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“The Prophet Isaiah”
by Raffaello Sanzio, 1511-12 |
Readings for Saturday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time [2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [3]
Readings and Commentary:[4]
Reading 1: Isaiah 6:1-8
In the year King Uzziah died,
I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne,
with the train of his garment filling the temple.
Seraphim were stationed above; each of them had six wings:
with two they veiled their faces,
with two they veiled their feet,
and with two they hovered aloft.
They cried one to the other,
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts!
All the earth is filled with his glory!”
At the sound of that cry, the frame of the door shook
and the house was filled with smoke.
Then I said, “Woe is me, I am doomed!
For I am a man of unclean lips,
living among a people of unclean lips;
yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
Then one of the seraphim flew to me,
holding an ember that he had taken with tongs from the altar.
He touched my mouth with it and said,
“See, now that this has touched your lips,
your wickedness is removed, your sin purged.”
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying,
“Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?”
“Here I am,” I said; “send me!”
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Commentary on Is 6:1-8
The prophet Isaiah tells us the story of his call “in the year King Uzziah died” (742 BC). The prophet first relates his belief that he will die, since it was the common belief that one who had not been purified could not see the face of God and live. This selection from Isaiah (an introduction to the “Book of Emmanuel”) describes the prophet’s first vision of his encounter with God. It is set in the temple in Jerusalem, probably on a high holy day. The six winged “seraphim” (literally “the burning ones”) are images common in art of the ancient Near East and represent angelic messengers. “Each has six wings. Reverence for the divine majesty causes them to veil their faces with two wings; modesty, to veil their extremities in similar fashion; alacrity in God's service, to extend two wings in preparation for flight.”[5] One of these seraphim flew to him with a coal from the fire at the altar (there would have been a fire for burning the holocaust – a sacrificial offering completely burnt as opposed to simply slaughtered).
With that coal, the seraphim touched Isaiah’s lips in symbolic cleansing, making the prophet worthy to proclaim God’s word. The Church remembers this event with the priest’s blessing of himself or the deacon with the words: “May the Lord open my (your) lips that I (you) may worthily proclaim the Holy Gospel.”
The reference to God in the prefix, “Holy, holy, holy,” describes the Father as perfect and omnipotent. (Note: in ancient Hebrew, there were no words "holier" or "holiest." In order to express that thought, it was necessary to repeat the phrase three times to express the ultimate state of perfection. This literary form is carried into the Roman Rite liturgy today.) We hear the prophet lament that he is “doomed,” since it was believed that such an encounter with God would be fatal (Genesis 32:31; Exodus 33:20; Judges 13:22).
This encounter with God is important in understanding Isaiah’s entire mission and purpose. (“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?’ ’Here I am,’ I said; ‘send me!’”)
CCC: Is 6:1 1137; Is 6:2-3 1138; Is 6:3 2809; Is 6:5 208, 2584; Is 6:6 332; Is 6:8 2584
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 93:1ab, 1cd-2, 5
R. (1a) The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
The Lord is king, in splendor robed;
robed is the Lord and girt about with strength.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
And he has made the world firm,
not to be moved.
Your throne stands firm from of old;
from everlasting you are, O Lord.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
Your decrees are worthy of trust indeed:
holiness befits your house,
O Lord, for length of days.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
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Commentary on Ps 93:1ab, 1cd-2, 5
Psalm 93 is a hymn of praise commemorating Yahweh as king. The external revelation of God mentioned in Sirach 1:1-10 is celebrated in this song of praise. The image of God’s throne on high, repeated here, reinforces God’s omnipotence.
“'The Lord is king': literally, 'the Lord reigns.' This psalm, and Psalms 47; 96-99, are sometimes called enthronement psalms. They may have been used in a special liturgy during which God's ascent to the throne was ritually reenacted. They have also been interpreted eschatologically, pointing to the coming of God as king at the end-time.” [6]
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Gospel: Matthew 10:24-33
Jesus said to his Apostles:
“No disciple is above his teacher,
no slave above his master.
It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher,
for the slave that he become like his master.
If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul,
how much more those of his household!
“Therefore do not be afraid of them.
Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed,
nor secret that will not be known.
What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light;
what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.
And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul;
rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy
both soul and body in Gehenna.
Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin?
Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge.
Even all the hairs of your head are counted.
So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Everyone who acknowledges me before others
I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father.
But whoever denies me before others,
I will deny before my heavenly Father.”
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Commentary on Mt 10:24-33
Jesus concludes his instructions to the apostles as he sends them out. Here he tells them that they go with his authority and his purpose, which may be hidden from others, but which they will proclaim from “the housetops.” He tells them not to fear the persecution he has told them they will face. Fear should be absent, because while the body may be killed, their souls are safe with him. He concludes this passage telling them that the Father is watching over them, and they have nothing to fear.
"The disciple is not above his teacher, nor the servant above his lord": How well Jesus knows the human passion to surpass, to overtake, to win, to be-greater-than! How difficult it is for us as disciples to realize the truth that real growth and movement consist in staying where we are, that is, in our condition as disciples and servants! We naturally associate advancing and growing with "going up in the world", with "becoming someone". But the Lord reveals in his person that the way that truly leads up to God must first lead downward. The eternal, divine Word "humbled himself, and in obedience accepted even death. [...] Therefore God raised him to the heights [...] so that [...] every tongue should confess ‘Jesus Christ is Lord '” (Philippians 2:8-11). [7]
CCC: Mt 10:25 765; Mt 10:25 765; Mt 10:28 363, 1034; Mt 10:29-31 305; Mt 10:32-33 1816; Mt 10:32 14, 2145
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Reflection:
“Here I am,” I said; “send me!”
This response by the prophet Isaiah, popularized in Christian song, is the reply each Christian hopes to make when discerning a call from God. We all hope that we can answer in the affirmative and do what God asks of us. But there are a couple of issues that confront us.
First, we need to have a clear idea of what, in our specific lives, God is calling us to. Is it his voice we hear, or is it our own urging us to do something to glorify ourselves rather than God? Discovering if the call is genuine or self-serving is frequently not an easy task but it is a question that we all must ask before undertaking any significant task in the name of the Lord.
The second issue facing us is preparation. Have we clearly thought out what we need to do in answer to God’s call, and what tools we will need to accomplish that work in his name? It sounds so basic. When we set out to do other chores, we think ahead to what we will need. If we are going to clean out the garage, for instance, we would gather cleaning supplies (and in my case, rent a dumpster). Yet when we embark on a mission for God, we frequently behave impulsively, like the children who went on the “Children’s Crusade,” many of whom simply stopped what they were doing and left on the quest. Ill-prepared and under-provisioned, many died for want of simple preparation.
Scripturally, Jesus reminds us of this need in his parable about the two houses: one built on rock, the other on sand. When we undertake a task for the Lord (and we’re sure it’s for the Lord), we must, first and foremost, shore up our faith foundation with prayer. We must then ask God for his assistance and assemble the physical and spiritual tools we will need. In Isaiah’s instance, we hear how his lips were purified and his sins purged before embarking upon his prophetic journey. We too must make sure we have been prepared for our tasks.
Today, we hope to be able to respond to the Lord with a resounding: “Here I am,” I said; “send me!” Let us remember to prepare ourselves, physically and spiritually, to undertake whatever the Lord may require.
Pax
[1] General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar Miscellaneous Notes no. 5: “Outside Advent, Christmas Time, Lent, and Easter Time, on Saturdays which have no commemoration having the rank of Obligatory Memorial or higher, a Mass in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary may be celebrated. This is indicated in the calendar by ‘BVM.’ The readings and prayers may be selected from the
Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary.”
[2] The picture used today is “The Prophet Isaiah” by Raffaello Sanzio, 1511-12.
[3] S.S. Commemoratio[4] 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 republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[5] NAB footnote on Isaiah 6: 1-3.
[6] NAB footnote on Psalm 93.
[7] Fire of Mercy Heart of the Word Volume I, Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA, © 1996 p. 573.
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