Today’s first reading was from the 35th Chapter of Isaiah. Isaiah Chapter 35 is quite brief, but it’s one of the loveliest passages in the Bible. Samuel Sebastian Wesley set nearly the whole Chapter to music in his great Anthem “The Wilderness”: of course according to the sonorous cadences of the Bible authorised by King James in the early 17th century. We have the same text most memorably set by Handel in his Messiah.
Our Lord himself refers to our passage when he responds to messengers from St. John the Baptist in prison. Tell John what you hear and see: the blind see again, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised; good news is preached to the poor; and blessed are those who take no offense at me (Mt 11:4; Lk 7:22).
Good news for the poor; bad news for the wicked. The previous Chapter of Isaiah set out in blood-curdling detail God’s curse on Edom: figure of the evil Empire, the City opposed to God, the land of Mordor, Satan’s Kingdom. Now, this Kingdom may seem to triumph: but the Lord will overturn it utterly and forever; and those who belong to it will receive their just punishment. Then, for God’s people: the wonderful reversal. Sorrow turned into joy; the desert to fertility, defeat to victory; servitude to freedom; sickness and poverty to health and flourishing; death to life. The prophecy culminates in a rejoicing procession to the Holy City, with everlasting joy and gladness. Then, finally, sorrow and sighing are done away with, forever.
You might object: is not this all just a pleasant fantasy; a Big Rock Candy Mountain; a never-never land such as poets love to imagine? And we respond, with perfect confidence: no. These are words of God; and they are true. Yes, the prophet speaks, or sings, using poetic images. He has to do that, because as St. Paul says, what God has prepared for those who love him, no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor can the mind of man even visualise it (cf. 1 Cor 2:9). So: a prophecy like this can have multiple applications. It has been fulfilled; it is being fulfilled; it will be fulfilled. These images point truly to the sort of things God does, is doing, will do. But at the end we will see only how the prophet’s imagination fell short.
Well: in the immediate context of Isaiah, the terrifying army of Sennacherib was devastated by plague, withdrew from the gates of Jerusalem, and the City was saved. That was a most wonderful saving intervention of God. But as an event, it certainly fell short of the prophecy. Then later the exiles in Babylon were able to return home and rebuild the Temple. But that again clearly fell far short. As for St. John the Baptist: I think he may have been confused precisely because he knew that Jesus was the Messiah: God coming among his people. How come, then, that all valleys are now literally not filled in, and all mountains made low? Above all, how come there are still plenty of sick people about – blind, deaf, lame, dumb - and plenty of wicked men still remain firmly in power?
So Jesus re-assures John. Yes, he is the Messiah, and Isaiah’s prophecy is being fulfilled literally in concrete detail. But Jesus tells those he heals not to spread the news about (Mk 7:36), because he has not come simply as a fixer of problems, a righter of wrongs, a wonder worker confined to the limits of this world. No: the redemption he brings will be better, deeper, more complete, more fitting for us, than that. Jesus will himself undergo suffering and death, and then rise in his glorified humanity to eternal life. The chief glory of those who belong to him will be to go through the same process. So, for now, suffering, and sickness, injustice and death will still abide. But when all things have been completed, and Christ’s Kingdom is established in glory forever, then all will cry out in astonished wonder: He has indeed done all things well! (Mk 7:37).
In the age of the Church, miracles of healing still occur. We still witness wonderful reversals, and saving interventions from heaven. But for now we most truly interpret Isaiah’s words spiritually. We say that the water coming to refresh the desert of this world is the Holy Spirit, and holy baptism, through which people are re-born to eternal life. Then: those previously blind to the light of truth have their eyes opened, so that they believe the Gospel. The previously lame now run along the path of salvation, and practise virtues they thought they never could. The previously dumb now confess the Name of the Lord, and sing God’s praises in overflowing spiritual joy. As for those previously deaf to God’s word: now they hear it, as by grace it sinks into their hearts. We still use the Aramaic word of Jesus, Ephphatha, in the rite of baptism, as the Priest touches the person’s ears, that they may always be open to hear the Gospel.
Today is the 8th of September, and Our Lady’s Birthday. So it seems fitting that we should just note now how beautifully Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in her.
Courage! Do not be afraid! sang the prophet (Is 35:4). Hail, full of grace, said the Angel ... do not be afraid! (Lk 1:28-30). See: your Lord is coming: he is coming to save! (Is 35:4). Our Blessed Lady was not deaf to this message. She heard God’s word and accepted it in a perfectly pure and undivided heart. She heard even the one eternal Word of God, who is also the divine Saviour, who took flesh in her motherly womb. She heard him, she gazed upon him, she was united with him in love, she sang of him with joy. Magnificat anima mea Dominum... exaltavit humiles; esurientes implevit bonis ... recordatus misericordiae ... sicut locutus est – He has lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things; he has been mindful of his mercy, and of his promises (Lk 1:46-55).
The promises of Isaiah are now superabundantly fulfilled in Mary. Exalted forever in heaven, perfectly united with her divine Son, our Blessed Lady now lives to intercede for us (cf. Hb 7:25). If you ask her, she will bring about a wonderful reversal for you too: in a way beyond all your wildest imagination or dreams.