CT - Christmas, Mass at Midnight

Christmas, Mass at Midnight, Isaiah 9:1-6

Many details in the background of this passage are not clear, but scholars seem to think that it dates from between 733 and 722 B.C. During this time, the northern kingdom, Israel, had been invaded by the Assyrians. Many of its people were deported, and much of its territory had been made into Assyrian provinces. Apparently the full and final destruction of Israel by the Assyrians (which would happen in 722 B.C.) had not yet taken place.

In those circumstances, Isaiah of Jerusalem delivers this oracle of hope. Its occasion may be the birth of a child who would eventually become king or the accession to the throne of a king who would thus be looked upon as God's son. Many scholars think that the person that Isaiah had in mind was King Hezekiah and that the person spoken of here was the Emmanuel that Isaiah had already prophesied in 7:14 and 8:8. In any case, our text is clearly a messianic prophecy.

There are two main parts. The first part (vv. 1-4) deals with a new dawn in the life of the people of Judah. This people has now been delivered from the oppressive dominion threatened by the Assyrians, an oppressive dominion that the northern kingdom had already experienced. The gloom that expressed the likelihood of foreign conquest was now dissipated. The people experienced a joy like the joy of harvest or the exhilaration of victory. The symbols of defeat - the yoke used to drive cattle, the sticks used to beat slaves - have been destroyed. It's almost a repetition of Gideon's stunning victory over the Midianites (Judges 7:15-25). The garments of war will now be fuel for the fire.

The reason for this new dawn is the child (or the new king). He will have authority and wisdom. He will be a warrior and a defender for His people, ever devoted to them, a bringer of peace. He will rule over the kingdom of David, presumably including what became the northern kingdom, forever. (Clearly Isaiah is alluding to the prophecy of Nathan in II Samuel 7.) All of this will be the result of God's enthusiastic care for His people.

What we have here is a proclamation of hope. An ideal king was coming or is here. He is a king who possesses the qualities of all the great figures of His nation. This new king of the house of David in Jerusalem would bring hope and deliverance also to Israel and there would be no end to His virtuous reign.

King Hezekiah was a better king than his father Ahaz, but he was far from being the messianic figure that Isaiah outlines in our text. If Hezekiah was the only king to whom this oracle of hope was to be applied, the prophecy certainly proved itself empty. But both Jewish and Christian tradition have seen this proclamation as also envisioning a later king, a ruler who would come in the final ages of God's care for His people, a ruler who would rule in the final kingdom of God.

We Christians believe that the figure that Isaiah announced was Jesus, the Christ. His birth in the middle of the night at Bethlehem was the beginning of a new day. It was a burst of light in the darkness. That seems to be why this particular text that begins with light was chosen to be read at the Mass that takes place in the middle of the night, when the dark is deepest. Jesus is the one who has been called to ascend the throne of David. He is the Prince of Peace. He is the source of ongoing joy and liberation and light.

The word that God speaks through His prophets is often fulfilled in ways beyond what the original hearers expected, probably beyond what the human authors understood. This reading was originally intended to bring encouragement to the people of a tiny nation, tiny even by the standards of the eighth century B.C. It was first delivered in circumstances that do not seem to have much relevance for us today. What it seemed to promise to its first hearers never really came to pass. Yet we still read Isaiah's words with reverence and gratitude twenty-eight hundred years later because we know that they are addressed to us. They remind us that God's plan of salvation for His people is a plan that God has been working on for a long, long time. They also remind us that, just as this prophecy was not fulfilled in the time of Isaiah, so it is not completely fulfilled even now.

The Prince of Peace has indeed come once and is still with us now. But His definitive coming is still in the future. Not every boot that has tramped in battle has yet been burned. The final kingdom of judgment and justice has not yet been manifested. We still experience darkness.

But we also take joy in what the prophet has said, because we know that "the zeal of the Lord of hosts" will accomplish what has been promised to us.

For reflection and discussion

How does God give me light?

How do I experience liberation at the hand of God?



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	*Overtures* Reflection on the first readings of the Sunday liturgy By Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk A proclamation of hope Christmas, Mass at Midnight, Isaiah 9:1-6 Many details in the background of this passage are not clear, but scholars seem to think that it dates from between 733 and 722 B.C. During this time, the northern kingdom, Israel, had been invaded by the Assyrians. Many of its people were deported, and much of its territory had been made into Assyrian provinces. Apparently the full and final destruction of Israel by the Assyrians (which would happen in 722 B.C.) had not yet taken place. In those circumstances, Isaiah of Jerusalem delivers this oracle of hope. Its occasion may be the birth of a child who would eventually become king or the accession to the throne of a king who would thus be looked upon as God's son. Many scholars think that the person that Isaiah had in mind was King Hezekiah and that the person spoken of here was the Emmanuel that Isaiah had already prophesied in 7:14 and 8:8. In any case, our text is clearly a messianic prophecy. There are two main parts. The first part (vv. 1-4) deals with a new dawn in the life of the people of Judah. This people has now been delivered from the oppressive dominion threatened by the Assyrians, an oppressive dominion that the northern kingdom had already experienced. The gloom that expressed the likelihood of foreign conquest was now dissipated. The people experienced a joy like the joy of harvest or the exhilaration of victory. The symbols of defeat - the yoke used to drive cattle, the sticks used to beat slaves - have been destroyed. It's almost a repetition of Gideon's stunning victory over the Midianites (Judges 7:15-25). The garments of war will now be fuel for the fire. The reason for this new dawn is the child (or the new king). He will have authority and wisdom. He will be a warrior and a defender for His people, ever devoted to them, a bringer of peace. He will rule over the kingdom of David, presumably including what became the northern kingdom, forever. (Clearly Isaiah is alluding to the prophecy of Nathan in II Samuel 7.) All of this will be the result of God's enthusiastic care for His people. What we have here is a proclamation of hope. An ideal king was coming or is here. He is a king who possesses the qualities of all the great figures of His nation. This new king of the house of David in Jerusalem would bring hope and deliverance also to Israel and there would be no end to His virtuous reign. King Hezekiah was a better king than his father Ahaz, but he was far from being the messianic figure that Isaiah outlines in our text. If Hezekiah was the only king to whom this oracle of hope was to be applied, the prophecy certainly proved itself empty. But both Jewish and Christian tradition have seen this proclamation as also envisioning a later king, a ruler who would come in the final ages of God's care for His people, a ruler who would rule in the final kingdom of God. We Christians believe that the figure that Isaiah announced was Jesus, the Christ. His birth in the middle of the night at Bethlehem was the beginning of a new day. It was a burst of light in the darkness. That seems to be why this particular text that begins with light was chosen to be read at the Mass that takes place in the middle of the night, when the dark is deepest. Jesus is the one who has been called to ascend the throne of David. He is the Prince of Peace. He is the source of ongoing joy and liberation and light. The word that God speaks through His prophets is often fulfilled in ways beyond what the original hearers expected, probably beyond what the human authors understood. This reading was originally intended to bring encouragement to the people of a tiny nation, tiny even by the standards of the eighth century B.C. It was first delivered in circumstances that do not seem to have much relevance for us today. What it seemed to promise to its first hearers never really came to pass. Yet we still read Isaiah's words with reverence and gratitude twenty-eight hundred years later because we know that they are addressed to us. They remind us that God's plan of salvation for His people is a plan that God has been working on for a long, long time. They also remind us that, just as this prophecy was not fulfilled in the time of Isaiah, so it is not completely fulfilled even now. The Prince of Peace has indeed come once and is still with us now. But His definitive coming is still in the future. Not every boot that has tramped in battle has yet been burned. The final kingdom of judgment and justice has not yet been manifested. We still experience darkness. But we also take joy in what the prophet has said, because we know that "the zeal of the Lord of hosts" will accomplish what has been promised to us. For reflection and discussion** How does God give me light? How do I experience liberation at the hand of God?

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