Reading 1: Isaiah 7:1-9
In the days of Ahaz, king of Judah
Rezin, king of Aram
and Pekah, king of Israel
went up to attack Jerusalem
but they were not able to conquer it.
When word came to the house of David that Aram
was encamped in Ephraim,
the heart of the king and the heart of the people trembled,
as the trees of the forest tremble in the wind.
Then the Lord said to Isaiah: Go out to meet Ahaz,
you and your son Shear-jashub,
at the end of the conduit of the upper pool,
on the highway of the fuller’s field, and say to him:
Take care you remain tranquil and do not fear;
let not your courage fail
before these two stumps of smoldering brands
the blazing anger of Rezin and the Arameans,
and of the son Remaliah,
because of the mischief that
plots against you, saying,
“Let us go up and tear Judah
and appoint the son of Tabeel king there.”
Thus says the Lord:
This shall not stand, it shall not be!
and Rezin is the head of Damascus
and Remaliah’s son the head of Samaria
But within sixty years and five,
Ephraim shall be crushed, no longer a nation.
Unless your faith is firm
you shall not be firm!
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Commentary on Is 7:1-9
This selection from the book of the Prophet Isaiah describes a
national crisis under the rule of King Ahaz.
The situation is concisely as described in 2 Kings 16: 5-9. An alliance had been formed between Aram and Israel
(initially formed against Assyria) which threatens Jerusalem
God’s message to King Ahaz through Isaiah’s oracle is to remain
calm, it is only through complete faith in God that salvation can occur (“This shall not stand,
it shall not be!”).
The final instruction to stand firm placing his absolute faith in God’s
saving power is problematic because the dates are probably not translated
accurately. Scholars agree that the
passage: “But
within sixty years and five…” was more
likely intended to be “Yet six, nay five more years…”[4]
a timeframe which would have given Ahaz comfort. This summons is believed to be a pointed
reminder of the oracle of Nathan in 2 Samuel 7: 12-17.
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Responsorial
Psalm: Psalm 48:2-3a, 3b-4, 5-6,
7-8
R. (see 9d) God upholds his city
for ever.
Great is the Lord and wholly to be
praised
in the city of our God.
His holy mountain, fairest of heights,
is the joy of all the earth.
R. God upholds his city for ever.
Mount Zion
is the city of the great King.
God is with her castles;
renowned is he as a stronghold.
R. God upholds his city for ever.
For lo! the kings assemble,
they come on together;
They also see, and at once are stunned,
terrified, routed.
R. God upholds his city for ever.
Quaking seizes them there;
anguish, like a woman’s in labor,
As though a wind from the east
were shattering ships of Tarshish.
R. God upholds his city for ever.
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Commentary on Ps 48:2-3a, 3b-4, 5-6, 7-8
Psalm 48 is a Zion
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Gospel: Matthew 11:20-24
Jesus began to reproach the towns
where most of his mighty deeds had been done,
since they had not repented.
“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida
For if the mighty deeds done in your midst
had been done in Tyre and Sidon
they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes.
But I tell you, it will be more tolerable
for Tyre and Sidon
And as for you, Capernaum
Will you be exalted to heaven?
You will go down to the nether world.
For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom
it would have remained until this day.
But I tell you, it will be more tolerable
for the land
of Sodom
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Commentary on Mt 11:20-24
This passage follows the parable of the “Children in the
Marketplace” addressed to those who have heard the words of John the Baptist
(and Jesus). Jesus accuses them of not
being willing to hear that they must turn away from sin and repent.
In this passage he goes further chastising the towns in which he
has performed great signs. As in the
parable that proceeded it, this selection speaks of the punishment reserved for
those who refuse to hear the word he has spoken and continue to ignore the law
and prophets. Their fate, he tells them
will be worse than that of Sodom
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Reflection:
As happens so many times in
the truth of scripture, this situation occurs all the time. Even with the most devout Christian,
conversion must take place every day. What
greater sign can be performed than the sacrifice of the Mass? Yet we walk out of Mass forgetting the
promises we made, ignoring the lingering grace dispensed with the sacrament and
continue as if nothing had changed.
Each day we are called to repentance. Each day we are called to place our complete
faith in God. It is something we must
never forget. Practicing our faith means
we engage in a daily struggle to overcome our natural tendencies to think of
our own personal comfort; our secular goals.
We must constantly weigh those goals against what must be our first and
overriding concern, our faith in the Lord and the achievement of his desires
for us.
From the beginning of God’s
relationship with mankind prophets and teachers have called us to repentance to
change our lives and to live as God intended.
We hear that message once more today and ask for God’s grace and
strength that will allow us to respond.
Pax
[1]
ALTRE
[2]
The picture is “Saint Bonaventure” Artist and Date are UNKNOWN
[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]
Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc., © 1968, 16:18, pp. 270
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