My brother had a good idea the other day. He said that there should be a way to learn something more about the Sunday Scriptures because they are so rich and only so much can be covered in a homily. So, I thought, this space would be a good place to do some preparation for the coming Sunday Mass. Therefore, for this coming Sunday let's look at the first reading, from Isaiah, Chapter 1, verses 1 to 10.
Hundreds of years before Christ, Isaiah was a political figure, kind of like a Secretary of State, in Judah whose capital was Jerusalem. He was also a prophet who was given by God a prophecy about the coming "day" when the Messiah (i.e. the Anointed One, the Christ) would establish the Kingdom of God in Jerusalem. "That day" was a phrase used by many of the prophets about the coming Kingdom. In this reading the coming Messiah is depicted as a shoot from the stump of Jesse. Jesse was the father of King David, so the coming Messiah would be of the house and lineage of King David, and the Messiah would be called the Son of David.
When "that day" comes the Messiah will usher in the era of justice for the poor and peace for all of creation. For justice and peace to happen, God will bestow the gifts of the Spirit upon the Messiah. The Church has seen this list of gifts as 6 of the 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit that we are given when we are anointed in Confirmation.
Application: we, because of our union with Jesus in our Baptism, and because of the call given us in Confirmation, are the ones through whom He will bring about the era of justice for the poor and peace for the world. Some calling!
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