Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
READING 1: IS 66:10-14C
RESPONSORIAL PSALM: PS 66:1-3, 4-5, 6-7, 16, 20
READING 2: GAL 6:14-18
GOSPEL: LK 10:1-12, 17-20
Isaiah is arguably the greatest of Israel’s prophets and he appeared at a critical period of Israel’s history; the second half of the 8th century B.C. Isaiah is dated between 742 and approximately 700 B.C., a tumultuous time for Israel as, in the 10th century B.C., the nation divided into two separate kingdoms: Israel in the north and Judah in the south. Isaiah was active in Jerusalem in the southern kingdom of Judah when the northern kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrians in 722 B.C., and was active when the Assyrians laid siege to Jerusalem in Judah 701 B.C.
However, the book of Isaiah cannot be attributed entirely to the prophet himself as it covers a period of time in excess of 200 years and is usually divided into three parts: First Isaiah covering chapters 1 – 39; Second Isaiah covering chapters 40 – 55; and Third Isaiah covering chapters 56 – 66 (with some exceptions). Most scholars accept that First Isaiah is the work of the prophet Isaiah himself, and possibly some of his disciples, and covers the time between the call of Isaiah in about 742 to the siege of Jerusalem by the king of Assyria in 701. The siege failed as God sent a plague upon the Assyrian army that killed over 100,000 of the soldiers and the king withdrew back to Nineveh.
Isaiah was overwhelmed with the moral decay of the nation. Consequently, First Isaiah concentrates on Israel’s sinfulness and many of his prophesies are centered on God’s punishment of the nation for its wickedness and idolatry. However, that punishment will not be meant for retribution but, rather, for purification. It was believed by Isaiah and many others at the time that Mount Zion and Jerusalem would one day be the center of the messianic kingdom. Therefore, the nation must be purified to fulfill its role as the center of the kingdom. Unfortunately, we are never told specifically what happened to Isaiah or how or when he died.
By the 6th century B.C., the Assyrians were no longer a menace, but the Babylonians were now the threatening nation. Starting in 597 B.C., the Babylonians invaded Judah and began exiling many of the inhabitants to Babylon. These deportations continued for about 10 years to 587 B.C. when the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and the temple and what remained of other Judean cities and deported just about everyone who was left in the land into Babylon.
Second Isaiah (40 – 55) was written many years after Isaiah vanished from the scene. Second Isaiah was probably written during the Babylonian Exile and is generally attributed to other writers influenced by Isaiah. Second Isaiah contains oracles against Babylon and prophecies about the deliverance of Israel and it is in Second Isaiah that we find the “Suffering Servant Songs” of Isaiah 42, 49 and 53. Many of the people of this time interpreted the Suffering Servant” to be the nation of Israel itself; that Israel would suffer for its sinfulness but would be restored by God through a surviving “remnant of Israel.” Christianity came to associate the suffering servant with Jesus; specifically, Isaiah 53. Take time to read chapter 53 as it is an almost perfect description of the suffering of Jesus and it was written at least 500 years before the time of Christ. Start with the end of chapter 52 as the suffering servant song actually begins with verse 13 of chapter 52.
Our reading this Sunday comes from Third Isaiah and is believed to have been written by another writer inspired by Isaiah but many years later, after the end of the exile. When the exile ended in about 548 B.C., many of the people returned to Jerusalem and began to rebuild the city and the temple. The theme of Third Isaiah is the prosperity that God will send upon the remnant of Israel that have been punished for their infidelity and have returned from exile. But I think it is important to remember that punishment in the Old Testament is not always seen as retribution, but as purification – a re-establishment of justice, the justice that God requires of his covenanted people. So, our reading from Third Isaiah announces joy! The people are to rejoice because the time of their punishment and purification has ended, and God will “spread prosperity over Jerusalem like a river.”
If there is a golden thread that binds Isiah 66 to the gospel this week, we should probably look for deliverance and prosperity in the Kingdom of God.
The first thing we will probably notice about Luke’s gospel this week is that Jesus sent out 72 disciples to preach. We are usually accustomed to thinking of only 12 disciples (probably the inner core of disciples) but, obviously, there were many more. The mission of the 72 was as an advance team; sent to all the towns and villages Jesus would be visiting on his way to Jerusalem. Their commission was to cure the sick, to cast out demons (deliverance and prosperity) and proclaim the truth that the Kingdom of God is at hand for you. And their reward was, not that they would have power to cure and cast out devils, but that their names are written in heaven.
The power of the Holy Spirit is very prominent in Luke’s gospel and, therefore, it is through the power of the Holy Spirit that the 72 are enabled to carry out their mission. Of course, the message for us is that we too are empowered by the Holy Spirit and are called to proclaim that the Kingdom of God is at hand for all who will accept it. We may not be able to cure the sick, but we can cast out devils in ourselves and in others by allowing the Holy Spirit to work in us. By proclaiming and living that Kingdom of God in our own lives, our names will be written in heaven.
Our first and third readings this week may lead us to believe that the message is meant for Israel alone as Isaiah prophesied to Israel and Jesus sent the 72 to the towns of Israel that he intended to visit. But St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians reminds us that the message is meant for you and me (the Gentiles) as well. “For neither does circumcision mean anything, nor does uncircumcision, but only a new creation.” Through baptism and belief in Christ, we are that “new creation.” “Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule and to the Israel of God.”
