Daily Retreat 12/20/06
2006 Dec 20 Wed:Advent
Is 7:10-14; Ps 23(24):1-2,3-4ab,5-6; Lk 1:26-38
From today’s readings: “Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God; let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky.... Such is the race that seeks for Him, that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.... Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.”
O Key of David!
The virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and name Him Emmanuel
The most sublime prophecy about the birth of the Messiah is found in Isaiah 7:14 - “The virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and name Him Emmanuel.” St. Matthew’s Gospel insists that this verse is the very denouement of the mysterious events leading to the birth of Christ (cf. Matt 1:22-23) and St. Luke patently alludes to the same verse when he repeatedly emphasizes Mary’s virginity (cf. Luke 1:27, 1:34).
No wonder then that, for most of us Christians, Isaiah’s prophecy is more than vaguely familiar. If anything, the surprise comes in realizing that the earlier Advent scriptures had not yet included this constitutional passage. Why then did the Church arrange for this reading so late in the Advent season? Your careful overview of the Advent lectionary should lead to the insight that attention and meditation on the earlier Advent readings is needed to best appreciate the significance of this prophecy!
Sometimes people wonder why, in the prophecy from the Book of Isaiah, it is clearly stated that the Virgin’s Son will be named “Emmanuel,” (meaning “God with us”)_whereas in the Gospel of Luke (and Matthew), the angelic command is for the Child to bear the name “Jesus” (meaning “Savior” or “God saves”). Clearly, the Son of Mary is both “Savior” and “God with us,” so we can call upon Him using either name.
Is 7:10-14; Ps 23(24):1-2,3-4ab,5-6; Lk 1:26-38
From today’s readings: “Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God; let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky.... Such is the race that seeks for Him, that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.... Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.”
O Key of David!
The virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and name Him Emmanuel
The most sublime prophecy about the birth of the Messiah is found in Isaiah 7:14 - “The virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and name Him Emmanuel.” St. Matthew’s Gospel insists that this verse is the very denouement of the mysterious events leading to the birth of Christ (cf. Matt 1:22-23) and St. Luke patently alludes to the same verse when he repeatedly emphasizes Mary’s virginity (cf. Luke 1:27, 1:34).
No wonder then that, for most of us Christians, Isaiah’s prophecy is more than vaguely familiar. If anything, the surprise comes in realizing that the earlier Advent scriptures had not yet included this constitutional passage. Why then did the Church arrange for this reading so late in the Advent season? Your careful overview of the Advent lectionary should lead to the insight that attention and meditation on the earlier Advent readings is needed to best appreciate the significance of this prophecy!
Sometimes people wonder why, in the prophecy from the Book of Isaiah, it is clearly stated that the Virgin’s Son will be named “Emmanuel,” (meaning “God with us”)_whereas in the Gospel of Luke (and Matthew), the angelic command is for the Child to bear the name “Jesus” (meaning “Savior” or “God saves”). Clearly, the Son of Mary is both “Savior” and “God with us,” so we can call upon Him using either name.
posted by FrPitstick | 12/19/2006
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