Immanuel

"Once again YAHWEH addressed Ahaz, 'Ask for a sign from YAHWEH your GOD, let it come either from the deepest depths or from the heights of heaven.'

But Ahaz answered, 'I will not ask, I will not put YAHWEH to the test.'

Then Isaiah said, 'Now listen, descendants of David.  Have you not been satisfied trying the patience of people, that you also try the patience of people, that you also try the patience of my GOD?  Therefore the LORD HIMSELF will give you a sign:

The Virgin is with child and bears a son and calls HIS name Immanuel. - Isaiah 7:10-14 

(The prophecy about the Virgin giving birth is one of the most important in the Scriptures even though it leaves some questions unanswered.

To support his warnings, Isaiah offers a miraculous sign to the king: Ask the LORD....  Ahaz piously refuses to hide his determination not to turn back.  Then, the prophet explodes in anger: these descendants of David whom GOD has always protected are useless: a descendant of David of another kind will be able to bring salvation to GOD's people.  YAHWEH is preparing to send HIM.  HIS mother [called here the Virgin] gives HIM the name HE will deserve.

Immanuel means GOD-with-us.  This child not only gives us GOD's blessings, or miraculous and divine liberation, but through HIM, GOD becomes present among humankind and the promises heard so many times come true: I will be their GOD and they will be MY people [Hosea 2:25; Ezekiel 37:27; Revelation 21:3].)

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Prayer In Old Age

"Be my rock of refuge; a stronghold, to give me safety; for YOU are my rock and my fortress.

Rescue me, O my GOD, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of cruel and violent people.

For YOU, O YAHWEH, have been my hope; my trust, O GOD, from my youth.

I have relied on YOU from birth: from my mother's womb YOU brought me forth.  My praise is of YOU continually.

I have become like a portent to many, but YOU are my strong refuge.

My mouth is filled with YOUR praise, announcing YOUR glory, day by day.

Do not cast me off in my old age, do not desert me when my strength fails.

For my enemies speak ill of me; awaiting my death, they set plans.

They say, 'GOD has forsaken him; let us pursue and seize him, for no one will rescue him.'

O GOD, be not far from me; my GOD, make haste to help me!

Let my accusers be destroyed in shame; let those who seek my ruin, be covered with disgrace and scorn.

Then, I may trust in YOU and praise YOU. 

My lips will proclaim YOUR intervention and tell of YOUR salvation all day, little though it is what I can understand.

I will come to YOUR strength, O YAHWEH, and announce YOUR justice, YOURS alone.

YOU have taught me from my youth and, until now, I proclaim YOUR marvels."

- Psalm 71:3-17

(An old man looks back on his life.  He was taught at his mother's knee to put his trust in GOD always.  He has not forgotten but has GOD forgotten him?  His enemies say 'yes'; he knows better.  And yet he is anxious.  Even a short life has its crisis and he has lived a long time, and GOD seems very far away.  Though the psalmist expresses himself in the conventional language, this does not conceal his very real distress.  We can imagine here the situation of Job himself.  One learns with age how powerfully the resilience of youth contributed even to religious optimism.  GOD, slowly and gently, teaches us to do without it.  This unconscious young confidence in ourselves having done its work is now removed.  If old age wishes it, GOD is closer than ever: the trust is purified.

Like the psalmist we too may have gone through the ups and downs of life and at times even feeling like Job.  But the faith of the psalmist never wavered.  He is confident that GOD will raise him up from the deepest depths.  If we also show faith like that of the psalmist, we will have nothing and nobody to fear.  And then, like St. Paul tells us in Ephesians 5:20 and again in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, we too will, "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing and give thanks to GOD at every moment.  This is the will of GOD, your vocation as Christians.")

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YAHWEH-Our-Justice

"YAHWEH further says, 'The day is coming when I will raise up a king who is David's righteous successor.  HE will rule wisely and govern with justice and righteousness.  That will be a grandiose era when Judah will enjoy peace and Israel will live in safety.  HE will be called YAHWEH-our-justice!'

'The days are coming,' says YAHWEH, 'when people shall no longer swear by YAHWEH as the living GOD who freed the people of Israel from the land of Egypt.  Rather, they will swear by YAHWEH as the living GOD who restored the descendants of Israel from the northern empire and from all the lands where HE had driven them, to live again in their own land!'" - Jeremiah 23:5-8 

(GOD promises lasting peace.  The new people of GOD will be more than a mere continuation of the old kingdom of Israel, and the new king will be more than the earthly kings [see how JESUS develops this point in John 10].

Humankind hopes for unity in peace, and the Church now must offer the witness of different people gathered in CHRIST.  The reality, however, will be achieved only in the heavenly Jerusalem [Revelation 21:22].)

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The Blessing Of Jacob

"Gather around, sons of Jacob.  And listen to your father Israel!

Reuben, you are my firstborn, my strength and the first fruits of my manhood! excelling in honor and excelling in power.

Restless a flowing water, you will excel no more for you went to your father's wife, on to my bed and defiled it.

Simeon and Levi are brothers; their swords are weapons of violence.  Let me not share their counsel!  Let my heart keep far from their company, for in anger they killed men, and hamstrung oxen at their pleasure.  A curse on their anger for it is fierce; a curse on their fury, so cruel!  I will divide them among Jacob, and scatter them among Israel.

Judah, your brothers will praise you!

You shall seize your enemies by the neck!

Your father's sons shall bow before you.

Judah, a young lion!

You return from the prey, my son!

Like a lion he stoops and crouches,

and like a lioness, who dares to rouse him?

The scepter shall not be taken from Judah,

nor the ruler's staff from between his feet,

until he comes to whom it belongs,

and who has the obedience of the nations."

 - Genesis 49:2-10

(Jacob's blessings do not go to his sons but to the twelve tribes bearing their names.  The future destiny of these tribes will vary greatly.  Jacob's blessing is a way of saying that these destinies were known to GOD beforehand and that they were part of HIS plan of salvation which benefits everyone, but does not give the same gift to everyone.

The two tribes of Judah and Joseph dominate.  This ancient prophecy seems to say that Judah would live apart from others until the coming of "the one the people would obey."  This text, however, is not clear in the original manuscripts.  Did they wish only to celebrate the coming of king David, or was it the announcement of a great destiny for the kingdom of Judah, or was it the expectation of a savior-king?  Actually the kings of the people of GOD and JESUS after them were to come from the tribe.  Judah here is considered as the heir of the promises made to Abraham and Jacob.)

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Where Did John's Baptism Come From? From Heaven Or From People?

"JESUS had entered the temple and was teaching, when the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the Jewish authorities came to HIM, and asked, 'What authority have YOU to act like this?  Who gave YOU authority to do all this?'

JESUS answered them, 'I will also ask you one question.  If you answer ME, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things.'  Where did John's baptism come from?  From heaven or from people?'

They discussed this among themselves, saying, 'If we say, 'From heaven,' HE will say, 'Then why did you not believe him?'  And if we say, 'The baptism of John was merely something human', we've got to beware of the people, for all consider John to be a prophet.'  So they answered JESUS, 'We do not know.'

And JESUS said to them, 'Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.'" - Matthew 21:23-27 

(JESUS is what we would call today a simple layman.  HE respects the priests of the people of GOD and their high priest.  HE shows however that if they want others to be accountable, for their part they must be ready to take a stand on the things of GOD when the people need this.  They had been and were unwilling to give such a response in the case of John the Baptist.)

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JESUS And John The Baptist

"When John the Baptist heard in prison about the deeds of CHRIST, he sent a message by his disciples, asking him, 'Are YOU the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?'

JESUS answered them, 'Go back and report to John what you hear and see: the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are made clean, the deaf hear, the dead are brought back to life, and the poor hear the good news; and how fortunate is the one who does not take offense at ME!'

As the messengers left, JESUS began to speak to the crowds about John: 'When you went out to the desert, what did you expect to see?  A reed swept by the wind?  What did you go out to see?  A man dressed in fine clothes?  People who wear fine clothes live in palaces.  What did you really go out to see?  A prophet?  Yes, indeed, and even more than a prophet.  He is the man of whom Scripture says: I send MY messenger ahead of YOU, to prepare the way before YOU.

I tell you this: no one greater than John the Baptist has arisen from among the sons of women; and yet, the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.'" - Matthew 11:2-11

(The visit of the disciples of John will help us to understand what JESUS brings and what cannot be expected of HIM.

And the poor hear the good news...  JESUS' message includes a preferential love of GOD for the poor and for those who share with them in their poverty.  The Gospel is not for them also, but for them first.  This text is to be read together with Luke 1:52; 4:18; 6:20; 10:23.

It would be wrong to interpret this text as thinking that GOD only asks of us to catechize less instructed people, or those of lower condition in life.  In the time of JESUS the Pharisees already thought their duty was to teach simple and uneducated people; JESUS instead sent HIS apostles, poor among the poor, to enable them to discover the presence and working of GOD the FATHER.  The concrete life of the rural and urban poor is the context in which fundamental experiences occur that will renew the world and the spiritual life of everyone.

No one greater than John the Baptist has arisen.  This verse refers to a prophet or to a political leader.)

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Prophet Elijah

"Then came the prophet Elijah, like a fire, his words a burning torch.

He brought a famine on the people and in his zealous love had them reduced in number.

Speaking in the name of the LORD he closed the heavens, and on three occasions called down fire.

How marvelous you were, Elijah, in your wondrous deeds!  Who could ever boast of being your equal?  By the word of the Most High you brought a dead man back to life; you brought kings to destruction and thrust famous men from their beds.

You heard a rebuke at Sinai and sentences of punishment at Horeb; you anointed kings to be avengers and prophets to succeed you.

You were taken up by a whirlwind of flames in a chariot drawn by fiery horses.

It was written that you should be the one to calm GOD's anger in the future, before it broke out in fury, to turn the hearts of fathers to their sons and to restore the tribes of Jacob.

Happy are those who will see you and those who die in love, for we too shall live. - Sirach 48:1-11

(In this text, as in Malachi 3:23, we find the Jewish belief that Elijah would return in the days of the Messiah.  For the Jews, Elijah was the man who raised the dead and who had been preserved from death by GOD.  Ben Sira hopes to regain life to see the happy days of salvation.)

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Your Peace Would Have Been Like A River, Your Righteousness Like The Waves Of The Sea

"Thus says YAHWEH, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I, YAHWEH, your GOD, teach you what is best for you; I lead you in the way that you must go.

Had you paid attention to MY commandments, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea.

Your descendants would have been like the sand, and those born of your stock like its grains, their names never cut off nor blotted out from MY presence." - Isaiah 48:17-19 

(In this text the prophet looks at Israel's past, reminding us of what we read about the lost Paradise.  If they had obeyed, GOD's desire to lavish HIS blessings upon them would have been fulfilled, as well as GOD's promises to Abraham.

But GOD will intervene again as the Redeemer of HIS people.)

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"The Kingdom Of Heaven Is Advancing Forcefully."

"I tell you this: no one greater than John the Baptist has arisen from among the sons of women; and yet, the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.  From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven is something to be conquered; and violent men seize it.

Up to the time of John, there was only prophesy: all the prophets and the law.  And if you believe ME, John is indeed that Elijah, whose coming was predicted.  Let anyone with ears listen!" - Matthew 11:11-15 

(No one greater than John the Baptist has arisen.  This verse refers to a prophet or to a political leader.

The kingdom of heaven is something to be conquered; and violent men seize it.  This sentence could also be translated: "The kingdom of heaven is advancing forcefully."  The kingdom of GOD is the moving force that makes history progress, taking advantage of both gentle and violent changes in human life.  The believers are called to participate actively in this constant transformation.  Death and resurrection are at work among us and all over the world.)

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Only GOD Is Good; And Good Is The Authority Of CHRIST

"Come to ME, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take MY yoke upon you and learn from ME, for I AM gentle and humble of heart; and you will find rest.  For MY yoke is easy; and MY burden is light." - Matthew 11:28-30

(I will not relieve you of your load but by placing MY yoke on you, I give you the means of carrying the load.

JESUS plays with the two words yoke and load, for the Jews used to call "load" the divine teachings imparted to pupils, and yoke the balancing of the teacher's sentences, which should be learned by heart.

JESUS, the patient and humble teacher, enables us to see the mercy of GOD in our lives and in our own cross.  HE shows us the love of GOD even in the requirements of the law.  Only GOD is good; and good is the authority of CHRIST.)

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