ISAIAH 62:1-5
For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet,
till her vindication shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch.
The nations will see your vindication, and all kings your glory;
you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will bestow.
You will be a crown of splendor in the Lord’s hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
No longer will they call you Deserted, or your land Desolate.
But you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah;
for the Lord will take delight in you, and your land will be married.
As a young man marries a young woman, so will your Builder marry you;
as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.
This is called the “third book” of Isaiah. It is not by Isaiah, but by disciples who write in his spirit and even imitate his style. Isaiah lived in Jerusalem around 750 BC, during the time of the wicked King Ahaz. This text was written around 550 BC, during the Babylonian Exile or upon returning to Jerusalem, and it reflects a very difficult situation for the theologians of Israel. The expected Promises are not being fulfilled. The kingdom of Judah is not independent, a descendant of David does not reign, and the reconstruction of the temple is miserable… This situation produces a strong conversion in the theologians of Israel. The Promise is better understood, religion is purified: they will not expect a political kingdom but the reign of God in hearts. They will not identify religion with worship but with obedience to the law of the Lord. Now Jerusalem will receive a “new name,” that is, it will be completely different. This will be the tremendous lesson of the Exile.
The text is brilliant: the arrival of God is presented with the most beautiful of images: the dawn of a wedding day. The Lord comes, the eager bridegroom burning with love. The sunrise awaited by the bride with immense anticipation because the bridegroom, the desired one, is coming. This presentation of God as a loving bridegroom is a magnificent advance in the knowledge of God. The terrible experience of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple has forced Israel to purify its faith in a drastic and definitive way.
This is undoubtedly one of the most “mature” lines of the prophets, who already begin to intuit the essence of God that will be revealed in Jesus. We come from the almost tribal God, first among the gods, protector of the people and destroyer of other peoples, presented as a severe Lord… We are moving towards “Abbá,” the physician, the lover, the Savior, Jesus God-with-us. On the path of faith, this text shows a decisive advance in the knowledge of God.
1 CORINTHIANS 12:4-11
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit; there are different kinds of service, but the same Lord; there are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.
All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
This reading is not related to the other two. For several Sundays we will read a continuous passage from this letter of Paul. In this fragment, a very interesting theme begins: Paul sees in everyone’s qualities a presence of the Spirit of God, destined for the community. The idea continues with the image of the church as a body of which we are all members, which we will read next Sunday.
It is an important image for our spirituality: our qualities are gifts, gifts from God, which He invests in us for the good of all. And so we can see in others the presence of the Spirit of God, who works for His children.
José Enrique Galarreta, S.J.