July 3, 2016
First Reading: Isaiah 66:10-14c
http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/070316.cfm
Most of life is a struggle and so most of our art and literature is about that struggle. No story is any good unless there’s some tension, an antagonist, some trouble that needs to be resolved. Yet we long for the end of the struggle, the end of all the stories, the end of the one Story writ large. That end, we hope, will be filled with joy—a joy unable to be grasped now, a joy beyond our experience, a joy that consumes all the struggles, all the pain, when “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Rev 7:17 RSV). That ultimate joy is mostly unfathomable, a thing cloaked in mystery or fogged up by our experience of the trials of life. However, every once in a while, we get a glimpse of it, what the experience of God’s presence, of permanent happiness, of total bliss will really be like.
Isaiah Prepares Us for Jerusalem
This Sunday’s first reading from Isaiah gives us such glimpse. The passage comes from the very last chapter of the long book. All of Isaiah’s prophecies have, in some way, been preparing for this moment. He has warned the people against idolatry, predicting God’s judgment. Yet he also has spoken words of encouragement to the exiled people and predicted their glorious return to the Holy Land. His prophecies of literal return to the land overlap with broader concerns about the final direction of history. The literal Jerusalem and the ideal, heavenly Jerusalem weave in and out from one another. While on the one hand, Isaiah is looking forward to a time of literal political restoration after the Babylonian exile of the Jews. On the other hand, he is looking farther into the future of humanity and God’s relationship with his people.
The Climax of Worship
In the immediate context of Isaiah 66, we find a focus on worship. “Thus says the LORD: ‘Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool; what is the house which you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest?’” (Isa 66:1 RSV) This opening line sets the tone for the chapter. God’s relationship with his people is centered on worship and so their restoration after the exile culminates in worship, in the building of the literal Temple and the resumption of sacrifices in it. However, here we see a much broader perspective too. God does not dwell on earth, but in heaven. Earth has a lower function, only as his “footstool.” Yet Jerusalem takes on a special role as the nexus between heaven and earth. If you want to be in touch with God, then you must go to Jerusalem.
Jerusalem, Our Mother
Jerusalem, in our reading, is depicted as a mother. The prophet invites us to rejoice at her restoration (66:10). Everyone who had mourned her destruction is now called to celebrate her rebuilding. Not only that, but the prophet calls all her devotees to be like babies in the arms of their spiritual mother, Jerusalem. If you’ve had children, you know there’s nothing more satisfied or happy than a little baby nursing at its mother’s breast. Isaiah uses this image to show how fully delighted all of God’s faithful people will be with the restoration of Jerusalem (66:11). All their hopes will be realized, to the point that they will feel like babies being carried around by their mom (66:12). In this context, Jerusalem’s motherhood is totally joyful—she gives birth before going into labor! (66:7) Mother Jerusalem gives birth to a new nation, a renewed people of God, righteous and holy. Her tender relationship with her children expresses the renewal of God’s relationship with his people. While we might not have a deep relationship with the literal city of Jerusalem, we are called to attend to the Heavenly Jerusalem (see Rev 21:2). And while we might never visit the earthly Jerusalem, we are present there at Calvary at every Mass.
Comfort, Comfort, Comfort
In Isa 66:13, the prophet expresses three times how the people will be “comforted.” This keyword, naham, had shown up in the very first line of the second major portion of Isaiah, the Book of Comfort (in Isa 40:1). Here Isaiah 66, the prophet emphasizes repeatedly how his promise of comfort will come to fulfillment in the restored Jerusalem. We might not think of “comfort” as an important part of our spiritual life, but it might be better to think of it as encouragement, embodied in the Greek term parakaleo which translates the Hebrew, naham. For example, St. Paul encourages us regarding the “God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Cor 1:4 RSV, emphasis added). God wants us to be encouraged by his saving power and in turn to encourage others, even in the midst of persecution.
Peace Like a River
Lastly, Isaiah promises that Jerusalem will experience “peace (shalom) like a river” (Isa 66:12, my trans.), meaning that the city will no longer by overrun by wars with foreign powers. Beyond that, “the wealth of the nations” will flow to Jerusalem (66:12). This would change the regular flow of tribute taxes, where the small nation of Judah would routinely send large sums of money to overlord nations. Now, Isaiah predicts, Jerusalem will actually receive tribute from other nations. This is all part of his larger vision of God’s victory, where in the end, people from all over the world will stream towards Jerusalem to worship (66:18-20). We can see this prophecy coming to fulfillment as people from around the world turn their hearts to the Lord and worship him at the altar.
Throughout this passage, Isaiah points to a day that we long for, when all of the troubles of life are washed away and we finally come into the embrace of God for all eternity. Isaiah’s invitation to worship is the other side of the coin of his earlier warnings against idolatry. Only by rejoicing in what God rejoices in and finding our consolation in his presence can we experience the encouragement and the peace that he longs to give to us. We are blessed to be counted among those who stream towards Jerusalem, bringing our tribute to the King and resting in the arms of our Mother. While no depiction of that ultimate joy can fully fill out the picture for us, Isaiah lets us see just a little of what it will be like to see God face to face and rest in his eternal embrace.