Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Barbara GreenDecember 18, 2007
This Sunday’s readings invite us into an area of considerable discussion--not to say dispute--in classrooms, pulpits, pews, chanceries and other such places: How is Scripture to be interpreted most fruitfully? What methods and questions are most suitable? Do we need to consider the 8th century circumstances where the prophet Isaiah advises a king on the royal response to a situation of international aggression: The king is reluctant to hear the prophet’s advice and so the prophet adds a sign as incentive. A child will be born to enhance the Davidic line, while the kingdoms whose leaders threaten Judah can anticipate extinction. Or drawing on classic philosophical methods (analogy, allegory, typology), shall we focus on the way in which the gospel reading constructs the features of the Isaiah text to stress the circumstances of the child’s conception and the centrality of his role: God with us? Can we have both, do both? There is little danger that the texts will not be read allegorically, since that mode is strong in our tradition. Prophets speak proleptically about what lies far ahead. But perhaps it is just as useful, currently, to spend some time filling out the figure of the prophet struggling to convince the monarch that he need not be drawn into a war that will gain him and his people nothing. Prophets speak urgently about situations in the present. Let’s not miss that aspect of Isaiah’s word to us. Barbara Green, O.P.
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

In this interview, Cardinal Gracias speaks about the election of Leo XIV, his membership in Pope Francis’ council of cardinal advisors and why he considers Francis a saint.
Gerard O’ConnellMay 28, 2025
A Homily for the Solemnity of the Ascension, by Father Terrance Klein
Terrance KleinMay 28, 2025
Pope Leo XIV's offer to host peace talks between Russia and Ukraine was motivated by a conviction that the two sides must start negotiating and stop the killing, the Vatican secretary of state said.
Rev. Paul Nicholson, S.J., begins his homily for the Ascension with a striking image from Medieval art: Jesus’ feet dangling in the air, his body swallowed by clouds.
PreachMay 27, 2025