The Light Has Dawned

Father Thomas Rosica, CSB preaches on the words of the Prophet Isaias:

After King Ahaz and his people have clearly rejected the Word of God (cf. Isaiah 7:10-12; 8:6a) the Lord declares that he will hide his face from the house of Jacob (8:17) as an indication of his dismay and anger. In a time of anguish and panic due to the wrath of God, people have taken recourse only too easily to mediums and wizards (8:19). But Isaiah observes that it is ridiculous to consult the dead on behalf of the living. In Chapter 8:16-22 we read of the terrible fate that could overtake the people: "There is no dawn for this people" (8:20).

Instead, there is hunger, thirst and misery showing itself in physical as well as spiritual deprivation. People's hearts are darkened and their spirits are greatly disturbed. They get enraged and curse their sinful king and the God whom they have forsaken. They live without hope and any consolation. Whether they turn their faces upward or cast their eyes down to the earth, they will see only distress and darkness while they themselves will be thrust into thick darkness (cf. Exodus 10:22; Deuteronomy 28:29).

Such darkness penetrates right into the heart and soul and renders the continuation of human life impossible. But that darkness and distress were not Isaiah's last words. Precisely upon this land has shone a great light. A recurring theme in the scriptures is the fact that God acts in the unexpected context, in the unexpected place, in the unexpected time, in the unexpected way.