“Blessed are the Eyes that See what You See"

Today's Mass Readings

The first reading for today is taken from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. In it Isaiah foretells what will happen when the Messiah arrives. Mention is made of a “stump” and a “root” of Jesse. Jesse was King David’s father, and so this highlights the Davidic lineage of the Messiah. The Messiah would be a stump or root from Jesse, because he would be a son of David. The passage also speaks about a future ingathering of the Gentiles, where Gentiles and Jews would be united in their worship of the one true God. The above themes were was an important aspect of the Davidic kingdom. When David’s son, King Solomon, built the Temple in Jerusalem, for example, he made sure that there was an outer court where Gentiles could come from among the nations and worship God. Indeed, the reputation of Solomon’s wisdom spread throughout the Middle East so that people from all over came to Israel to learn the wisdom of God. The Isaiah passage specifically says that the Gentiles will seek out for the root of Jesse, which we know to be Jesus.

At an initial level this has been fulfilled in Christ. At another level the world is still waiting for Jesus’ second return in glory, for the end of world. This is when the wolf shall be the guest of the lamb and the calf shall browse together with the lion. This is a vision of a future period of peace, and end to war and violence of every kind. Many Jews use this text when they talk about the future coming of the Messiah. For Jews, the Messiah clearly must not have come yet, since there is still violence on earth, wolves hunt lambs and are not yet their peaceful guests.

As Christians we understand that the passage is speaking both about Christ’s first coming as well as His final coming at the very end of time. In the end, God will right all wrongs. But that does not mean that all we are to do is sit passively and wait for the end. No, we must continue the work of God right now. Isaiah tells us that Jesus will “judge the poor with justice.” Let us begin this task now, by helping the poor and the afflicted. Let us sow the seeds of peace, even if we know that there will not be complete peace until the end. God will bring peace in the end. This we know for sure. Let us then be channels of God’s peace. Let God bring peace through our peaceful actions, not despite our actions.

- Jeff Morrow