Johannine Hours                Isaiah 9:1-6                April 1997
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Taizé-Community - Johannine Hours - Isaiah 9,1-6 - April 1997 [The
"Johannine hours" are meant as a way of seeking God in silence and
prayer in the midst of our daily life. During the course of a day,
take a moment to read the Bible passage with the short commentary
and to reflect on the questions which follow. Afterwards, a small
group people can meet to share what they have discovered and
perhaps for a time of prayer.] 

In a somber period of wars and invasions, the prophet of Jerusalem
finds a hope that comes not from human efforts but from God's
faithfulness to his designs of love. Centuries earlier, the Lord
had promised the great king David: "Your house and your sovereignty
will always stand firm before me" (2 Samuel 7,16). As a result of
his confidence in God's promise, Isaiah celebrates the birth (or
enthronement) of a royal heir by an oracle where he sees above all
the activity of God who wants to bestow on his people the fullness
of life. 

And so, God will make sure that his people, freed from their
enemies, can enjoy "peace without end." The mention of Madian (v.3,
cf. Judges 7) emphasizes that this victory is inexplicable in human
terms; it is a kind of miracle. Similarly the king, described as "a
child" and "a son", does not seem to do much; "the zeal of the Lord
Almighty" is at work, and the king is there to watch over the new
order created by God. And in fact, the destruction of real enemies
is not even mentioned: it is simply the instruments of violence
that are consummed by the fire of divine love. 

The motivation and the content of this oracle explain why it could
continue to be relevant long after the king of the time had
disappointed the hopes placed in him. For despite the flaws of the
kings taken one by one, God's promise remains and, for those who
believe, will infallibly become reality in a near or distant
future. One day, in the eyes of believers, that word would become
flesh. So it is not surprising that the first Christians saw in
Jesus the expected "Prince of peace": in his openness to the will
of God and his apparent weakness, humanly speaking, he enabled God
to kindle the fire of his love on the earth (cf. Luke 12,49). 

Q: What elements in and around us keep God's loving designs from
becoming reality? 

Q: What signs do we find that reawaken our trust by reminding us
that this love is stronger than violence and death? 

"Johannine Hours" - 04/97 - ©71250 Taizé-Community, France.
community@taize.fr 




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