A message of comfort that has no age
Isaiah 40:1-11 - Tuesday, December 12, 2023
The fragment of Isaiah that we are meditating upon today begins the second part of that prophetic book. It is commonly attributed to an anonymous prophet who lived during the Babylonian exile, around the 6th century BCE. The well-known twenty century Rabbi and the author of the book, "The Prophets", Abraham Heschel said that the message of that prophet has no age and it always offers comfort when the sick world cries.
Today, the sick world cries yet again. But this time, it is not just the cry of the poor and the oppressed, it is also the cry of the entire planet, our sister Mother Earth. Within our sick world, we hear again Isaiah's message of comfort and consolation: "Comfort, o comfort My people, says your God" (Is 40:1). Isaiah's message was directed to his brothers and sisters living in the Babylonian exile. For the first time, someone openly voices something that people sensed but were unable or did not dare to articulate: God's punishment was more severe than the sins committed by the people (see Is 40:2). Later on, the prophet surprises us even more by presenting an idea that would have an impact on our perception of suffering and influence the message of Christianity. What was that idea? That the suffering can be vicarious, namely for the benefit of someone else (see Is 52:13-53:12).
Many people in the world suffer way beyond any acceptable levels: the victims of war and organised crime, the prisoners of conscience, the activists, the journalists, and those persecuted for the sake of their beliefs. To all of them, Isaiah delivers a twofold message. The first part of this message is encapsulated in the statement: "All flesh is grass and all its trust like the flowers of the field" (Is 40:6). The phrase "all flesh" included the powerful of the earth who considered themselves to have divine origins. Yes, the presidents, the prime ministers, and even popes die. There are no exceptions. The prophet says that "the people indeed is grass" (Is 40:7) and so even the most powerful and oppressive regime or leader sooner or later will dry up and fade.
The second part is connected with a word that we are familiar with: "gospel". The content of Isaiah's gospel is the coming of the Lord to rescue His people (see Is 40:9-11). This word was taken up by the Evangelists as the best description of the message about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (see Mark 1:1). Jesus also came to rescue us from the power of sin, enslavement, sickness, poverty and death. He is the shepherd that gently shepherds us and leads us to fulness of life (see Is 40:11; John 10:10). He is the Word of God that stands firm forever and in whom all God's promises are fulfilled (Is 40:8; 2 Cor 1:20).
Abraham Heschel was right in saying that the unknown prophet nicknamed "the second Isaiah" left us a message that always offers comfort when the sick world cries. But, the message also invites us to build a world where the valleys of sorrow and pain are lifted high and the mountains of injustice and might are brought low, where the crooked ways of corruption are made straight and the ridges of inequality become plain. In such a world the glory of the Lord can be revealed for all flesh to see (see Is 40:4-5).