The 23rd Sunday of the Year
Is 35:4-7; Jas 2:1-5; Mk 7:31-37 (Year B)
“Say to all faint hearts, ‘Courage, do not be afraid. Look, your God is coming, he is coming to save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, the ears of the deaf unsealed, then the lame shall leap like a deer and the tongues of the dumb sing for joy.’”
The extravagance of the prophet Isaiah’s language struggled to express a joy that lay beyond words. His words had been addressed to the faint hearted, the population of Jerusalem whose faith had grown feeble through years of infidelity and corruption. Soon they were to experience the final indignity of violent occupation and forced exile. At a time when there was little cause for joy, the prophet refused to be silent. To the dying faith of a people who were about to lose everything, he insisted that the faint hearted cling to God’s promised salvation: “Do not be afraid. Your God is coming.”
