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The voice of God brings good news

Second Sunday of Advent, Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11 (Lectionary 005, Dec. 4, 2005)

This Sunday’s first reading is one of the best-known passages of the Old Testament. It is stately yet intensely lyrical. It almost cries out to be sung. In fact, George Frederic Handel used most of these verses in the first part of his "Messiah," and people who are familiar with the oratorio cannot read this Sunday’s reading without finding Handel’s melodies running through their memories.

These verses are at the very beginning of the second main section of The Book of Isaiah, the part known as The Book of Consolation (chapters 40-55). These chapters are the work of one or more members of the spiritual school of Isaiah of Jerusalem and seem to have been written during the Babylonian exile.

God’s people, or the most important part of God’s people, had been carried off into a foreign land. The temple and the holy city had been destroyed. The Israelites found themselves in the midst of an alien culture. Their corporate identity was threatened. Everything that was important to them seemed to have been taken away.

Into this context of sadness and despair comes the voice of the prophet, a voice that speaks out the message of God, a message of comfort and of hope.

Our passage begins in the throne room of heaven. We hear the majestic voice of God giving direction to His messengers: "Tell my people Israel that their time of testing is over, that their sins are forgiven. Give them comfort."

Next comes the voice of one of God’s messengers responding to God’s command. The voice calls for a highway to be made so that God’s people can get to where God wants them to be. It is to be a road that will enable them to get through the difficult places. What is being promised here is a repetition of the people’s deliverance from Egypt. Just as God brought them out of slavery through the desert of Sinai in the exodus, so also God will deliver them from exile now.

Next the voice calls for Jerusalem to become the herald of God’s good news. Even though the city may be in ruins now, it can still serve as an image of God’s messianic kingdom and as an agent of God’s loving plans for His people. The message is to be delivered from a high mountain, so as to be heard throughout the world.

The message is the good news of the presence of the Lord: "Here is your God!" The God that Zion announces will be a God of power, but also a God who rewards those who serve Him, a God who cares for His people as a shepherd cares for His flock, treating the weakest and most vulnerable members of the flock with special attention.

To a weakened, discouraged, powerless people comes the message of God: the people will be liberated; God will come in glory; Jerusalem will be the herald of God’s love throughout the world; God will take care of His people.

Mark used part of this text in the introduction to his proclamation of the good news of Jesus as we hear in this Sunday’s Gospel reading (Mark 1:1-8). What Isaiah had said was pertinent to the mission of Jesus. What Isaiah said is also pertinent to our situation 20 centuries after the beginning of the mission of Jesus, 26 centuries after the Israelites’ exile.

In many ways, we are like the Israelites in exile. We live in a society that is foreign and even hostile to our most deeply held beliefs. The culture that surrounds us looks on religious dedication as basically irrelevant to human existence. In a society that treasures success, self-assertion and independence, we are called to build our lives on being subject to the Lord, on self-gift to God and neighbor, on humility. The world is constantly inviting us to travel paths different from the paths that a loving God has laid out for us.

And so the Lord speaks to us. "Don’t be afraid. I will forgive your sins. I will lead you home. I will take care of you. I am with you now and I will stay with you. Take comfort in my presence." In this passage God’s word proclaims fundamental messianic realities. No wonder people find this passage so memorable. No wonder they find themselves enveloped in music when they read it.

For Reflection and discussion

In what ways do I find myself in exile?

What do I look forward to from the presence of God?



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	*Overtures* Reflection on the first readings of the Sunday liturgy By Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk The voice of God brings good news Second Sunday of Advent, Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11 (Lectionary 005, Dec. 4, 2005) This Sunday’s first reading is one of the best-known passages of the Old Testament. It is stately yet intensely lyrical. It almost cries out to be sung. In fact, George Frederic Handel used most of these verses in the first part of his "Messiah," and people who are familiar with the oratorio cannot read this Sunday’s reading without finding Handel’s melodies running through their memories. These verses are at the very beginning of the second main section of The Book of Isaiah, the part known as The Book of Consolation (chapters 40-55). These chapters are the work of one or more members of the spiritual school of Isaiah of Jerusalem and seem to have been written during the Babylonian exile. God’s people, or the most important part of God’s people, had been carried off into a foreign land. The temple and the holy city had been destroyed. The Israelites found themselves in the midst of an alien culture. Their corporate identity was threatened. Everything that was important to them seemed to have been taken away. Into this context of sadness and despair comes the voice of the prophet, a voice that speaks out the message of God, a message of comfort and of hope. Our passage begins in the throne room of heaven. We hear the majestic voice of God giving direction to His messengers: "Tell my people Israel that their time of testing is over, that their sins are forgiven. Give them comfort." Next comes the voice of one of God’s messengers responding to God’s command. The voice calls for a highway to be made so that God’s people can get to where God wants them to be. It is to be a road that will enable them to get through the difficult places. What is being promised here is a repetition of the people’s deliverance from Egypt. Just as God brought them out of slavery through the desert of Sinai in the exodus, so also God will deliver them from exile now. Next the voice calls for Jerusalem to become the herald of God’s good news. Even though the city may be in ruins now, it can still serve as an image of God’s messianic kingdom and as an agent of God’s loving plans for His people. The message is to be delivered from a high mountain, so as to be heard throughout the world. The message is the good news of the presence of the Lord: "Here is your God!" The God that Zion announces will be a God of power, but also a God who rewards those who serve Him, a God who cares for His people as a shepherd cares for His flock, treating the weakest and most vulnerable members of the flock with special attention. To a weakened, discouraged, powerless people comes the message of God: the people will be liberated; God will come in glory; Jerusalem will be the herald of God’s love throughout the world; God will take care of His people. Mark used part of this text in the introduction to his proclamation of the good news of Jesus as we hear in this Sunday’s Gospel reading (Mark 1:1-8). What Isaiah had said was pertinent to the mission of Jesus. What Isaiah said is also pertinent to our situation 20 centuries after the beginning of the mission of Jesus, 26 centuries after the Israelites’ exile. In many ways, we are like the Israelites in exile. We live in a society that is foreign and even hostile to our most deeply held beliefs. The culture that surrounds us looks on religious dedication as basically irrelevant to human existence. In a society that treasures success, self-assertion and independence, we are called to build our lives on being subject to the Lord, on self-gift to God and neighbor, on humility. The world is constantly inviting us to travel paths different from the paths that a loving God has laid out for us. And so the Lord speaks to us. "Don’t be afraid. I will forgive your sins. I will lead you home. I will take care of you. I am with you now and I will stay with you. Take comfort in my presence." In this passage God’s word proclaims fundamental messianic realities. No wonder people find this passage so memorable. No wonder they find themselves enveloped in music when they read it. For Reflection and discussion** In what ways do I find myself in exile? What do I look forward to from the presence of God?

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