The Lord says:
Do not remember the former things,
or consider the things of old.
I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?…
7th Sunday in Ordinary Time
ISAIAH 43:18-19, 21-22
Thus says the Lord:
Do not remember the former things,
or consider the things of old.
I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people,
the people whom I formed for myself
that they might declare my praise.
Yet you did not call upon me, O Jacob;
but you have been weary of me, O Israel!
You have not brought me your sheep for burnt offerings,
or honored me with your sacrifices.
I have not burdened you with offerings,
or wearied you with frankincense.
But you have burdened me with your sins;
you have wearied me with your iniquities.
I, I am He
who blots out your transgressions for my own sake,
and I will not remember your sins.
In its fundamental message, it is a magnificent expression of how much Isaiah understands the saving goodness of God.
Above the more cultic-topical and primitive expressions, which we also find in the text, the final expression and its content are notable: it is not that Israel does penance and God forgives it: it is that God, “on his own account,” erases his crimes and forgets his sins.
It is therefore a matter of God’s attitude, independently of the stubborn attitude of the people. It is a magnificent announcement of the God of Jesus.
1 CORINTHIANS 1:18-22
Brothers and sisters: God is my witness! The word we addressed to you was not “Yes” and “No.” For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom Silvanus, Timothy, and I proclaimed to you, was not “Yes” and “No”; but in him it is always “Yes.” For in him every one of God’s promises is a “Yes.”
And it is through him that we say the “Amen,” to the glory of God. God is the one who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us, is the one who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a first installment.
Paul had promised the Corinthians a visit, but has changed his plans, and the Corinthians are complaining that he said “yes” but it is “no.” In these paragraphs of the letter, Paul gives them explanations and justifies his decision.
He takes the opportunity to speak of the faithfulness of God, who always fulfills, and to proclaim that it is precisely Jesus who is the full fulfillment of all the promises of God.
José Enrique Galarreta, S.J.