Isaiah 11:1-10 / Luke 10:21-24
People change for many reasons. But there are usually two common reasons.
Either their minds have been opened or their hearts have been broken.
In the 1st reading, the words of the prophet Isaiah were for his people who have been disappointed time and time again by their kings.
With their hearts either broken or close to breaking, their minds have also closed up and not thinking much about the future.
But the prophet Isaiah tried to open their minds with the imagery of a humble shoot and a lowly scion.
If a shoot or a scion can spring from the stump, then growth is a possibility and a reality.
Where there is growth, then there can be change for the better and the broken heart can be healed.
But it is for hearts that are humble and simple and childlike to see what others can't see and to hear what others can't hear.
May our minds be opened to the Word of God and may our hearts be sensitive to the Spirit's promptings so that we will be opened to change into what God wants us to be.