Isaiah 9:6 (NIV)
6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
N.B. Sometimes the last verses are inclusively translated as:
Wonderful Counsellor, Strength of God,
Eternal Protector, and Champion of Peace.
Reflection
This passage from Isaiah promises that one will come and he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah was writing when Ahaz was the King of Judah (about 734-732 BCE) and Judah faced the threat of attack from its northern neighbours Israel and Syria. One option Ahaz contemplated was to call on the superpower Assyria to defend him against his neighbours. But that would mean making a political alliance that, in the end, could mean that Judah was absorbed into Assyria and Ahaz out of his position and his kingdom.
Ahaz’s other option was to throw his lot in with Israel and Syria in their efforts to cast off the Assyrian yoke. But that could also mean disaster for Judah especially if the local coalition proved ineffectual against the superpower.
In the face of Ahaz’s political dilemma Isaiah urged a third solution that required the bringing of religious belief into the world of real politics and national security. He urged Ahaz to stand firm in faith.
But really the assurance Ahaz had been given that God would indeed come to his aid, hardly seemed impressive. It consisted of the prophet, his word and the child whom the Lord had given, who bore names of prophetic importance. That is all that is offered by way of a ‘sign’ for Ahaz, a king, who no doubt was used to making decisions based on firm, accurate knowledge and intelligence.
I doubt if this prophetic poem really goes far toward alleviating Ahaz’s dilemma. The ‘deep darkness’ that has spread over the land will be pierced by light, but a light which will start simply as the flicker of a small flame. The reason for the joy ‘For a child has been born to us, a son given to us’. This one in whom the people’s hopes are centered is one who comes to them as a gift.
The expectations are great and bear the promise of God - A Messiah, A King, a Mighty Counsellor - and yet there is an element of human frailty attached to them just by the fact that this promise is all bound up in one baby. We think this baby is Hezikiah- the son of Ahaz- and a man of extraordinary piety and leadership qualities, so yes, he lived up to Isaiah’s prophecy.
When the Isaiah’s thoughts resurface in our nativity stories they are again bound up with the ideas of liberation, this time from the Romans, and salvation from the pagan gods and a call to a renewed faithfulness to the one true God- Yahweh.
But this time we have a baby not born to a king but a baby born to a poor family struggling for its very survival in the village of Nazareth.
Who would have thought it? Is this the way God works? Well, yes, this is exactly the way God works. I don’t know why but we keep expecting that God will somehow take note of our brilliant and logical ways to solve a problem – say world peace – and do exactly what we say.
And yet it has never worked that way – that’s why we have all these stories that defy our rational plans So we have a God who decides that the way to feed a people who are hungry is to give them manna in the desert, when we would have advocated – give them a plot of land and let them grow the food – don’t leave them wandering in the desert for 40 years.
We don’t know how God works, we can’t know how God works, and yet we believe that God does work. God breaks into our world, our lives constantly – God was there at the birth of Jesus and somehow invites us to witness this birth ourselves. And this babe too will be called: Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. A gift to his parents certainly, but also a gift to the world.
Jesus proves indeed to be a Prince of Peace as he says to his disciples who had gathered around him
27 Peace I leave with you;
my peace I give to you;
not as the world gives do I give to you.
Let not your hearts be troubled,
neither let them be afraid.
John 14:27
“My Peace I give to you” – This Peace is a gift offered to us.
This Peace is not something and never has been what we strive for.
All we have to do is accept the gift.
Do we give up on working toward peace in our families, in our communities, in the world? Do we give up the rallies and dinners and marches and education for peace? I don’t think so, but when we come together as people of peace, then, that allows peace to be furthered wherever we are.
Maybe there will be a time of peace, maybe there will a respite from war and violence and terror, maybe as we work where we can, when we can to extend the peace we have been given to someone else, then the world will become a more peaceful place.
Our advent time is a time of waiting, a time of anticipation, a time of hoping, It is also a time of peace.
The peace that passes all understanding is being offered to each one of us. And we get to say “Yes I will accept the peace and let it fill my present moment even though there is chaos in the world and there is sadness in life, and there is disappointment and anger and bewilderment all vying for my heart- I will accept the peace the Christ offers to his disciples. I will accept the peace offered by God in the form of a tiny baby born in a stable.”
Amen
6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
N.B. Sometimes the last verses are inclusively translated as:
Wonderful Counsellor, Strength of God,
Eternal Protector, and Champion of Peace.
Reflection
This passage from Isaiah promises that one will come and he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah was writing when Ahaz was the King of Judah (about 734-732 BCE) and Judah faced the threat of attack from its northern neighbours Israel and Syria. One option Ahaz contemplated was to call on the superpower Assyria to defend him against his neighbours. But that would mean making a political alliance that, in the end, could mean that Judah was absorbed into Assyria and Ahaz out of his position and his kingdom.
Ahaz’s other option was to throw his lot in with Israel and Syria in their efforts to cast off the Assyrian yoke. But that could also mean disaster for Judah especially if the local coalition proved ineffectual against the superpower.
In the face of Ahaz’s political dilemma Isaiah urged a third solution that required the bringing of religious belief into the world of real politics and national security. He urged Ahaz to stand firm in faith.
But really the assurance Ahaz had been given that God would indeed come to his aid, hardly seemed impressive. It consisted of the prophet, his word and the child whom the Lord had given, who bore names of prophetic importance. That is all that is offered by way of a ‘sign’ for Ahaz, a king, who no doubt was used to making decisions based on firm, accurate knowledge and intelligence.
I doubt if this prophetic poem really goes far toward alleviating Ahaz’s dilemma. The ‘deep darkness’ that has spread over the land will be pierced by light, but a light which will start simply as the flicker of a small flame. The reason for the joy ‘For a child has been born to us, a son given to us’. This one in whom the people’s hopes are centered is one who comes to them as a gift.
The expectations are great and bear the promise of God - A Messiah, A King, a Mighty Counsellor - and yet there is an element of human frailty attached to them just by the fact that this promise is all bound up in one baby. We think this baby is Hezikiah- the son of Ahaz- and a man of extraordinary piety and leadership qualities, so yes, he lived up to Isaiah’s prophecy.
When the Isaiah’s thoughts resurface in our nativity stories they are again bound up with the ideas of liberation, this time from the Romans, and salvation from the pagan gods and a call to a renewed faithfulness to the one true God- Yahweh.
But this time we have a baby not born to a king but a baby born to a poor family struggling for its very survival in the village of Nazareth.
Who would have thought it? Is this the way God works? Well, yes, this is exactly the way God works. I don’t know why but we keep expecting that God will somehow take note of our brilliant and logical ways to solve a problem – say world peace – and do exactly what we say.
And yet it has never worked that way – that’s why we have all these stories that defy our rational plans So we have a God who decides that the way to feed a people who are hungry is to give them manna in the desert, when we would have advocated – give them a plot of land and let them grow the food – don’t leave them wandering in the desert for 40 years.
We don’t know how God works, we can’t know how God works, and yet we believe that God does work. God breaks into our world, our lives constantly – God was there at the birth of Jesus and somehow invites us to witness this birth ourselves. And this babe too will be called: Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. A gift to his parents certainly, but also a gift to the world.
Jesus proves indeed to be a Prince of Peace as he says to his disciples who had gathered around him
27 Peace I leave with you;
my peace I give to you;
not as the world gives do I give to you.
Let not your hearts be troubled,
neither let them be afraid.
John 14:27
“My Peace I give to you” – This Peace is a gift offered to us.
This Peace is not something and never has been what we strive for.
All we have to do is accept the gift.
Do we give up on working toward peace in our families, in our communities, in the world? Do we give up the rallies and dinners and marches and education for peace? I don’t think so, but when we come together as people of peace, then, that allows peace to be furthered wherever we are.
Maybe there will be a time of peace, maybe there will a respite from war and violence and terror, maybe as we work where we can, when we can to extend the peace we have been given to someone else, then the world will become a more peaceful place.
Our advent time is a time of waiting, a time of anticipation, a time of hoping, It is also a time of peace.
The peace that passes all understanding is being offered to each one of us. And we get to say “Yes I will accept the peace and let it fill my present moment even though there is chaos in the world and there is sadness in life, and there is disappointment and anger and bewilderment all vying for my heart- I will accept the peace the Christ offers to his disciples. I will accept the peace offered by God in the form of a tiny baby born in a stable.”
Amen
