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December 29, 2024 Bulletin & News

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“Nations shall walk by your light, and kings by your shining radiance.”

The words from Isaiah about Jerusalem being filled with riches and a beacon to other countries and kings were unbelievable six hundred years before Jesus. The third section of Isaiah’s prophecies date to the time when Jerusalem had been utterly destroyed and then left desolate for most of a century. The exiles newly returned from Babylon could barely manage to put together livable houses and enough wall to protect their city and then heard prophecies announcing that Jerusalem would be a light to other nations. Perhaps it was the encouragement they needed when it seemed like they would never even have a functioning city.

At the time of Jesus, the wealth of Jerusalem and Judea would have seemed incredible by comparison. The Roman peace enabled local commerce to flourish, trade was at an all-time high, and pilgrims went to the temple from all parts of the world with costly offerings. But the contrast was stark: the rich got richer in large part because of crushing taxes on the poor, and the prosperity would not last long; shortly after the time of Jesus, Jerusalem and the temple would be completely destroyed and left desolate again.

But the light enkindled for the nations would not go out. The faith in Jesus that was first kindled among a few shepherds and magi would explode through the preaching of his Apostles, and the light of faith would go from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. The tribute brought by believers from every nation in the early years of the faith would not be foremost gold and frankincense like the magi, but obedience to God and charity towards their neighbors. The Apostles announced that God desired mercy and not temple offerings, and this light that shone forth from Jerusalem has led people everywhere to praise God.

-Fr. Nate

‘Caminarán los pueblos a tu luz y los reyes, al resplandor de tu aurora’

La profecía de Isaías fue de una época de pobreza en Israel. Después del exilio, los regresantes tuvieron que reconstruir todo. La riqueza de Jerusalén en la época de Jesús parece increíble en comparación. La paz romana permitió que el negocio floreciera, el comercio estaba en punto culminante y los peregrinos iban al templo desde todas partes del mundo con ofrendas costosas. Pero la prosperidad no continuaría; poco después de Jesús, Jerusalén y el templo serían completamente destruidos y desolados nuevamente.

Pero la luz encendida para las naciones no se apagaría. La fe en Jesús, que se había encendido en el principio entre algunos pastores y magos, estallaría con la predicación de los Apóstoles y la luz de la fe se extendería desde Jerusalén hasta los confines de la tierra. El tributo que traerían los creyentes de todas las naciones no sería ante todo oro e incienso como los magos, sino obediencia a Dios y caridad hacia el prójimo. Los Apóstoles anunciaron que Dios quería misericordia y no ofrendas para el templo, y esta luz que brilló desde Jerusalén ha llevado a los hombres de todas partes a alabar a Dios.

San Pedro Comms

Author San Pedro Comms

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