Thus says the Lord to his anointed Cyrus, whom he takes by the hand: I will subdue nations before him and loosen the belts of kings; I will open doors before him, and gates shall not be shut. For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name, I give you a title, though you do not know me…
Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
ISAIAH 45:1, 4-6
Thus says the Lord to his anointed Cyrus, whom he takes by the hand:
I will subdue nations before him and loosen the belts of kings; I will open doors before him, and gates shall not be shut. For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name, I give you a title, though you do not know me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other; besides me there is no god. I equip you, though you do not know me, so that they may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is no one besides me. I am the Lord, and there is no other.
The first reading introduces the general theme: the King Savior. The Jews suffer the Babylonian exile, longing for the Liberator who will return them to Jerusalem. Cyrus, King of Persia, conquers Babylon (539 BC) and allows the Jews to return. Prophetic literature sees in Cyrus an “Anointed of the Lord,” to save his people.
Once again, God presents himself as the “Lord of History” and as the “Liberator” of his people, in the same way he did in the liberation from slavery in Egypt.
This faith in God as the liberator of the people, however, has to mature and become spiritualized. The Jews of Jesus’ time still think of a political liberator Messiah. Accompanying this mentality is a notion of the chosen people as a nation, as a state, and a presence of God in the Temple that is a guarantee of the people’s security.
And Jesus comes to definitively end that provisional faith. Neither is the people of God a matter of race, nor does God dwell in houses made by human hands, nor does the Kingdom of God have anything to do with a state.
1 THESSALONIANS 1:1-5
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace.
We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
For we know, brothers and sisters beloved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.
From today until the 33rd Sunday, we will read some passages from Paul’s letter to the Christians of Thessalonica. It is the first writing of the New Testament, dated in the year 51. Paul founded this community when he was expelled from Philippi. Later he went to Athens and Corinth.
From there, having learned of the problems in Thessalonica, he sent his beloved disciple Timothy with a letter that speaks of the “Parousia,” the second coming of Christ, a debated and difficult topic, since many Christians considered it imminent, to the point that they had stopped working, since the end of the times was immediate.
Today’s text is the initial greeting of the letter, full of appreciation and affection on the part of Paul and his companions.
José Enrique Galarreta, S.J.