Joseph Kenny OP: Readings 17 December

READINGS ADVENT 17 DECEMBER
מַגִּיד דְּבָרוֹ לְיַעֲקֹב — חֻקָּיו וּמִשְׁפָּטָיו לְיִשְׂרָאֵל
Even Years: Isaiah 45:1-13
1 כֹּה־אָמַר יְהוָה לִמְשִׁיחוֹ לְכוֹרֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר־הֶחֱזַקְתִּי בִימִינוֹ לְרַד־לְפָנָיו גּוֹיִם וּמָתְנֵי מְלָכִים אֲפַתֵּחַ לִפְתֹּחַ לְפָנָיו דְּלָתַיִם וּשְׁעָרִים לֹא יִסָּגֵרוּ׃
2 אֲנִי לְפָנֶיךָ אֵלֵךְ וַהֲדוּרִים אוֹשִׁר דַּלְתוֹת נְחוּשָׁה אֲשַׁבֵּר וּבְרִיחֵי בַרְזֶל אֲגַדֵּעַ׃
3 וְנָתַתִּי לְךָ אוֹצְרוֹת חֹשֶׁךְ וּמַטְמֻנֵי מִסְתָּרִים לְמַעַן תֵּדַע כִּי־אֲנִי יְהוָה הַקּוֹרֵא בְשִׁמְךָ אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל׃
4 לְמַעַן עַבְדִּי יַעֲקֹב וְיִשְׂרָאֵל בְּחִירִי וָאֶקְרָא לְךָ בִּשְׁמֶךָ אֲכַנְּךָ וְלֹא יְדַעְתָּנִי׃
5 אֲנִי יְהוָה וְאֵין עוֹד זוּלָתִי אֵין אֱלֹהִים אֲאַזֶּרְךָ וְלֹא יְדַעְתָּנִי׃
6 לְמַעַן יֵדְעוּ מִמִּזְרַח־שֶׁמֶשׁ וּמִמַּעֲרָבָה כִּי־אֶפֶס בִּלְעָדָי אֲנִי יְהוָה וְאֵין עוֹד׃
7 יוֹצֵר אוֹר וּבוֹרֵא חֹשֶׁךְ עֹשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם וּבוֹרֵא רָע אֲנִי יְהוָה עֹשֶׂה כָל־אֵלֶּה׃
8 ס הַרְעִיפוּ שָׁמַיִם מִמַּעַל וּשְׁחָקִים יִזְּלוּ־צֶדֶק תִּפְתַּח־אֶרֶץ וְיִפְרוּ־יֶשַׁע וּצְדָקָה תַצְמִיחַ יַחַד אֲנִי יְהוָה בְּרָאתִיו׃ ס
9 הוֹי רָב אֶת־יֹצְרוֹ חֶרֶשׂ אֶת־חַרְשֵׂי אֲדָמָה הֲיֹאמַר חֹמֶר לְיֹצְרוֹ מַה־תַּעֲשֶׂה וּפָעָלְךָ אֵין־יָדַיִם לוֹ׃ ס
10 הוֹי אֹמֵר לְאָב מַה־תּוֹלִיד וּלְאִשָּׁה מַה־תְּחִילִין׃ ס
11 כֹּה־אָמַר יְהוָה קְדוֹשׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל וְיֹצְרוֹ הָאֹתִיּוֹת שְׁאָלוּנִי עַל־בָּנַי וְעַל־פֹּעַל יָדַי תְּצַוֻּנִי׃
12 אָנֹכִי עָשִׂיתִי אֶרֶץ וְאָדָם עָלֶיהָ בָרָאתִי אֲנִי יָדַי נָטוּ שָׁמַיִם וְכָל־צְבָאָם צִוֵּיתִי׃
Odd Years: Isaiah 40:1-11
1 נַחֲמוּ נַחֲמוּ עַמִּי יֹאמַר אֱלֹהֵיכֶם׃
2 דַּבְּרוּ עַל־לֵב יְרוּשָׁלַםִ וְקִרְאוּ אֵלֶיהָ כִּי מָלְאָה צְבָאָהּ כִּי נִרְצָה עֲוֹנָהּ כִּי לָקְחָה מִיַּד יְהוָה כִּפְלַיִם בְּכָל־חַטֹּאתֶיהָ׃ ס
3 קוֹל קוֹרֵא בַּמִּדְבָּר פַּנּוּ דֶּרֶךְ יְהוָה יַשְּׁרוּ בָּעֲרָבָה מְסִלָּה לֵאלֹהֵינוּ׃
4 כָּל־גֶּיא יִנָּשֵׂא וְכָל־הַר וְגִבְעָה יִשְׁפָּלוּ וְהָיָה הֶעָקֹב לְמִישׁוֹר וְהָרְכָסִים לְבִקְעָה׃
5 וְנִגְלָה כְּבוֹד יְהוָה וְרָאוּ כָל־בָּשָׂר יַחְדָּו כִּי פִּי יְהוָה דִּבֵּר׃ ס
6 קוֹל אֹמֵר קְרָא וְאָמַר מָה אֶקְרָא כָּל־הַבָּשָׂר חָצִיר וְכָל־חַסְדּוֹ כְּצִיץ הַשָּׂדֶה׃
7 יָבֵשׁ חָצִיר נָבֵל צִיץ כִּי רוּחַ יְהוָה נָשְׁבָה בּוֹ אָכֵן חָצִיר הָעָם׃
8 יָבֵשׁ חָצִיר נָבֵל צִיץ וּדְבַר־אֱלֹהֵינוּ יָקוּם לְעוֹלָם׃ ס
9 עַל הַר־גָּבֹהַ עֲלִי־לָךְ מְבַשֶּׂרֶת צִיּוֹן הָרִימִי בַכֹּחַ קוֹלֵךְ מְבַשֶּׂרֶת יְרוּשָׁלִָם הָרִימִי אַל־תִּירָאִי אִמְרִי לְעָרֵי יְהוּדָה הִנֵּה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם׃
10 הִנֵּה אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה בְּחָזָק יָבוֹא וּזְרֹעוֹ מֹשְׁלָה לוֹ הִנֵּה שְׂכָרוֹ אִתּוֹ וּפְעֻלָּתוֹ לְפָנָיו׃
11 כְּרֹעֶה עֶדְרוֹ יִרְעֶה בִּזְרֹעוֹ יְקַבֵּץ טְלָאִים וּבְחֵיקוֹ יִשָּׂא עָלוֹת יְנַהֵל׃ ס

Even Years: Pope Saint Leo the Great, Letter 31
Nihil prodest Dominum nostrum, beatae Mariae Virginis filium, verum perfectumque hominem dicere, si non illius generis homo creditur, cuius in Evangelio praedicatur. It is of no avail to say that our Lord, the son of the Virgin Mary, was true and perfect man, if he is not believed to be man of that stock from which the Gospel tells us he came.
Dicit enim Matthaeus: Liber generationis Iesu Christi filii David, filii Abraham; et ita humanae originis ordinem sequitur, ut generationum lineas usque ad Ioseph, cui mater Domini erat desponsata, deducat. Matthew says: The book of the genealogy of Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. He then follows the order of Christ's human origin and traces the line of his ancestry down to Joseph, to whom the Lord's mother was betrothed.
Lucas vero, retrorsum successionum gradus relegens, ad ipsum humani generis principem redit, ut Adam primum et Adam novissimum eiusdem ostendat esse naturae. Luke, on the other hand, works backwards step by step; and traces his succession to the first of the human race himself, to show that the first Adam and the last Adam were of the same nature.
Potuerat quippe omnipotentia Filii Dei sic ad docendos iustificandosque homines apparere, quomodo et patriarchis et prophetis in specie carnis apparuit, cum aut luctamen iniit, aut sermonem conseruit, cumve officia hospitalitatis non obnuit, vel etiam appositum cibum sumpsit. The almighty Son of God could have come to teach and justify men with only the outward appearance of our humanity, exactly as he appeared to patriarchs and prophets. This he did when he wrestled with Jacob, or entered into conversation, or when he did not refuse hospitable entertainment, and even partook of the food set before him.
Sed illae imagines huius hominis erant indices, cuius veritatem ex praecedentium patrum stirpe sumendam significationes mysticae nuntiabant. Those outward appearances pointed to this man. They had a hidden meaning which proclaimed that his reality would be taken from the stock of his forefathers.
Et ideo sacramentum reconciliationis nostrae, ante tempora aeterna dispositum, nullae implebant figurae, quia nondum supervenerat Spiritus Sanctus in Virginem, nec virtus Altissimi obumbraverat ei; ut intra intemerata viscera, aedificante sibi Sapientia domum, Verbum caro fieret; et, forma Dei ac forma servi in unam conveniente personam, Creator temporum nasceretur in tempore; et, per quem facta sunt omnia, ipse inter omnia gigneretur. Hence God's plan for our reconciliation, formed before all eternity, was not realized by any of these prefigurations. As yet, the Holy Spirit had not come upon the Virgin nor had the power of the Most High overshadowed her. Only then, would the Word become flesh within her inviolate womb, in which Wisdom would build a house for herself. Then, too, the creator of ages would be born in time and the nature of God would join with the nature of the slave in the unity of one person. He through whom the world was created would himself be brought forth in the midst of all creation.
Nisi enim novus homo, factus in similitudinem carnis peccati, nostram susciperet vetustatem, et, consubstantialis Patri, consubstantialis esse dignaretur et matri, naturamque sibi nostram solus a peccato liber uniret, sub iugo diaboli generaliter teneretur humana captivitas; nec uti possemus triumphantis victoria, si extra nostram esset conserta naturam. If the new man, made in the likeness of sinful flesh, had not taken our old nature; if he, one in substance with the Father, had not accepted to be one in substance with the mother; if he who was alone free from sin had not united our nature to himself, - then men would still have been captive under the power of the devil. We would have been incapable of profiting by the victor's triumph if the battle had been fought outside our nature.
De hac autem participatione mirabili sacramentum nobis regenerationis illuxit, ut per ipsum Spiritum, per quem Christus et conceptus est et natus, etiam nos spiritali rursus origine nasceremur. But, by means of this marvellous sharing, the mystery of our rebirth shone out upon us. We are reborn in newness of spirit through the same Spirit through whom Christ was conceived and born.
Propter quod ab Evangelista de credentibus dicitur: Qui non ex sanguinibus, neque ex voluntate carnis, neque ex voluntate viri, sed ex Deo nati sunt. Consequently the evangelist speaks of those who believe as those who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

Odd Years: Cyril of Alexandria, On Isaiah Lib 4:2 (PG 70, 955-958)
Μακρὸς μὲν γὰρ δεδαπάνηται λόγος διὰ τῶν ἀνόπιν περὶ Κύρου, τοῦ Περσῶν τε καὶ Μήδων ἐξάρχοντος, ὡς καταδῃώσαντος μὲν τὴν Βαβυλωνίων, καὶ κατὰ κράτος αὐτὴν ᾑρηκότος, θητείας δὲ τῆς αὐτόσε, καὶ τῶν τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας δεσμῶν ἀνέντος τὸν Ἰσραήλ· θεμελιώσαντος δὲ καὶ τὸν ἐν τοῖς Ἱεροσολύμοις νεὼν, κατεγήγερται δὲ καὶ ὅτι τῆς Χαλδαίων καὶ Θεοῦ καταθήγοντος, καὶ ἀνοιγνύντος αὐτῷ θύρας χαλκᾶς, καὶ μοχλοὺς σιδηροῦς συνθραύοντος. Isaiah speaks at some length of Cyrus, king of the Medes and Persians. Raised up against the Chaldeans, he was urged on by God himself, who opened their bronze doors to him and shattered their iron bars. Having conquered the land of Babylon and laid it waste, Cyrus released enslaved Israel from captivity and caused the foundations of the Temple in Jerusalem to be laid.
Ἀλλ' ἦν τοῦτο διήγημα μερικόν. Ὑπῆρξε γὰρ μόνοις τὸ διευθυμεῖσθαι δεῖν, καὶ τῶν τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας ἀπαλλάττεσθαι πόνων, τοὺς ἐξ αἵματος Ἰσραήλ. Μεθίστησι δὲ λοιπὸν τῶν ἐννοιῶν τὴν δύναμιν ἐπ' αὐτὸν ἥδη τὸν Ἐμμανουὴλ, ὃς ἀνεδείχθη παρὰ Θεοῦ καὶ Πατρὸς, ἵνα κηρύξῃ μὲν αἰχμαλώτοις ἄφεσιν, τυφλοῖς ἀνάβλεψιν, ἵνα τοὺς ταῖς τῶν ἰδίων ἁμαρτημάτων σειραῖς ἀφύκτως κατεσφιγμένους ἐξέληται τοῦ κακοῦ, καὶ τῆς τοῦ διαβόλου τυραννίδος ἐλευθέρους ἀποφήνας, τοὺς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς παλινδρομῆσαι παρασκευάσῃ πρὸς ἑαυτὸν, προσαγάγῃ τε οὕτω δι' ἑαυτοῦ τῷ Θεῷ καὶ Πατρί. But this is only part of the story, for after indicating that the rejoicing and the release from captivity were for those of Israelite blood and for them alone, Isaiah goes on to apply these images to Emmanuel, who was consecrated by God the Father to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind; that is to say, to deliver those inescapably bound by the chains of their own sins, to declare them free from the devil's tyranny, and so to prepare the inhabitants of the earth to return to himself, to be led by him to God the Father.
Γέγονε γὰρ μεσίτης Θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων, καὶ δι' αὐτοῦ τὴν καταλλαγὴν ἐσχήκαμεν ἐν ἑνὶ πνεύματι πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα, καὶ αὐτός ἐστιν ἡ εἰρήνη ἡμῶν, κατὰ τὰς Γραφάς· αὐτὸς τὸν θεῖον ἤτοι τὸν ἑαυτοῦ ναὸν ἀνεδείματο. τοῦτ' ἔστι, τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν. Αὐτὸς γὰρ αὐτὴν ἑαυτῷ παρέστησεν παρθένον ἁγνὴν, μὴ ἔχουσαν σπῖλον ἡ ῥυτίδα, ἤ τι τῶν τοιούτων, ἁγίαν δὲ μᾶλλον, καὶ ἄμωμον. Οὐκοῦν ὡς ἐν εἰκόνι τῷ Κύρῳ καὶ τοῖς παρ' αὐτοῦ γεγονόσι κατίδοι τις ἂν εὖ μάλα τὰ τοῖς ἀνὰ πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν δεδωρημένα παρὰ Θεοῦ θεοπρεπῆ κατορθώματα. Οὗτος μὲν οὖν τῶν προκειμένων ἡμῖν ὁ σκοπός. Ἕκαστα δὲ κατὰ μέρος τῶν γεγραμμένων ὡς ἔνι διερμηνεύσομεν. He has become the mediator between God and men, and through him we have been reconciled in the one Spirit to the Father. As Scripture says, He is our peace. He himself has rebuilt his own holy Temple, which is the Church, and has taken her to himself as a pure virgin, having neither spot nor wrinkle, nor any such imperfection, for she is holy and without fault. Thus one can very easily see in Cyrus and his deeds an image of the divine blessings bestowed by God upon all the inhabitants of the earth.
Εὐφραινέσθω τοίνυν, φησὶν, ὁ οὐρανὸς ἄνωθεν, τοῦτ' ἔστιν, οἱ τὴν ἄνω τρίβοντες πόλιν, καὶ τὸ λαμπρὸν καὶ ἀξιάγαστον ἔχοντες ἐνδιαίτημα, ἄγγελοί τε καὶ ἀρχάγγελοι, καὶ τὰ τούτων ἐπέκεινα, θρόνοι τε καὶ ἐξουσίαι, καὶ δυνάμεις λογικαὶ, καὶ τῶν ἀνωτάτω θώκων οἱ παραστάται. Φαμὲν δὲ ὅτι θυμηδίας πρόφασις καὶ αὐτοῖς δὴ γέγονε τοῖς ἐν οὐρανῷ πατράσιν, ἡ τῶν πεπλανημένων ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἐπιστροφὴ πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν, ἡ διά γέ φημι τοῦ πάντων ἡμῶν Σωτῆρος Χριστοῦ, ἡ τυφλῶν ἀνάβλεψις, καὶ ἁπαξαπλῶς τῶν ἀπολωλότων ἡ σωτηρία. Εἰ γὰρ χαίρουσιν ἐφ' ἑνὶ ἁμαρτωλῷ μετανοοῦντι, πῶς ἐνδοιάσαι θέμις, ὡς ἥδονταί τε καὶ κατευφραίνονται σεσωσμένην ὁρῶντες τὴν ὑπ' οὐρανόν; Οὐκοῦν ἄνωθεν μὲν ὁ οὐρανὸς εὐφραινέσθω, φησὶ, ῥανάτωσαν δὲ καὶ αἱ νεφέλαι δικαιοσύνην... Let heaven rejoice, says Isaiah, meaning the angels and archangels who inhabit the heavenly city, possessors of that radiant and awesome dwelling place. Now the reason, surely, for the heavenly spirits' rejoicing is because through Christ, the Saviour of us all, earth's erring inhabitants have been converted to God, because the blind have received sight; in a word, because the lost have been saved. If they rejoice over one repentant sinner, how can there be any doubt of their joy at seeing the world saved? Let heaven rejoice then, says Scripture, and let the clouds rain down justice. Let earth open and bring forth both mercy and justice.
ἔλεος δὲ εἶναί φαμεν τὴν ἀγάπην, ἥτις ἐστὶ τοῦ νόμου τὸ πλήρωμα, συμπαρομαρτούσης αὐτῇ καὶ δικαιοσύνης, καὶ πάντως που τῆς εὐαγγελικῆς· ἧς καὶ βραβευτὴς καὶ διδάσκαλος αὐτὸς ἡμῖν γέγονεν ὁ Χριστός. Φαίη δ' ἄν τις, ἔλεος καὶ δικαιοσύνην τὴν ἐκ γῆς ἀνίσχουσαν, ἢ καὶ βλαστήσασαν, αὐτὸν εἶναι τὸν Κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν τὸν Χριστόν. Γέγονε γὰρ ἡμῖν παρὰ Θεοῦ καὶ Πατρὸς ἔλεος καὶ δικαιοσύνη· εἴπερ ἐστὶν ἀληθὲς ὡς ἠλεήθημεν ἐν αὐτῷ, καὶ δεδικαιώμεθα, τῶν ἀρχαίων αἰτιαμάτων λαβόντες τὴν ἄφεσιν, ἤγουν ὅτι παρ' αὐτοῦ δεδέγμεθα τὴν εἰς λῆξιν ἀγαθοῦ παντὸς ἀνακομίσαι δυναμένην ἡμᾶς δικαιοσύνην, δι' ἧς καὶ σεσώσμεθα. Mercy is the love which is the fulfilment of the law, for it goes hand in hand with the justice of the Gospel that Christ himself teaches us and bestows on us. It could also be said that mercy and justice coming forth and growing from the earth is our Lord Jesus Christ himself. If anyone thinks it strange for the earth to be commanded to bring forth justice, let him remember that the psalmist also says that God the Father and Emmanuel himself wrought justice in the midst of the earth. [For it is true that we were given mercy and justice in him, with forgiveness of former debts, for we have received rom him a saving justice capable of enlisting us as beneficiaries of every good.]

Prayer