Most of the first readings at daily Mass, during the first week of Advent, are primarily drawn from the book of the Prophet Isaiah. These prophecies dwell on the One who will come sometime in the future and on an unknown day when God will institute His reign. Yet, frequently, Isaiah often attaches to his prophecies an announcement about the conditions needed for participating in the glory that will soon be made manifest. Cumulatively speaking, these Isaian passages stress the need for repentance and spiritual conversion coupled with the extension of salvation from Israel to all the nations. By listening to Isaiah’s call urging Israel to conversion, those of us who are trying to properly get ready and prepare should identify those actions that are needed for us to stop doing and, then, resolve to remove them from daily life in order to prepare every heart and mind for the coming of Christ.
Readings from Isaiah during the first week of Advent
- As Advent begins in earnest, on the first Monday of Advent, Isaiah (Is 2:1-5) declares that the good news is first meant to be addressed to the remnant of Israel and understood as a continuing call issued to them to render an account. God reveals His plan to remake Israel, purifying her so that she will be the shining city on a hill toward which all nations will stream. Eventually, this refashioned Israel will become the Church of the New Testament and, so, it is Christ’s coming that remakes all nations. There will come some day when multitudes from every nation will be gathered together in Zion.
- The Prophet Isaiah continues the theme of the judgment of Israel in the reading for the first Tuesday of Advent (Is 11:1-10). It is a prophecy in regard to the rise of a new Davidic king who will embody the ancient ideals once enshrined in David. Then, there is an elaboration of that prophecy in a further description of that future king’s rule. Because of the sins of the people, God will humble Israel, and only “a bud will blossom” or Israel’s Savior will shine in glory. All of what has been prophesied will come from the Messiah who will issue forth from the line of David and on whom the Spirit will rest. When Christ comes, all the world is purified. Since Christ comes both at His Birth and, again, at the Second Coming, and because Israel of the first testament is a foretelling of the dawn of Christianity, the prophecy of Isaiah applies to the Second Coming, too. In Advent, we not only prepare ourselves for Christ’s Birth; we prepare our souls for the Final Judgment—individually or cosmically. One of the reasons that the Church prescribes readings from the Prophet Isaiah for Advent is that no other Old Testament writer more fully foretells the life of Christ than he does.
- In the passage for the first Wednesday of Advent (Is 25:6-10a), Isaiah discusses the mountain upon which God will provide a feast for His people and not only destroy Israel’s enemies but also conquer the greatest human enemy, death itself. Joy will be given to the whole world.
- While Friday is the Solemnity of the BVM, the first Thursday of Advent is the last in this initial week of Advent’s passages and is a mixture of praise for the salvation that will take place, a confession of Judah’s inability to achieve deliverance on her own and an earnest prayer that God may quickly bring about the longed-for salvation. Yet, the passage which would have been normally read on the first Friday of Advent (Is 29:17-24) rejoices that all of nature will participate in the renewal that the Lord will accomplish. Come Lord Jesus!
Nature and dignity 