4th Sunday of Advent
ISAIAH 7:10-14
In those days, the Lord said to Ahaz:
– Ask a sign of the Lord your God, either in the depth of Sheol or in the height above.
But Ahaz said:
– I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.
Then God said:
– Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold:
The virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel (which means, God with us).
We are in the difficult times of King Ahaz of Judah, the southern kingdom.
Ahaz is an impious king who has renounced Yahweh and offers sacrifices to the Canaanite gods. The kingdom of Judah is threatened by a coalition of the king of Damascus and the king of Israel. Ahaz will seek his salvation by becoming a vassal of the Assyrians, which will mean worshiping their gods as well.
The prophet Isaiah fears that the kingdom of Judah, because of its infidelity to the Lord, will be destroyed, and he continually exhorts the king to place his hope in the fidelity of the Lord. Isaiah offers the king a sign from Yahweh so that he may believe in His protection. But Ahaz rejects it. He does not want to enter into that game. Isaiah then gives him the sign of Yahweh, which will be the birth of Prince Hezekiah, who will be a great king, faithful to the Lord, and will successfully defend the kingdom against the Assyrians.
This king will be a blessing of God, a presence of the Lord among His people. That is why he is called “Immanuel,” God-with-us. King Ahaz had sacrificed a son to idols, and the people feared that Ahaz would have no descendants, and that with him the line of David would be extinguished. But Isaiah announces that a young woman, perhaps a royal wife, is already pregnant and will give birth to the new prince, who will save Israel.
The Church has seen in this text an announcement of “The Savior,” the true and definitive “God-With-Us,” Jesus. Too much emphasis has been placed on the miraculous birth, “of a virgin.” The intention of the text of Isaiah is not that, nor does it use the word “virgin,” nor is it said that Hezekiah will be conceived and born miraculously. This is far from the mind of the author of this text. The message focuses on the essential:
“Be faithful to the Lord and have confidence: a savior king will be born to you, who will be God-with-us.”
ROMANS 1:1-7
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God.
This gospel, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerns his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Through him we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.
To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is a magnificent text, a solemn introduction, the first paragraph of the letter that Paul writes to the Christians of Rome.
Paul writes from Corinth, probably in the winter of 57-58. The Christianity of Rome is composed of Jews and pagans converted to the faith of Jesus.
Paul’s intention is that there be no dissensions among them for this reason, that they overcome the past to appreciate their vocation as chosen by Jesus. Hence that summary: Jesus promised by the scriptures, of the lineage of David, culmination of the Old Testament, which surpasses all that was expected by Israel, because he is the Son, full of the Spirit, offered to all, Jews and Gentiles, because to all arrives the love of God so that all may be The Holy People of God.
It is a superb paragraph, solemn and synthetic, which shows the genius of Paul and the clarity of his ideas about Jesus and about the equality of all Christians, Jews and Gentiles.
José Enrique Galarreta, S.J.