Faith

The end is in sight – Friday, 1st Week in Advent – Isaiah 29:17-24

The text of today expresses hope for change in the future. When this hope is to be fulfilled is uncertain. Yet, this hope, held out in this text, as also in several other texts in the book  of Isaiah, was to keep up the spirits of the people and prevent them from sinking into a state of depression and despair. (Isaiah 1:24-31; Isaiah 2:2-5; Isaiah 4:2-6; Isaiah 5:13, etc.),

It gives us several glimpses of the kingdom of the Messiah and a renewal of God’s precious promises to Israel. However, the Israel to which these sacred promises belong, was to be far different from the hypocritical, rebellious leaders of the secular nation during the time of Isaiah.

The nation had become perverse, sinful, formal, and hypocritical. But the time of change would come. The wicked would be reformed; the number of the pious would increase; and the pure worship of God would succeed this general formality and hypocrisy. These promises were given to comfort the “righteous remnant” who received them and believed them; but on the whole Israel continued to despise them.

What, one may ask, is the reason for such a rejection of God’s promises?

This texts draws our attention to two events; namely, the conversion of the Gentiles, and the rejection of God’s ancient people.(verse 17) The forest of Lebanon,  a reference to the Gentiles, which was a barren mountain and a desolate wilderness, shall by God’s wonderful providence become a fruitful and populous place; and the ‘fruitful field‘ which reads as Carmel in Hebrew, (כרמל)  representing Israel or a finely cultivated country (see Isaiah 10:18) which is now fruitful and populous, shall become as barren and desolate as that forest.

Verses 18 and 19 find its fulfilment in Matthew 11:4-5. It is Jesus the Messiah who makes the spiritually deaf to hear, the spiritually blind to see, joy for the meek and exultation in the lives of the needy. But it is also the same Messiah who will target those who take advantage of the innocent.  God has a word of judgment for those who abuse the righteous.  And that word is, the end is in sight.

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Faith

When your cry becomes a cry out – Saturday, 1st week in advent – Isaiah 30:19-21,23-26

In order to understand the texts of Isaiah we need to constantly place them within its historical context. The prophecy of this chapter relates (as that in the foregoing chapter) to the approaching danger to Jerusalem and to the desolations of Judah by the invading armies of the Assyrians from the North.

This prophecy was given at a time when the Assyrian army of King Sennacherib, King of Assyria, was about to  attack Jerusalem the capital of the southern kingdom of Judah. From history, we know that the northern kingdom of Israel was conquered by the Assyrians. While Ahaz the king of Judah had aligned himself with the Assyrians, his successor, King Hezekiah wrongly read the temporary misfortunes of the Assyrians  and chose to ally with Egypt against the Assyrians. It was his hope that he could break away from the yoke of being a vassal nation of the Assyrians.

Jewish ambassadors were now on their way to Egypt to seek aid against Assyria (Isaiah 30:2-6 Isaiah 30:15 , 31:1). The prophet Isaiah denounces this reliance on Egypt rather than on Yahweh. God had prohibited such alliances with heathen nations, and it was a leading part of Jewish polity that they should be a separate people (Exodus 23:32 , Deuteronomy 7:2 ). Yet as we know the cousin of stubbornness is rebellion and rather than obey, Hezekiah rebelled against the warnings of Yahweh.

Jerusalem is stubborn. They are carrying out plans that aren’t from God. They make alliances but not with the Holy Spirit. Their sin is just piling up and God hits right at the heart of their stubbornness. Egypt, as we  now know through our historical study, let down Hezekiah; their help was worthless and empty. There is a lesson for all of us in this; we need to be careful who we put our trust in. Often times we make alliances with people because they agree with us. That can turn in a heart-beat and just cause more agony. God wants our trust and he doesn’t want us putting that trust in anything else.

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Faith

When God laid out the china – Wednesday, 1st week in Advent – Isaiah 25:6-10a

The historical background for the book of Isaiah spans more than two centuries. In 745 B.C. Tiglath-Pileser III ascends the Assyrian throne and King Ahaz asks him to help Judah repel attacks by Israel and Damascus on Judah.

It was during this period that Isaiah began his ministry at the age of 30. Isaiah’s message is straight forward. He gave counsel that Judah should not look for security to Assyria or any other nation but to God. The enemy may creep in, he may be great, but our Lord is greater. Even when the enemy sneaks in, the Lord is greater! Ahaz did not seek out God first. Instead, he cried out to Assyria and not to God.

Tiglath-Pileser accommodated Ahaz by conquering Damascus and annexing most of the kingdom of Israel (2 Kings 16:5-9; Isaiah 7-8). However, as a result of this action, Judah became a vassal of Assyria and its people were required to recognize Assyrian gods (2 Kings 16:3-4). Isaiah communicates the anger of God. He said, “The faithful city has become a prostitute!” and “Your princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves” (1:21, 23). He warned, “the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; and Yahweh alone shall be exalted in that day” (2:17).

Then during the period of King Sargon II who came to rule Assyria (721-705 B.C.), King Hezekiah of Judah allied himself with Egypt instead of Assyria. Once again, Isaiah counseled reliance on God rather than foreign nations, but once again he was ignored. Hezekiah’s alliance backfired when Sargon defeated an Egyptian-led coalition near Ashdod, which is located on the Mediterranean Sea not far from Jerusalem.  

Upon Sargon’s death, Hezekiah allied himself with Judah, Edom, and Moab. Once again, Isaiah counseled faith in God rather than foreign entanglements, but once again, he was ignored. Sennacherib (705-681 B.C.), Sargon’s successor, began a campaign against Judah. He besieged Jerusalem in 701 B.C

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Solemnity – St Francis Xavier – Luke 10:1-16 – 3rd December

St. Francis Xavier was one of St. Ignatius Loyola’s closest friends and an original founding companion of the Society of Jesus. He is known among other things for his missionary accomplishments particularly in India, Southeast Asia and Japan. He was born in 1506 in the family castle in the Basque region of northern Spain, the fifth and youngest child of noble, wealthy, and pious parents.

At the age of nineteen years, and after completing preliminary course of studies, he left home permanently, bound for the University of Paris. By age thirty, he had earned a Master of Arts degree in philosophy, taught the subject for four years and then studied theology for two years.

While studying at the University, Ignatius Loyola, who was a fellow student, became an increasingly important influence on Xavier. So much so that, despite early reluctance, Xavier eventually made the Spiritual Exercises under his direction. In August of 1534, he joined Ignatius and five other companions in pronouncing vows. Together, Xavier and Ignatius were ordained priests in 1537. In the following year, Xavier went to Rome to share in the discussions that led to the formal founding of the Society of Jesus. Upon approval, Xavier served as the secretary of the Society until leaving for India in 1541.

His missionary travels took him to many places around the world. In fact, Xavier was the only original companion to leave Europe. He travelled from Rome to Lisbon, Portugal and then to India. Along the way, he assisted in many previously established missions; including those in Mozambique and Melindi in Kenya, Socotra (an island off the coast of Somalia),  Goa and other communities in the southern coastal areas of India.

In 1549, Xavier began the first Christian mission in Japan where he served in the country for over two years. In 1552, he set sail to begin the first Christian mission in China. When he arrived, however, he was not allowed to disembark on the Mainland. For three months, he waited on an island off of Canton while trying to gain entry into the country. He died on the island of an acute illness at the age of forty-six. Xavier was canonized by Pope Gregory XV on March 12, 1622, at the same time as Ignatius Loyola.

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Expect the unexpected – Tuesday, 1st week in Advent – Is 11: 1-10 / Luke 10: 21-24

In 735 Syria and Israel invaded Judah in the south in an attempt to force it into the anti- Assyrian coalition, an attempt that ended with the Assyrian conquest of Israel (733) and Syria (732). As a consequence Judah now became a vassal state of Assyria. In 714, backed by a promise from Egypt, Judah and Philistia began beating the drums of war and revolt against Assyria. The prophet Isaiah spoke out against this alliance. Then on the death of the Assyrian king Sargon II in 705 another attempt was made by Judah to free itself from their conquerors. Isaiah’s fervent and sometimes bitter words failed to move King Hezekiah who revolted with a promise of help from Egypt; a promise that was never kept. Isaiah prophesied the Assyrian invasion (8:1-15) and judgment on Israel (9:8 – 10:4).

The revolt by Judah was crushed in 701 with great destruction to Judah. King Hezekiah had to surrender and pay indemnity to the Assyrians. But Isaiah also prophesied the demise of Assyria (10:5-19). Just before this chapter, God declares punishment on the people: “the tallest trees will be cut down and the lofty will be brought low.”  It is with this background in mind that we should read the text of today for Isaiah describes the one  who will restore Israel.

Isaiah paints a picture of a positive reign, harkening back to King David, in the midst of a disappointing reign. The text is one of the positive messianic promises that are rather unexpectedly interspersed throughout first part of the book of Isaiah, a book that is otherwise marked by perhaps the most shocking word of judgment found anywhere in the Bible

There is no question that our passage of Scripture from the first ten verses in Isaiah 11 is Messianic in nature. The passage points to Jesus Christ as the promised, long awaited Messiah of Israel and Saviour of the world as we can see from the very opening words: “a shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.”David’s family tree looked bleak in the eighth century-a mere stump of its former glory-under attack by the Assyrian hordes and hence the task at hand was to be taken up by the coming Messiah.

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