Tuesday of the First Week of Advent
Readings for Tuesday of the First Week of Advent [1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Isaiah 11:1-10
On that day,
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.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Is 11:1-10
The Prophet Isaiah refers to a “shoot from the stump of Jesse.” Jesse was the father of King David. The stump refers to the line of David being cut back during the Babylonian Exile. These verses describe the attributes of the King who is to come. Those three pairs of attributes, in which later scholars substitute piety for “Fear of the LORD”, are a listing of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. The prophet, in this passage, 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.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17
Psalm 72 is one of the Royal Psalms. In this selection we hear an echo of the justice and peace of the King’s rule that is reiterated in Isaiah’s prophecy above.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Luke 10:21-24
Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said,
“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.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Lk 10:21-24
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. We are given in today’s passage 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.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
As the Prophet Isaiah enumerates for us the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit in his oracle, we hear the Gospel of Luke extol one of those gifts – the gift of Wisdom. He tells his disciples “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.” What was it that they saw that caused Jesus to praise God for giving the gift Wisdom to his friends? It was the knowledge that Jesus was the Messiah whose coming was foretold. It was he who gave them authority and told them to “cure the sick in it and say to them, 'The kingdom of God is at hand for you.'” (Luke 10:9) He told the seventy (two) this as he sent them out. He listened as they came back singing of their success. Had they not believed and understood his identity as being the prophesied shoot sprouted from “the stump of Jesse” – from the line of King David – the Messiah, they could not have done what they did nor had the success they reported. Just as St. Andrew had told his brother Simon [Peter] (John 1:37-40), they too had found the Messiah.
The gift of Wisdom had been given and the word of God had begun to spread. The Lord rejoices in this event. He rejoices because of his love for all those on God’s “holy mountain”. It was for all people that he had come and it was passed to those with Wisdom, the knowledge of God’s will, to pass on this joyous news, this revelation.
Ah, one might say – here then is the message for us. If Jesus, the Savior of the world, was overjoyed, praising God his Father, for giving the disciples the gift of Wisdom and the subsequent sharing of it, how much more will he look to us, also recipients of that gift, to spread that message during our Advent season? Indeed, we have all seen how the modern world takes hold of our Christian celebration. They would dilute its holiness, subvert its meaning. The secular world would have it become an excuse for over-indulgence and greed.
Today in the Gospel the Lord rejoices because God’s gift of Wisdom was given to his disciples. That Wisdom was also given to us, first in our Baptism and then sealed in Confirmation. We are called to take the good news into the world and announce that God’s love for us is so great that he sacrificed his only Son for our salvation and promised that he would come again, as he promised, to rescue all the faithful from sin and darkness. We ask God on this day to give us the strength to announce this message to all we meet, rejoicing in our success along with Jesus.
Pax
[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture is “Tree of Jesse” by Jan Mostaert, c. 1500
[3] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 1973, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved.
Readings for Tuesday of the First Week of Advent [1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Isaiah 11:1-10
On that day,
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.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Is 11:1-10
The Prophet Isaiah refers to a “shoot from the stump of Jesse.” Jesse was the father of King David. The stump refers to the line of David being cut back during the Babylonian Exile. These verses describe the attributes of the King who is to come. Those three pairs of attributes, in which later scholars substitute piety for “Fear of the LORD”, are a listing of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. The prophet, in this passage, 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.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17
Psalm 72 is one of the Royal Psalms. In this selection we hear an echo of the justice and peace of the King’s rule that is reiterated in Isaiah’s prophecy above.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Luke 10:21-24
Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said,
“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.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Lk 10:21-24
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. We are given in today’s passage 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.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
As the Prophet Isaiah enumerates for us the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit in his oracle, we hear the Gospel of Luke extol one of those gifts – the gift of Wisdom. He tells his disciples “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.” What was it that they saw that caused Jesus to praise God for giving the gift Wisdom to his friends? It was the knowledge that Jesus was the Messiah whose coming was foretold. It was he who gave them authority and told them to “cure the sick in it and say to them, 'The kingdom of God is at hand for you.'” (Luke 10:9) He told the seventy (two) this as he sent them out. He listened as they came back singing of their success. Had they not believed and understood his identity as being the prophesied shoot sprouted from “the stump of Jesse” – from the line of King David – the Messiah, they could not have done what they did nor had the success they reported. Just as St. Andrew had told his brother Simon [Peter] (John 1:37-40), they too had found the Messiah.
The gift of Wisdom had been given and the word of God had begun to spread. The Lord rejoices in this event. He rejoices because of his love for all those on God’s “holy mountain”. It was for all people that he had come and it was passed to those with Wisdom, the knowledge of God’s will, to pass on this joyous news, this revelation.
Ah, one might say – here then is the message for us. If Jesus, the Savior of the world, was overjoyed, praising God his Father, for giving the disciples the gift of Wisdom and the subsequent sharing of it, how much more will he look to us, also recipients of that gift, to spread that message during our Advent season? Indeed, we have all seen how the modern world takes hold of our Christian celebration. They would dilute its holiness, subvert its meaning. The secular world would have it become an excuse for over-indulgence and greed.
Today in the Gospel the Lord rejoices because God’s gift of Wisdom was given to his disciples. That Wisdom was also given to us, first in our Baptism and then sealed in Confirmation. We are called to take the good news into the world and announce that God’s love for us is so great that he sacrificed his only Son for our salvation and promised that he would come again, as he promised, to rescue all the faithful from sin and darkness. We ask God on this day to give us the strength to announce this message to all we meet, rejoicing in our success along with Jesus.
Pax
[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture is “Tree of Jesse” by Jan Mostaert, c. 1500
[3] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 1973, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved.
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