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| “The Vision of Saint Francis Xavier” by Giovanni Battista Gaulli, c. 1675 |
Reading 1: Isaiah
11:1-10
But a shoot shall sprout from
the stump of Jesse,
and from his roots a bud
shall blossom.
The Spirit of the LORD shall
rest upon him:
a Spirit of wisdom and of
understanding,
A Spirit of counsel and of
strength,
a Spirit of knowledge and of
fear of the LORD,
and his delight shall be the
fear of the LORD.
Not by appearance shall he
judge,
nor by hearsay shall he
decide,
But he shall judge the poor
with justice,
and decide aright for the
land’s afflicted.
He shall strike the ruthless
with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his
lips he shall slay the wicked.
Justice shall be the band
around his waist,
and faithfulness a belt upon
his hips.
Then the wolf shall be a
guest of the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie
down with the kid;
The calf and the young lion
shall browse together,
with a little child to guide
them.
The cow and the bear shall be
neighbors,
together their young shall
rest;
the lion shall eat hay like
the ox.
The baby shall play by the
cobra’s den,
and the child lay his hand on
the adder’s lair.
There shall be no harm or
ruin on all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be filled
with knowledge of the LORD,
as water covers the sea.
On that day,
The root of Jesse,
set up as a signal for the
nations,
The Gentiles shall seek out,
for his dwelling shall be
glorious.
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Commentary on Is
11:1-10
Isaiah predicts
that the line of David will produce the Messiah with the first verse; “stump of Jesse”, Kind David’s father.
The stump refers to the line of David being cut back during the Babylonian
Exile. He follows with, for the first time in scripture, the seven gifts of the
Holy Spirit[4] (note also, the reference
to fullness, in Hebrew numerology the number “7” is the perfect number.). In
the Septuagint and the Vulgate the word "piety" is coupled with “fear of the Lord”.
The description
of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is followed with a list of the just and
compassionate characteristics of the messianic rule and then a picture of
universal peace under the messiah’s rule. . Isaiah sees the return of the
messianic King, predicting that the messiah will come from King David’s line
and will ultimately bring great peace. The term used “…on all my holy mountain;” indicates this peace is for all the
faithful, not just those in Jerusalem
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm
72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17
R. (see 7) Justice shall flourish in his time, and
fullness of peace for ever.
O God, with your judgment
endow the king,
and with your justice, the
king’s son;
He shall govern your people
with justice
and your afflicted ones with
judgment.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of
peace for ever.
Justice shall flower in his
days,
and profound peace, till the
moon be no more.
May he rule from sea to sea,
and from the River to the
ends of the earth.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of
peace for ever.
He shall rescue the poor when
he cries out,
and the afflicted when he has
no one to help him.
He shall have pity for the
lowly and the poor;
the lives of the poor he
shall save.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of
peace for ever.
May his name be blessed
forever;
as long as the sun his name
shall remain.
In him shall all the tribes of
the earth be blessed;
all the nations shall
proclaim his happiness.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of
peace for ever.
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Commentary on Ps
72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17
This Royal Psalm extols the virtuous
characteristics of justice and compassion. In this selection we hear an echo of the
justice and peace of the King’s rule that is reiterated in Isaiah’s prophecy (Isaiah 11:1-10).
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Gospel: Luke
10:21-24
At that very moment he
(Jesus) rejoiced (in) the holy Spirit and
“I give you praise, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden
these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to the
childlike.
Yes, Father, such has been
your gracious will.
All things have been handed
over to me by my Father.
No one knows who the Son is
except the Father,
and who the Father is except
the Son
and anyone to whom the Son
wishes to reveal him.”
Turning to the disciples in
private he said,
“Blessed are the eyes that
see what you see.
For I say to you,
many prophets and kings
desired to see what you see,
but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear,
but did not hear it.”
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Commentary on Lk
10:21-24
Jesus rejoices in the Holy Spirit
because his disciples have understood his role of Messiah in the kingdom. He
restates his relationship as Son of God (“No
one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the
Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.") The
inference here is that we must approach that faith with “childlike” faith and
trust in order to achieve that level of understanding.
Earlier
in this chapter of St. Luke’s Gospel, Jesus sent out the seventy (two). Just
prior to this selection, they returned and reported great success in doing what
the Lord asked of them. This passage is his prayer of thanks to the Father. The Lord gives thanks that God has seen fit to
reveal his identity and pass on his power to these disciples of his. It is
reiterated that the Kingdom of God shall be revealed to the childlike (see also
Luke 8:10) and turning to his disciples, he tells
them that the victory they are witnessing is the Good News hoped for by
prophets and kings throughout history.
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Reflection:
As we hear the words of St. Luke today, how the
Lord Jesus is caught up In the Holy Spirit and begins to pray, thanking God for
His aid in Jesus’ mission, we can’t help but remember a story written over a
hundred of years ago named Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, the great
science fiction epic by Jules Vern. At one point in the story the infamous
Captain Nemo was asked if he intended to share his great scientific discoveries
with the rest of the world and he informed his prisoner/narrator, Professor Aronnax,
that he would never do that because the world was not ready for so great a
power. This story is recalled because Jesus rejoices for the opposite reason.
While the great knowledge and power of the mythical
antagonist in the novel needs to be kept secret, the great knowledge and power
of the Lord must be spread so that all might have access to it and find hope as
a result. This Advent season as we look forward with hope to the Lord’s coming,
we are reminded that this anticipation and hope are not shared by all of those
we meet. Incredible as it seems to us, many of our colleagues, friends and
acquaintances think of this season only for the presents they must buy and the
orgy of commercialism that infuses the economy of the country with great strength
because of all the money that is spent.
The Lord rejoices today because God’s word has
reached so many others. He thanks his Father that their ears have been opened
by the words and works of his followers. This is the legacy we have been
handed. As we prepare ourselves to celebrate the Nativity of the Lord, we
recall that we too are asked to joyfully make know the reason for the season
(Cliché but appropriate). Children get it very easily but they must hear it
first. Adults need to overcome their cynicism and adopt a childlike attitude
that recalls the Christmas proclamation “Joy to the World!”
We hear St. Luke relay the story once more of how
the Lord was ecstatic over the success of the seventy two in proclaiming the
Good News. Now it is our turn. We must not through our actions seem to be like
Captain Nemo keeping the great promise to ourselves. We are called to share
that glorious message and in sharing the joy of that announcement, it is
returned to us and we move closer to the promised peace of Christ.
Pax
[1]
ALTRE
[2]
The picture used today is “The Vision of Saint Francis Xavier” by Giovanni
Battista Gaulli, c. 1675
[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the
Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and
is for private use only.
[4]
From the Catechism of the Catholic
Church, paragraph 1831 “The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom,
understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. They
belong in their fullness to Christ, Son of David. They complete and perfect the
virtues of those who receive them. They make the faithful docile in readily
obeying divine inspirations. “Let your
good spirit lead me on a level path.( Psalm 143:10) For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God . . . If
children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.”( Romans 8:14,17.)
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