2025 Reflections
(Posted from latest to oldest articles.)
The Victory of the Servant
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This is the last of the four Servant Songs that are found in Isaiah (see last week’s reflection, “The Vindication of the Servant”). Of the four, this is perhaps the most well-known, and for good reason: Of the four Servant Songs, this is the one that most explicitly connects to the life and work of Jesus Christ. The New Testament explicitly cites this song no less than six times (Matthew 8:17, Luke 22:37, John 12:38, Acts 8:32-33, Romans 10:16, and Romans 15:21)
The text of the song is also uncanny in the way it describes the Servant. Even without a knowledge of the contents of the New Testament, any non-Christians reading the text have read this passage and automatically connected it to Jesus. This passage is thus one of the most significant messianic prophecies of the Old Testament, both in terms of its content and in terms of its ability to convert those who read it.
The Song itself presents the climax of the Servant’s mission. He has preached to the people, and the people rejected his message (vv. 1-3). He is condemned to death by the people, and accepts this condemnation willingly and without protest, because He knows that His death is the means by which his people’s sins will be taken away (vv. 4-9).
However, in the end, He is vindicated. God will prolong His days (v. 10), which is an allusion to the Resurrection. He is spoken of as seeing his offspring. Of course, Christ does not have biological offspring, so this should be read as referring to the Church, as the offspring that are borne by His work. His sacrificial death will bear fruit, referring to eternal salvation, and He will see it and be satisfied (v. 11). Finally, we read an affirmation of the atoning power of His death: “he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” (v. 12).
As we conclude the Easter Triduum, we remember this entire Passion narrative, which begins at the Last Supper, and ends at the Resurrection, where Christ reigns victorious over death. We can say that the drama of the four Servant Songs is concluded here, and can rejoice because we believe the words of the angel at the tomb: “He has risen, he is not here; see the place where they laid him” (Mark 16:6).
The Vindication of the Servant (Palm Sunday)
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This reading is the third of four Servant Songs that are in the book of Isaiah (the other three are in 42:1-7, 49:1-12, and 52:13-53:12). Here, rather than the Servant being addressed by God, it is the Servant speaking directly. In the first half of the reading, he is said to be the obedient servant who does not rebel against God, and has a knowledgeable tongue to be able to teach and exhort others. Thus, the servant is also a teacher of righteousness for God’s people.
When we get to the second half of the reading, however, the tenor of the song shifts, and now the Servant speaks of being persecuted by those around him for what he teaches to them. Through this persecution, however, he retains hope that he will be vindicated by God. Verse 7 bears this out, as well as the next two verses immediately after this reading:
He who vindicates me is near.
Who will contend with me?
Let us stand up together.
Who is my adversary?
Let him come near to me.
Behold, the Lord GOD helps me;
who will declare me guilty?
Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment;
the moth will eat them up. (Isaiah 50:8-9)
This servant song summarizes the experience of Jesus throughout Holy Week. The week begins with Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, which we celebrate today as Palm Sunday. He spends the next few days teaching in the Temple, which causes the Pharisees and Sadducees to turn against Him and plot His death. That plot will eventually culminate in the events of Good Friday. Jesus is aware that all this would happen, because He already predicted it would happen beforehand (Matthew 16:21, 17:22-23, 20:17-19)
Through all of Jesus’ experiences in Passion Week, He knows that He will ultimately be vindicated by His Father, just as the Servant Song in Isaiah says. This certain knowledge, in addition to His desire to save us, is why He is able to accept the Father’s will: “not my will but Yours be done.” (Matthew 26:39).
God of Deliverance (5th Sunday of Lent)
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Isaiah 40-46 is concerned mainly with comforting the Israelites during the Babylonian Exile. It is a reminder to them that, despite the punishment they are enduring because of their sins, God will not remain angry with them forever, but will restore them to their land. In the meantime, He exhorts them not to fall into the temptation to worship the gods of the surrounding nations, who are created by human hands and possess no real power. Only the God of Israel is the true God, and He shows it by prophesying what will happen in the future and bringing it to pass.
Our Old Testament reading begins by referring back to the Exodus from Egypt, when God created a way through the Sea and drowned the Pharaoh’s chariots as they pursued the Israelites (vv. 16-17). By reminding Israel of this, God is letting them know that there will be a new Exodus from Babylon.
In the meantime, they must not dwell on the past. Even though they were exiled due to their sin, their iniquity has already been paid for, as it states earlier in Isaiah:
Comfort, O comfort my people,
says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that she has served her term,
that her penalty is paid,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins. (Isaiah 40:1-2)
Instead of dwelling on the past, they are encouraged to look to their future deliverance. On that day, they will once again praise the Lord (v.21).
This continues the past series of OT readings which narrate the Bible’s salvation history, beginning with Abraham. Here we come closer to the period when Christ comes to save His people, and we already begin to see hints of it. Although the “new thing” spoken of refers immediately of the return to Exile, it also serves as a foreshadowing of the even greater deliverance that God will fulfill through Christ’s Passion.
Finally, this passage reminds us that, just like the woman caught in adultery in today’s Gospel reading (John 8:1-11), God always makes a way of deliverance for those caught in the destructive consequences of sin. What matters is we do not dwell on past sins (the “former things,” as Isaiah puts it), but to repent and seek God’s deliverance (the “new thing” He is doing), and praise Him for He has provided it for us.
Passover in Canaan (4th Sunday in Ordinary Time)
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This Sunday’s Old Testament reading continues the theme of exploring Israel’s salvation history leading up to the birth of Jesus. Here, leadership of Israel has passed on from Moses to Joshua. He leads the people from the wilderness to Canaan. There, he has all the men circumcised, which had somehow been neglected during their wilderness wanderings (Joshua 5:1-8). After this, the Passover is celebrated in the Promised Land for the first time.
The Passover was only mentioned twice before this. The first time was just before Israel left Egypt (Exodus 12-13), and the second was in the second year of their wandering, while they were in Sinai (Numbers 9).
Each of these three instances represents a transition to the next stage of Israel’s spiritual journey: The first from Egypt to Sinai, the second from Sinai to the Wilderness, and the third from the Wilderness to the Promised Land. This third Passover also represents the passing of the mantle of leadership to Joshua, who becomes the new Moses for the people.
We see how God has faithfully led the Israelites up to this point, even though they were unfaithful in not trusting God in the wilderness and not keeping circumcision. This is a great example of how His mercy is greater than our failings, and He continues to lead us to salvation despite them.
Also, we see in Joshua a type of Jesus as the one who leads us out of the wilderness of sin, and in the Passover a type of the Eucharist. Thus, the New Covenant is foreshadowed in the Old, which gives us a greater appreciation of the unity between the two.
The Burning Bush (3rd Sunday of Lent)
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This week’s Old Testament reading continues the series of Lenten readings which go through key episodes in Israel’s salvation history. After going through the Abrahamic covenant, we now skip ahead to Moses, who is the main figure of the next covenant God will make with Israel. This reading details how he was first called to lead the people out of Egypt.
Two details are worth noting in this passage. First is how the Angel of the Lord is said to speak out of the burning bush. A short while later, it then shifts to saying how it is the Lord Himself who is speaking. This is one of several passages in the Old Testament where the Angel of the Lord seems to be identified with the Lord, making him a sort of Theophany, or divine appearance (see, e.g. Exodus 23:20-23), which many early Christians identified with the pre-incarnate Christ.
Next, we see how God, in response to Moses’ inquiry as to His identity, responds by saying “I am who I am.” This phrase in Hebrew is very similar to the divine name “Yahweh,” and is derived from the root form for “to be.” God is saying here, in effect, that the one rescuing Israel is not just any god, such as what the nations worship, but the self-existent source of all being Himself, and there is none that He can be compared to. He will go on to prove this when He performs mighty deeds in Egypt, showing that He is greater than all their gods.
God’s rescue of Israel out of slavery in Egypt is part of His greater plan to rescue the whole world from slavery to sin, since out of Israel comes the Saviour of the World. We reflect upon and give thanks how, thousands of years later, we receive the benefits of these divine acts.
The Abrahamic Covenant (2nd Sunday of Lent)
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In Genesis 12-15, God calls Abraham out of Haran to settle in the land of Canaan, after promising that he would become the father of a great nation, and that through him all the nations would be blessed (Gen. 12:1-3) Abraham brings his nephew Lot with him, but they part ways (Gen. 13). Abraham then comes to Lot’s rescue after he is taken captive in battle (Gen. 14).
This results in a public triumph for Abraham, but despite this, he still grapples with the fact of his childlessness, which seemed to go in the face of God’s promise. This leads to the exchange between God and Abraham that precedes our reading:
After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.” But the word of the Lord came to him, “This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir.” (Gen. 15:1-4)
This dialogue reaffirms the initial promise God made back in Gen. 12:1-3. The main difference is that this time around, in our Old Testament reading, God ratifies the promise with a formal covenant ritual. By making (or “cutting” as original the Hebrew verb goes) a covenant with Abraham, God gives the promise a special solemnity and significance in His plans. It is significant that God’s presence (represented by the smoking fire pot) passes between the animals alone while Abraham sleeps. This signifies that God’s promise is unconditional: He will fulfill it without any conditions on Abraham’s part. The latter merely has to trust Him.
This episode of salvation history reminds us that God always stays true to His promises, even when they seem impossible. We can therefore trust all the promises God makes for us in Scripture, and that He will fulfill them in His own time and manner.
More importantly, it shows us the extent of God’s plan to save humanity. The Abrahamic covenant is just the beginning of a redemptive plan that culminates in the coming of Jesus as Saviour. During Lent, can look back at how God has been working throughout history to bring this plan about, and how all the promises find their ultimate fulfillment in the death and resurrection of Christ.
Remembering God’s Work (1st Sunday of Lent)
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In Deuteronomy 12-26, Moses provides he laws that the people of Israel are to adhere to as they enter the land of Canaan. These laws were meant to supplement the ones already given in the previous books, and represent Israel’s transition into a settled society.
This week’s Old Testament reading comes at the end of this legal section, and concerns the first fruits that the Israelites are to offer after they take possession of the land, as the preceding verses make clear:
When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it, you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name. You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, “Today I declare to the Lord your God that I have come into the land that the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.” (Deuteronomy 26:1-3)
God’s instructions echo similar commandments already given involving first fruits (Exodus 23:19; Numbers 18:12–13; Deuteronomy 12:6; 14:28–29), and are meant to supplement rather than replace them. What makes this one different is its purpose. As the Israelites make their offering, they are to recite a summary of their salvific history up to that point, beginning with their ancestor Abraham, “a wandering Aramean,” then proceeding to their years of slavery in Egypt, and then their deliverance from that slavery, and finally their arrival in the Promised Land.
Thus, the offering ritual becomes a reminder for them of what God has done for them. It also becomes a way of giving thanks for God’s providential work in Israel’s history. By reciting these words, they acknowledge not only that God was at work in their past, but is still at work in their lives in the present day, and will continue to be with them as long as they remain faithful to Him.
This offering ritual is also a reminder to us to look back on Israel’s salvation history, and see in it God preparing to bring the Messiah into the world to save us from sin, culminating in Jesus’ death and resurrection. This Lent, we recognize how God has acted in the past to bring salvation to world, and give thanks for this great gift and for bringing knowledge of that salvation to us.
Times of Testing (8th Sunday in Ordinary Time)
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The middle chapters of Sirach are concerned primarily with giving practical wisdom to the reader. In this way, it is very similar to Proverbs, and exemplifies its status as wisdom literature. Chapters 25-29 in particular are about different forms of social relationships, and how every relationship, whether it is a marriage or a business transaction, should be conducted with godliness and integrity.
Included in this section on the importance of personal integrity is our Old Testament reading, which is a reflection on the importance of testing to reveal a man’s inner nature. Here, we see the author use three different metaphors to describe the testing process, each of which is a common feature of life in the ancient world. These are: 1) The shaking of a sieve (which is used to separate good from bad grains), 2) The heating up of pottery in a kiln, and 3) the fruit of a tree during harvest season.
These metaphors collectively convey how, during a time of trial, those of a righteous disposition and those of a wicked one are revealed and separated from one another. A wicked person may be able to feign righteousness for a while, but these times reveal what is truly in their hearts.
These testing metaphors from Sirach provide the background for Jesus’ comments in our Gospel reading about how a good tree bears good fruit, whereas a bad tree bears bad fruit (Luke 6:38-43). This shows how Jesus is drawing from a well of existing wisdom imagery.
These passages show the importance of cultivating good fruit in our lives. This can only come about by the grace of the Holy Spirit. We must continually ask for God’s grace, and cooperate with it so that when we are tested, we may be shown to bear good fruit.
The Spear (7th Sunday in Ordinary Time)
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The second half of the book of 1 Samuel chronicles David’s rise to fame and his attempts to evade King Saul, who is actively trying to kill him upon realizing that God has anointed him as king, and is gaining the support of many of the people. David becomes the leader of a ragtag group of renegades who try to evade Saul, while at the same time acknowledging his legitimate rule over Israel and refraining from engaging in armed revolt against him.
The Old Testament reading is the second of two narratives where David is in a position to eliminate his opponent. The first was in chapter 24, where Saul goes to relieve himself in a cave where David happens to be hiding. Although David’s men encourage him to kill Saul right there and then, David takes the moral high ground and refuses to do so. Now, in chapter 26, he has a second chance at doing so again.
There are a number of reasons why David would not kill Saul even though it seems to be in his interests to do so. The first is that, even though God has chosen him to become the king in the future, Saul is still God’s anointed king in the present moment. Although David knows that he will eventually replace Saul as king, he does not presume to take matters into his own hands, but trusts God to accomplish His plans in His own way and time.
The second reason David doesn’t kill Saul is because it sets a bad precedent. Even if Saul proves to be a bad king, David cannot simply topple his rule. This would send a message to the Israelites that they could do the same thing later on if they feel David has forfeited his kingship. Thus, David discourages his people from thinking that assassination is a proper way of resolving political conflicts.
David’s choice to take Saul’s spear echoes the fact that Saul had earlier used this exact same spear to try and kill David, and later his own son Jonathan (1 Samuel 19:9-10, 20:33). David’s taking of Saul’s spear is thus a rebuke of Saul’s actions. At the same time, his refusal to use it signals his refusal to stoop down to Saul’s level.
Towards the end, Saul recognizes that he is in the wrong, and declares to David that he has acted foolishly (1 Samuel 26:21). However, David does not trust these words, as Saul said the exact same thing in the past and yet continued to hunt him down (1 Samuel 24:16-21). He prudently continues to evade him, thus avoiding the danger posed by Saul’s mental instability.
David’s decision is an excellent example of Jesus’ teaching in our Gospel reading that we are to love our enemies and turn the other cheek (Luke 6:27-38). His decision is also an example of how we are to trust in the Lord and not take matters into our own hands. He does not presume to act as the agent of God’s will, contrary to Abishai’s suggestion. Instead, he waits upon the Lord to fulfill His plans, knowing that He makes everything turn out well for those who love Him and are called according to His purposes, as St. Paul puts it (Romans 8:28)
Trusting in the Lord (6th Sunday in Ordinary Time)
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The prophet Jeremiah lived in the late seventh and sixth centuries BC, around the end of the kingdom of Judah. His lifetime coincided with the rise of the Neo-Babylonian empire, the vassalage of Judah under the Babylonians, and the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. As was revealed to Jeremiah, this destruction was God’s punishment on the Jews for their sins, in accordance with the curses in Deuteronomy 28.
A large portion of the book of Jeremiah consists of laments where the prophet bewails the sorry state of his people. It is these laments that earn him the moniker “The Weeping Prophet.” The particular lament found in our Old Testament reading speaks of the tendency of Judah to put their trust in things other than God, and how this results in their downfall.
This lament follows a literary device found in many Biblical passages, which is to contrast between two sets of behaviours. On the one hand is the person who trusts in men rather than God. On the other hand is the person who trusts God wholeheartedly. The passage shows not only the contrasting attitudes of the two men, but the contrasting outcomes of those attitudes as well.
This comes at a critical time in Judah’s history, as they are caught in a war between Babylon and Egypt. They believed that by siding with Egypt, they could cast off the yoke of Babylonian rule. Jeremiah has to warn them that they are sadly mistaken in this assumption, and that this conveys a lack of trust in God.
Instead, they must trust that God has reasons for putting Judah in this position, and allow His plans to play out, knowing that whatever He has in store is good. Those who trust God are described in terms similar to Psalm 1, as well-watered trees who bear much fruit, and do not whither even when the drought comes.
The contrast conveyed by Jeremiah in this reading is echoed by Jesus in His own preaching in our Gospel reading, who uses similar contrasts to flesh out what it means to trust in the Lord (Luke 6:17, 20-26). We can learn from Jeremiah’s warning to Judah as well as Jesus’ preaching that we should trust the Lord under all circumstances, rather than in our own machinations. A plan can only succeed if the Lord blesses it (Psalm 127:1-2), so we must commit our way to the Lord, and trust Him to bring about the best result (Psalm 37:5-7)
God’s Messenger (5th Sunday in Ordinary Time)
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Isaiah began his prophetic ministry during the reign of king Uzziah. Uzziah was one of the good kings of Judah, who obeyed the Law of the Lord and walked in His ways. He left a pattern of good leadership that instilled faithfulness among the people, which was continued by his son, Jotham. Unfortunately, this cycle would be broken by Ahaz, who was not as faithful as his father and grandfather, but was disobedient and led the people astray (2 Chronicles 26:3-4, 27:1-2, 28:1).
Thus, when Isaiah received the commission recorded in this passage, Judah was at one of its better points in history. But God let Isaiah know that this state of affairs was not to last, and that his prophetic ministry was to coincide with some dark periods as well.
The main theme that is highlighted in this passage is the contrast between the holiness of God and the sinfulness of man. The three-fold repetition of the word “Holy” is done for emphasis to accentuate how supremely holy God is (v. 3). Isaiah, becoming acutely aware of his unworthiness to stand before a holy God, laments his own sinfulness (v. 5). The angel comes to him with the burning coal and cleanses his lips (v. 6). This sacramental action is a foreshadowing of the forgiving graces that God would later make available to mankind through the New Testament sacraments.
Next, God asks who will go and be His messenger, to which Isaiah replies by volunteering to go for God (vv. 7-8). Despite his own unworthiness, he is willing to go and be God’s messenger. What follows is a prophecy that despite his best efforts, the people will harden their hearts and not listen to his message, which will ultimately lead to their ruin (Isaiah 6:9-13). Despite this, Isaiah is not deterred. He understands that his mission is not to change the people, but to proclaim God’s message without compromise.
Like Isaiah, we may feel that we are unworthy to go out and proclaim God’s message. Yet, God does not require perfection from us, but only our willingness to stand up for Him. Like the prophets and apostles of old, we will encounter stubborn resistance to the message of the Gospel. However, this should not deter us, because it is not our responsibility to compel others to believe. Instead, we pray that the Holy Spirit will soften the hearts of those who hear the Gospel message. As long as we speak the truth and not water it down or hide it from people, God will reward our faithfulness, and vindicate us on the last day.
The Day of the Lord (Feast of the Presentation)
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The book of Malachi is traditionally placed at the end of the Old Testament to signify the fact that it serves as a bridge to the New Testament. It talks about the sending of a messenger to herald the coming of the Lord. This messenger is referred to later in Malachi 4:5 as Elijah, and the Gospels tell us that this prophecy was fulfilled by the coming of John the Baptist (Matthew 11:10, Mark 1:2), who heralded the coming of the Messiah.
Malachi then speaks of the Lord suddenly coming to His Temple (vv. 1-2). The Temple was the focal point of Israel’s worship, and the site where they offered sacrifices. It is unsurprising then that in the life of Christ, the Temple features prominently in both ends of His life—both in the beginning, when He comes to the Temple for the Presentation, and towards the end, when He enters the Jerusalem Temple in preparation for his eventual Passion.
By book-ending His incarnate life with these two visits to the Temple, Jesus presents Himself as the coming Lord of Malachi’s prophecy, as well as the fulfillment of the Old Testament sacrifices. Hebrews 9-10 tells us how the sacrifices pointed forward to Christ’s sacrifice, which takes away sins once and for all.
Finally, Malachi tells us that the Day of the Lord will be like the refiner’s fire (vv. 3-4). The refining process removed impurities from gold and silver—a process which involved very intense fire. The discipline of the Lord will not be pleasant, and at times may even be downright painful, but if we willingly submit ourselves to it, we will be sanctified and perfected.
As we celebrate the Feast of the Presentation, let us rejoice that the Lord has come, and that He is at work in our lives to make us into Saints.
Hearing God’s Word (3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time)
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The book of Nehemiah details the return of the Jews from the Babylonian Exile back to the Promised Land. This was a pivotal moment in Israel’s history, as they attempted to reconstruct what had been destroyed seventy years earlier, including Jerusalem’s walls and the Temple that stood at Mt. Zion. However, they would never rebuild Jerusalem to its former glory.
Central to Nehemiah’s story was bringing knowledge of the Law to the returnees. Many of them had become accustomed to Babylonian customs, and it was necessary to re-acquaint them with the precepts of the Law so that they do not forget them.
The emphasis of Old Testament reading is on making sure that the Law was heard by as many people as possible. Everyone who could understand was to come and listen to the reading of the Law (v.2). The scribe Ezra read it from a platform (v.4), which enabled the reading to be heard by as many people as possible, and also served as a visual representation of the primacy of the Law to the life of Israel.
But it was not enough to merely hear the Law. They had to understand it as well, since they were to act upon it. Levites were stationed among the people to explain the meaning of the Law to them (v.7). This included translating the text from Hebrew to Aramaic, since Aramaic was adopted by the Jews as their spoken language.
This passage shows the importance of disseminating knowledge of Scripture among the masses. Pope Benedict XV quotes from St. Jerome, who famously said “Ignorance of the Bible means ignorance of Christ.” (Spiritus Paraclitus §63) Elsewhere, Pope Leo XIII encouraged “all the children of the Church, especially clerics, to reverence the Holy Scripture, to read it piously and meditate it constantly” (Quoted by Pope Pius XII in Divino Afflante Spiritu, §9). These quotes show the Church’s longstanding tradition of encouraging Bible reading as an act of devotion.
We should especially meditate on those Old Testament passages which point forward to Christ, such as the passage of Isaiah that is read by Jesus in our Gospel reading (Luke 4:14-21). Such passages show the seamless connection between the Old and New Testaments, and how they present the full picture of God’s salvific plan.
Finally, we should not only read Scripture, but apply it to our lives. This way, we internalize its precepts and allow it to transform as. Thus, we can say along with the Psalmist, “Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path.” (Psalm 119:105)
For Zion’s Sake (2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time)
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Isaiah 60-66 addresses Israel’s post-exilic situation. As we learn from post-exilic books such as Ezra and Nehemiah, Jerusalem was left desolate after the Babylonian Exile, and even after many of the Jews returned to the land, much of the damage remained. The purpose of this passage is to comfort the people by assuring them that despite what has become of the Promised Land, God has not forsaken them, and will restore the land to its former glory. Whatever Israel received in punishment and sorrow for their sins, they will receive back in joy and blessing as a result of their repentance.
This Sunday’s Old Testament passage gives us a description of what God’s restoration will entail. The nations are said to see Zion’s righteousness (v.2). This hearkens back to the promise in Isaiah 2 that Zion will be made into the mountain from which the Law will go forth to all the nations, and they will come to the holy mountain, resulting in peace and justice. They will be crowned with glory (v. 3), and will no longer be called desolate or forsaken (vv. 4). This is meant to assure the people that they are still considered God’s covenant people, and can rest in His promise to be with them always. Finally, they are referred to as God’s bride, which is a motif used to show the intimacy with which God regards His people, and to communicate to them that He loves and protects them as a husband loves his wife (v. 5).
The marriage motif looms large in Scripture, both in the OT and Gospel readings (John 2:1-11). There is an incarnational focus in these readings. As Bergsma and Pitre explain, “The incarnation represents the ‘marriage’ of divine and human natures.”[1] Beyond this, the marriage motif is also important to salvation history. Just as Old Testament Israel is referred to as God’s bride, the New Testament Church is similarly spoken of as the bride of Christ (e.g. Ephesians 5:23ff).
This means that we can look upon the promises in Isaiah as applying to Christians today, and we can rest assured that God rejoices in us and will never forsake us, as long as we remain faithful to Him.
Note
[1] John Bergsma and Brant Pitre, A Catholic Introduction to the Bible: The Old Testament (Ignatius Press, 2018), 773.
Justice for the Nations (Baptism of the Lord)
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The reading from Isaiah is yet another of more well-known Messianic passages. Specifically, it is one of four “Servant Songs” in Isaiah, which depict a figure known as the “Servant of the Lord.” Besides this passage, the other three Servant Songs are Isaiah 49:1–13, 50:4–11, and 52:13-53:12. This Servant of the Lord is depicted in these songs to be God’s agent in bringing about justice and redemption for the world. The most significant of these Servant Songs is the last one, which is a direct prophecy of the servant’s redemptive death for the sins of the world (it is also one of the most oft-quoted prophecies in the New Testament).
The particular passage we are reading this Sunday focuses on the Servant’s role as an agent of justice and mercy. When the scripture speaks of Him not breaking a bruised reed or quenching the wick, it speaks of His mercy towards the weak and oppressed of this world. The reference to rescuing the captives refers to the spiritual captivity that is caused by sin, especially sins of injustice, which ensnare both body and soul. The reading also connects with other passages that speak of God’s law going out from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. Through the Servant, God’s law (which is the perfect representation of justice) is progressively realized in this world, until it becomes fully established.
The Old Testament reading is directly related to two passages in the Gospels. The first is Luke 4:16-30, where Jesus reads this passage in the synagogue and declares that He is the fulfillment of that prophecy, causing everyone to marvel at Him. The other passage is our Gospel reading about the baptism of Jesus (Luke 3:15-16, 21-22, cf. Matthew 3:13-17). When the Holy Spirit comes down upon Jesus and the voice from Heaven declares “You are my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” this is alluding directly to the first verse of the Isaiah reading. It shows that Jesus’ baptism is also His commission to “fulfill all righteousness.”
Thus, we reflect on how Jesus, as the Servant of the Lord, will bring justice and righteousness to all the earth. We pray to see the justice envisioned in the Scriptures in our days, as we pray to God “Thy will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven.”
The Light of Israel (Feast of the Epiphany)
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This passage of Isaiah is addressed to the Jews exiled in Babylon. Here, the prophet predicts a future where the Jewish people would be gathered from all of the nations they were scattered in and brought to Zion. Then, the light of Israel would arise and give light to the nations, who would walk in that light, and give homage to Israel.
A partial fulfillment of this passage came when the King Cyrus of Persia decreed that the Jews would be allowed to return to their land and rebuild their temple. The glory of Israel would not be seen then, however. Even after the second temple was built, it lacked the glory of the first temple, where God Himself dwelt, whose presence was represented by the Ark of the Covenant. Thus, the passage would await a fuller fulfillment at the coming of Christ.
Traditionally, the passage has been interpreted as being fulfilled when the Magi came to worship the child Jesus, hence its association with the Feast of the Epiphany. We can readily see this from many details in the text. For example, the constant references to light, radiance and rising all point towards the star that shone over Bethlehem. Also, the nations are said to bring gold and frankincense to Israel (v. 6). The reference to Midian and Ephah can also be an indication that the Magi originated there. Also, the reference to kings in v. 3 has led to the interpretation that the Magi were kings. Whatever the case, it is not hard to see how the coming of the Magi would fulfill this prophecy.
This Old Testament scripture shows us how the events of the Nativity were foretold hundreds of years in advance. Today, we walk in the light of God’s glory in Christ, who is the Light of the World (John 8:12). Just as the Magi were guided by the star during Epiphany, may we also continue to be guided by His light.
