SEEING SIGNS. CONVERSION
God had assured the house of David that he would protect it. We hear Isaiah scold the king and the people that they have not enough trust in him and do not see the signs of God’s nearness; even in the moment of a great threat by the powerful nation of Assyria they should keep relying on God.
The poor and the oppressed are often more open to salvation than the self-satisfied, sophisticated city dwellers; the latter are often in the Bible the image of rationalistic and corrupt people, also among the Jews. As they are more individualistic, they do not easily form a community of salvation. In the noise and bustle of a busy life, they do not see the signs of God’s presence.
First Reading: Isaiah 7:1-9
During the time that Ahaz son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin of Aram and King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel attacked Jerusalem, but the attack sputtered out. When the Davidic government learned that Aram had joined forces with Ephraim (that is, Israel), Ahaz and his people were badly shaken. They shook like trees in the wind.
Then God told Isaiah, “Go and meet Ahaz. Take your son Shear-jashub (A-Remnant-Will-Return) with you. Meet him south of the city at the end of the aqueduct where it empties into the upper pool on the road to the public laundry. Tell him, Listen, calm down. Don’t be afraid. And don’t panic over these two burnt-out cases, Rezin of Aram and the son of Remaliah. They talk big but there’s nothing to them. Aram, along with Ephraim’s son of Remaliah, have plotted to do you harm. They’ve conspired against you, saying, ‘Let’s go to war against Judah, dismember it, take it for ourselves, and set the son of Tabeel up as a puppet king over it.’
But God, the Master, says,
“It won’t happen.
Nothing will come of it
Because the capital of Aram is Damascus
and the king of Damascus is a mere man, Rezin.
As for Ephraim, in sixty-five years
it will be rubble, nothing left of it.
The capital of Ephraim is Samaria,
and the king of Samaria is the mere son of Remaliah.
If you don’t take your stand in faith,
you won’t have a leg to stand on.”
Gospel: Matthew 11:20-24
Next Jesus let fly on the cities where he had worked the hardest but whose people had responded the least, shrugging their shoulders and going their own way.
“Doom to you, Chorazin! Doom, Bethsaida! If Tyre and Sidon had seen half of the powerful miracles you have seen, they would have been on their knees in a minute. At Judgment Day they’ll get off easy compared to you. And Capernaum! With all your peacock strutting, you are going to end up in the abyss. If the people of Sodom had had your chances, the city would still be around. At Judgment Day they’ll get off easy compared to you.”
Prayer
Lord our God,
we are often blind and insensitive
to the wonderful things you do among us
and to the love people show us.
Open our minds and hearts
to see the signs of your presence
in the good people do to one another and to us.
Make us also see the presence of our crucified Lord
in people who suffer.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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