Our readings on this first Wednesday of Advent invite us to reflect upon that for which we are waiting. The promise that is made in the first reading finds its fulfillment in the ministry of Jesus in the gospel. In Jesus, the Divine Shepherd tends His flock. In Jesus, God feeds God's people and heals them of their illnesses. God wipes away their tears and even destroys death. Yes, all this God has already accomplished in Christ. And yet, we still remain in that in-between time when people continue to go hungry, when tears still trickle down anguished faces, when death goes on wielding its fearsome scythe. Isn't this why we need to go on celebrating Advent? Isn't this the privileged time for us to feel more keenly our desperate hunger for God? But how can we feel our need, how can we experience our own wretchedness, when our lives are filled to overflowing with so many inconsequential things? How can we allow God to feed and to heal us, when we are too busy rushing around trying to feed and heal ourselves? Like the people in the gospel, we must first follow Jesus' instruction. We must first sit down. Perhaps then we will be able to find the food we need, and even share it with others¡K