Embedded Files
Isaiah 7:1-17 Isiah tried to convince King Ahaz to trust in the Lord’s might rather than enter into military alliances with pagan neighbors, but the king’s heart was hardened. Nonetheless, out of this conversation comes the beautiful prophecy of the virgin birth to a son who would be named “God with us.” This prophecy was fulfilled in the Incarnation of Christ, the Son of God, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of Mary (cf. Mt 1:18-25; Lk 1:26-38); this verse is cited explicitly in Matthew’s Gospel (cf. Mt 1:23). (CCC 497)
Ch 7:14 Young woman: Perhaps the ostensible and immediate meaning of this phrase referred to the young wife of Ahaz who would bear a child. “Young woman” is the literal translation for the Hebrew almah, which was translated in the third century BC using the Greek parthenos, meaning “virgin.” It is quite possible that Isaiah’s contemporaries also understood that this verse refers to a virgin, not least because of the prophecy about a “sign,” which normally referred to an extraordinary divine intervention. In this case, perhaps. The later Greek translation did not formulate something new; rather, it simply codified the original meaning of the prophecy, which implied a special conception and birth. Matthew quotes this verse as evidence that the Messiah would be born of a virgin. Here is an instance of a prophecy having both an immediate meaning in the Old Testament and a future meaning in light of the New Testament.
Ch 8:1-22 Though Alliances with reputable foreign powers seemed like an obvious course of action, God wanted his Chosen People to form an alliance only with him and count strictly on divine help alone.
Tobit 7:1-18 Sarah’s father, Raguel, was quite honest about his daughter’s situation and her history. He and Tobias entered into a written agreement, the first such mentioned in Scripture. This type of document, called a ketubah in Hebrew, would become customary among the Jews.
Ch 7:9-15 This passage is an option for the First Reading at a Mass for the Celebration of Marriage.
Ch 8:1-21 Tobias and Sarah’s prayer reflected their strong faith and love for God. It was not the burning fish entrails per se that drove away the demon, but God’s power occasioned by the fish oil. Raguel, although a man of faith, feared the worst for his son-in-law and dug a grave. The following morning, upon discovering that his latest son-in-law had survived the night, he offered heartfelt prayers of thanksgiving.
Ch 8:4-9 The gift of human sexuality is more than just a means of procreation or a source of sensual pleasure. Properly considered, the sexual act between a man and a woman is both a sign and an affirmation of their total self-giving not only of their physical bodies but also of their very being. That self-giving can only be properly expressed within the covenant of marriage understood as a permanent, exclusive, and lifelong commitment that is open to the generation of new life. These truths are reflected in the prayer of Tobias. A portion of this prayer (verses 5-7) is an option for the First Reading at a Mass for the Celebration of Marriage. (CCC 2361)
Ch 8:6 Within the prayer of Tobias, there is an acknowledgment of the dogmatic truth that all people are descended from one set of parents, whom we call Adam and Eve. This truth is manifested in the one human nature shared by all people and explains the transmission of Original Sin. (CCC 359-360)
Ch 9:1-6 Raphael picked up the deposit from Gabael so Tobias could remain with his new family for the full fourteen-day wedding feast.
(*The Didache Bible RSV-CE Ignatius Edition, 2006)
GOSH!
This is RIDICULOUS!
Not only do we have the longest name in the entire Bible...Mahershalalhashbaz (Or is it Mahar-shalal-hash-baz? 🤔)
This is Isaiah’s son
We also have this lesson of TRUST
We also have this lesson of EXPECTATION
IN BOTH READINGS
Isaiah Chs 7 and 8
What a gift!
Why?
In the midst of Ch 7 we have this promise that in the Gospel of Matthew, he talks about Jesus
This is basically a foreshadowing of who Jesus is
IMMANUEL aka “God is With Us”
Ok back to the lecture at hand…
Ahaz is now the King of Judah
Son of Jotham, grandson of Uzziah
Ahaz was not a good king at all
What happens is Rezin the King of Syria and Pekah the King of Israel had made an alliance
They are coming down to Judah
Whenever we talk about coming to Jerusalem, we say we are coming UP to Jerusalem even if you are coming from the NORTH
Why?
Because Jerusalem is built on Mt. Zion!!
You go UP a mountain to get to Jerusalem!
So here is King Rezin and King Pekah to wage war against Jerusalem
Isaiah goes to Ahaz and tells him, “God wants to fight for you. God wants to defeat your enemies before you because He has promised He is going to protect you. Ask for a sign.”
Ahaz says he will NOT ask for a sign and he seems humble
But we know that Ahaz is not going to ask for a sign because he has ALREADY entered into an alliance with the King of Assyria
Ahaz says he doesn’t REALLY NEED GOD
He has the ASSYRIANS
No big deal
Whatever
In Isaiah 7:13, Isaiah’s response is, “Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also?”
For us, if we don’t know the context, maybe we think Ahaz is being humble
BUT IT IS NOT
It is Ahaz NOT TRUSTING IN THE LORD
Now, Isaiah gives this INCREDIBLE PROPHECY
Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”
Immanuel means “God is With Us”
When it comes to PROPHECIES and PROPHETS, sometimes we have this image in our minds that prophets have a “crystal ball”
They are foretelling the future
That CAN happen
BUT…
The MAIN JOB of the PROPHETS is rather than FORETELLING, they are FORTHTELLING
They are SPEAKING THE TRUTH INTO THE MOMENT
When they DO foretell the future, it is both CLOSE UP
And sometimes IN THE DISTANCE
BUT…
It has to be CLOSE ENOUGH to be able to do what is mentioned
You have to be able to PROVE a prophet to be TRUE
So if a prophet says, “Yeah sometime after my death, such and such is going to happen.”
You can’t actually prove or disprove that
So the prophecy has to actually happen SOONER rather than LATER in order to VERIFY whether this is a TRUE prophet or a FALSE prophet
Like many prophecies, this is one that is both CLOSE UP and FAR AWAY
What does this mean?
It is CLOSE UP in terms of what happens next in Isaiah Ch 8
Isaiah has relations with his wife, a prophetess and get down to some “family business”
They have a son
Isaiah 8:3, “And I went to the prophetess,and she conceived and bore a son. Then the Lord said to me, ‘Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz…’”
Maher-shalal-hash-baz means “speed to the spoil, hurry to the plunder”
Fun name to say
Try saying that name over and over
When you are driving to work
If you are praying right now
Say it out loud
Maher-shalal-hash-baz (ok THIS is going to be the name of my band 🤪🎸)
Here is the fulfillment of this PROPHECY that before Maher-shalal-hash-baz reaches the age of reason, EPHRAIM aka another name for ISRAEL will be DESTROYED
This is what happens
This is God demonstrating through Isaiah to Ahaz this CALL BACK
Here is what is going to happen to the NORTHERN KINGDOM of ISRAEL aka EPHRAIM
It is going to be DESTROYED
And here is THE SIGN
MAHER-SHALAL-HASH-BAZ is going to be BORN and before he reaches the age of reason, the kingdom will be DESTROYED
Isaiah 8:4, “...the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria.”
This is meant to be a WARNING to the people of Judah (SOUTHERN KINGDOM) and to King Ahaz
We will see what happens
We will see if he REPENTS (might not happen)
Now let’s look at Tobit Chs 7-9
WHAT A GIFT!
Here is the marriage contract between Tobias and Raguel, the father of Sarah
He even is honest about what happened to the previous seven husbands Sarah had
Each of her husbands were killed on the first night they were married before they could consummate the marriage by a demon named Asmodeus
Thanks be to God, God had already sent Azariah aka The Archangel Raphael in disguise
Raphael had the fish heart and liver to be able to be put on the incense
Asmodeus gets chased away by this incense and Raphael binds him in the far remote corners of Egypt
This is the REALITY OF ANGELS AND DEMONS
ANGELS ARE REAL
DEMONS ARE INCREDIBLY REAL AS WELL
DEMONS ARE FALLEN ANGELS
The power of God and the power of prayer over those demons
God has given AUTHORITY and DOMINION, in so many ways to his people over those demons that can come against us
More on that maybe some other time 😉
One of Fr. Mike’s favorite sections is Tobit Ch 8
This reading happens so often in The Sacrament of Marriage
This passage is PACKED with BEAUTY and LOVE
Tobit 8:4, “When the door was shut and the two were alone, Tobias got up from the bed and said, ‘Sister, get up, and let us pray and implore our Lord that he grant us mercy and safety.’”
Remember back in the Song of Solomon and it’s my sister, my bride
Tobias is speaking to his WIFE Sarah
He DESIRES her
He LOVES her
But he first sees her as his sister, not to be USED, not for HIS sake, but for HER sake
It is SO GOOD
It is SO IMPORTANT
For husbands and wives to PRAY WITH EACH OTHER
It is good for husbands and wives to pray INDIVIDUALLY
BUT…
It is SO VITALLY CRUCIAL AND IMPORTANT that husbands and wives PRAY OUT LOUD WITH EACH OTHER AT LEAST ONCE A DAY
Tobit 8:5, “Blessed are you, O God of our fathers, and blessed be your holy and glorious name forever. Let the heavens and all your creatures bless you. You made Adam and gave him Eve his wife as a helper and support. From them the race of mankind has sprung. You said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; let us make a helper for him like himself.’”
This is praising God for what He has done
And then they say, “...And now, O Lord, I am not taking this sister of mine because of lust, but with sincerity.”
OUT OF LOVE
NOT OUT OF LUST
“Grant that I may find mercy and may grow old together with her.”
“And they both said, ‘Amen, amen.’”
That’s the reading in so many people’s weddings
They realize that their lives are underneath GOD’S MERCY
They realize that their lives are underneath GOD’S JUSTICE
They realize that their lives are underneath GOD’S PROTECTION
SO THEY MUST COME BEFORE HIM
St. John Paul II said, “The whole battle between good and evil, this cosmic battle between good and evil, finds one of its meeting points in a relationship between husband and wife.”
In fact, that battleground is oftentimes in the sexual relationship
The way in which men and women are tempted to use each other
The way in which men and women are tempted to dominate each other
The way in which men and women are tempted to manipulate each other
The way in which men and women are tempted to act out for pleasure rather than for GOD’S GOOD INTENTIONS
Here is this incredible moment where Tobias and Sarah have the opportunity to PRAY and say, “God, untwist whatever is twisted in my heart.”
Meanwhile…
Raguel is outside digging a grave for Tobias
But they don’t need it
So they fill it in before the sun comes up the next day
Raguel has this prayer and praises God
Tobit 8:16, “Blessed are you, because you have made me glad. It has not happened to me as I expected; but you have treated us according to your great mercy.”
WOW!
How often is that?
“Lord, it has not happened to me as I had expected. But here you are. Here you are again.”
WHAT A GIFT!
This day, wherever you are at right now
Fr. Mike invites you to receive this gift
Your life may not have turned out how you might have expected
BUT IT IS NOT OVER YET!!
THIS CHAPTER
THIS PAGE
THIS SECTION OF YOUR STORY
It may not have turned out the way you expected, but here we are TODAY getting to hear the Lord’s VOICE in our EARS and be able to see the Lord’s WORDS with our EYES
IT IS A GIFT!
It is Day 195 and we have a few days left to go
PRAY FOR FR. MIKE
PRAY FOR EACH OTHER
Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Lord God, we give you praise and thank you so much. Thank you for your wisdom and thank you for continuing to reveal your heart to us. Thank you for calling us to be images of your love in this world. We ask that you please help us to trust in you above all things in everything. Lord God, we ask you, help us to trust you in absolutely everything. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.”
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