Tuesday
2nd Week of Advent
1st Reading: Isaiah 40:1-11
Prologue: Promise of Deliverance
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[1] Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. [2] Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she
has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. [3] A voice cries: “In the
wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for
our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. [5] And the
glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth
of the Lord has spoken.” [6] A voice says, “Cry!” And I said, “What shall I cry?” All
flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. [7] The grass withers,
the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people is
grass. [8] The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand
for ever. [9] Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up
your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, lift it up, fear not;
say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!” [10] Behold, the Lord God comes
with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his
recompense before him. [11] He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather
the lambs in his arms, he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those
that are with young.
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Commentary:
40:1-55:13. These chapters make up the second part of the book of Isaiah, also
known as “Second Isaiah” or “Deutero-Isaiah”. Almost everything here refers to
a period of history one or two centuries later than that of “First Isaiah”. The
oppressor is no longer Assyria but Babylon, which conquered Jerusalem in 587-
586 BC, and then began a series of deportations that sent the upper classes of
Jerusalem and Judah into exile. Many years later (539 BC), Cyrus, king of the
Persians, conquered the Babylonians and issued a decree allowing those
deportees who so wished to return home. These events are echoed in Second
Isaiah’s oracles, songs, lamentations and denunciations,and the prophetic
visions of the final, enduring deliverance and restoration of the chosen people
and the city of Zion.
The various literary units in this part of the book are grouped into two Is 52:7-11
sections more or less by subject. The first (40:1-48:22) implies that the Jews are
still held against their will in Babylon. Their deliverance is announced, thanks to
the power of the Lord, who rules the world and determines the course of human
affairs; he has chosen Cyrus, king of Persia, called here his “anointed”, his
messiah, to redeem Israel from exile (44:24-45:25).
This section, too, contains the announcement that God will choose a “servant”,
whom he will send empowered by the Spirit to establish law and justice (42:1-9,
the first “song of the Servant”).
The second section celebrates the glorious restoration of the people of God on
Zion; in this, too, the “Servant of the Lord” will play the key role; the section
contains the last three “songs of the Servant” (49: 1-6; 50:4-9; 52:13-53:12).
40:1-48:22. The historical background to these chapters is the time immediately
after the return of the exiles from Babylon, which is depicted as a “new exodus”.
The exodus from Egypt was the prototype of all God’s interventions on his
people’s behalf: now we hear of another one, “new” because the power with which
God, the Creator of all things, acts now surpasses that to be seen in the exodus.
The news that deliverance is at hand greatly consoles the people: we are told
this at the start, and it is repeated in the oracles that follow. For this reason, this
part of the book of Isaiah is usually called the “Book of Consolation", and it has
been interpreted as an anticipation of the consolation that Christ will bring: “The
true consolation, balm and release from all human ills is the Incarnation of our
God and Saviour” (Theodoret of Cyrus, "Commentaria In Isaiam", 40, 3).
The section opens with a song of joy over the imminent release of the exiles
(40:1-11). After this a number of oracles are grouped together which describe the
reason why the people should hope in the Lord who is mighty and desires to save,
who is ready to do so (42:1-25), to manifest himself as the Redeemer of Israel
(43:1-44:23) and bring salvation to Jerusalem (44:24-48:19). The section ends with
a prophecy of the redemption of his people and a call to leave Babylon (48:20-22).
40:1-11. The section begins on a formal note with an anonymous voice
proclaiming the Lord's consolation (vv 1-5) The same voice calls on the prophet
himself to proclaim that the word of God and his message of salvation will endure
forever (vv. 6-11). The oracles are addressed to those people of Jerusalem who
have been deported to Babylon. When they were first spoken, many decades
had passed since these people and the previous generation were forced to leave
the holy city. Those years of suffering and exile have more than atoned for their
sins. The time comes for them, with the Lord’s help, to set out on the return
journey. That journey is mentioned throughout this section. The voice speaking
in the name of the Lord boosts their morale: it won’t be a difficult journey; they
will find a way opened up for them which will bring them to the glory of the Lord.
As in the exodus from Egypt, on the “way” from Babylon to Jerusalem they will
see wonderful evidence of the power of God. The words spoken by the
mysterious voice, inviting them to set out, fills the returnees with hope. The four
Gospels see these words fulfilled in the ministry of John the Baptist, who is the
voice crying in the wilderness “Prepare the way of the Lord” (cf. v. 3). And, indeed,
John, with his call to personal conversion and his baptism of repentance, does
prepare the way for people to find Jesus (cf. Mt 3:3; Mk 1:3; Lk 3:4; Jn 1:23),
whom the Gospels confess to be “the Lord” (cf. v. 3). John the Baptist is his
herald, the “precursor”: “The voice commands that a way be opened for the Word
of God, the path smoothed and all obstacles removed: when our God comes, he
will be able to walk without hindrance. Prepare the way of the Lord: this means
to preach the gospel and to offer consolation to his people, with the desire that
the salvation of God embrace all mankind” (Eusebius of Caesarea, "Commen-
tana In Isaiam", 40, 366). Hence, in Christian tradition, “John the Baptist is
‘more than a prophet’ (Lk 7:26). In him, the Holy Spirit concludes his speaking
through the prophets. John completes the cycle of prophets begun by Elijah
(cf. Mt 11:13-14). He proclaims the imminence of the consolation of Israel; he
is the ‘voice’ of the Consoler who is coming (Jn 1:23; cf. Is 40:1-3)” ("Catechism
of the Catholic Church", 719).
In the second part of the oracle, the anonymous voice asks the prophet to speak
in the name of the Lord (vv. 6-8). Merely human plans can only go so far; but the
word of God stands forever In the things that the voice says there must be an
allusion to the might of Babylon, which withers like the “flower of the field” when
the “breath of the Lord blows upon it”, because it challenged the goodness of
God. The message to be given to the people speaks of trusting in the power of
God, who comes not to lay waste but to protect and recompense those in his
care (vv. 9-11). Here we find for the first time the simile of the “flock” being applied
to the people of God, one of a number of figures of speech used in Holy Scripture
to describe God’s tender care of his people (cf. Jer 23:3; Ezek 34:1ff; Ps 23:4)
and which Christian tradition uses to explain the mystery of the Church: “The
Church is a sheepfold whose one and indispensable door is Christ (Jn 10:1-10).
It is a flock of which God himself foretold he would be the shepherd (Is 40:11;
Ezek 34:11-31), and whose sheep, although ruled by human shepherds, are
nevertheless continuously led and nourished by Christ himself, the Good
Shepherd and the Prince of the shepherds (cf. Jn 10:11; 1 Pet 5:4), who gave
his life for the sheep (cf. Jn 10:11-15)” (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 6). The
words of vv. 6-8 will later be used in the First Letter of St Peter to confirm the
validity of the precept of brotherly love (1 Pet 1:24-25).
Gospel Reading: Matthew 18:12-14
The Lost Sheep
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[12] "What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has
gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go in search of
the one that went astray? [13] And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices
over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. [14] So it is not
the will of My Father who is in Heaven that one of these little ones should
perish."
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Commentary:
12-14. This parable clearly shows our Lord's loving concern for sinners. It
expresses in human terms the joy God feels when a wayward child comes
back to Him.
Seeing so many souls living away from God, Pope John Paul II comments:
"Unfortunately we witness the moral pollution which is devastating humanity,
disregarding especially those very little ones about whom Jesus speaks."
"What must we do? We must imitate the Good Shepherd and give ourselves
without rest for the salvation of souls. Without forgetting material charity and
social justice, we must be convinced that the most sublime charity is spiritual
charity, that is, the commitment for the salvation of souls. And souls are saved
with prayer and sacrifice. This is the mission of the Church!" ("Homily to the
Poor Clares of Albano," 14 August 1979).
As the RSV points out, "other ancient authorities add verse 11, "For the Son of
Man came to save the lost"--apparently taken from Luke 19:10.
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase
The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.
[참고: 이 파일은 저서명 "가톨릭 교회의 말씀 전례에 따른 성경공부 해설서"(엮은이: 소순태, 출판사: 가톨릭출판사)의 각주의 연장으로 마련되었습니다].