightened: “Be strong, fear not!”

We work with our hands and so hands, in the Scripture, are often used as metaphors for the works of our soul, good or evil. “Feeble hands” speak of souls that are inconstant in doing good. The feeble soul is not the soul sold to evil, but the soul that is well-meaning, but weak and often fails in doing good. She will do a good work here and there but then fall back into her habitual lassitude.

Knees are needed for walking the path, and in Scripture, walking the path is a frequent metaphor for the pilgrim path of this life to the eternal goal, the heavenly Jerusalem. Those with weak knees, then, the spiritually lame, desire weakly to follow that pilgrim path but make little progress and easily give into discouragement, verging on despair. Their purpose lacks firmness.

Feeble hands and weak knees both result from a timid heart and the heart is timid because of its lack of trust in God; the timid heart questions, “Does God really care for me? Will he really provide for what I need? Will he perhaps abandon and leave me at the critical moment? I am afraid that the trials and the suffering will be too great for me.”

In his first coming, in the lowliness of the flesh, Christ makes the desert to bloom and the flowers bring hope, hope is the source of trust. When Christ came in the lowliness of the flesh, he assured us by his flesh, by his Cross, that indeed God so loved the world that he gave his only Son (Jn 3:16); he assured us, by his flesh, by his Cross, by his Resurrection, that he has gone to prepare a place for us in the Father’s house (cf. Jn 14:2); he has assured us, by his flesh, the same flesh that we receive in holy communion, that in everything God works for the good with those who love him (Rm 8:28), for if God is for us, who is against us? (Rm 8:31) And the proof that God is for us, is that he did not spare his only Son, though he did spare Abraham’s only son. (cf. Rm 32; Gen 22:1-14) This is the good news that Christ proclaims to the poor, not just those who are lacking in the necessities of this world, but those who are lacking in the resources needed for eternal salvation, which is the whole human race without Christ.

All this rests upon faith. Without faith we are deaf to the word of God; faith makes the deaf to hear. With faith, living faith, we hear the word of God, hearing we believe, believing we understand, understanding we do. Without faith, we are blind to presence and action of God in our life; faith makes the blind to see. With faith, living faith, we begin to recognize the reality of the mystery, that Jesus Christ is truly the eternal Son of God, made man for our salvation, that he is truly present in the Holy Eucharist, truly at work in his sacraments and in his Church; so also we begin to recognize his presence and activity in the persons and events in our lives. We begin to see that indeed our God has come to save us. Lord, increase our faith! (Lk 17:5)

In this faith we are anchored in the truth, anchored in reality, from there hope is born, from there trust is born, our frightened hearts hear the words, coming from God, saying, Be strong! Fear not! This gives firmness to our purpose, which in turn gives constancy to our good works. Then it becomes possible even to leap like the stag, rejoicing as we advance upon the path of virtue and holiness; then we begin to sing the praise of God, not just with our lips, but with our lives. From this is born the patience of which St. James speaks in today’s 2^nd reading.

Along these lines St. Augustine wrote, “Even here amidst the trials and temptations let us, let all men, sing alleluia. God is faithful, says holy Scripture, and he will not allow you to be tried beyond your strength. So let us sing alleluia, even here on earth. Man is still a debtor, but God is faithful. Scripture does not say that he will not allow you to be tried, but that he will not allow you to be tried beyond your strength. Whatever the trial, he will see you through it safely, and so enable you to endure. You have entered upon a time of trial, but you will come to no harm – God’s help will bring you through safely.” (cf. Liturgy of the Hours, Vol. IV, Office of Readings, Saturday of the 34^th Week in Ordinary Time)

When we sing “alleluia” with our lives, even in the midst of trials and temptations, then the desert has bloomed in our lives, the desert has become a fruitful field. Then we are made ready for the fruitful field to become a forest; the flowers the desert makes prepare us to sing when the time comes to enter, into the eternal Zion, crowned with everlasting joy; there we will meet with joy and gladness as sorrow and mourning flee away.