Arise! Shine, for your light has come, the glory of the Lord has dawned upon you. 2 Though darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds, the peoples, Upon you the Lord will dawn, and over you his glory will be seen. 3 Nations shall walk by your light, kings by the radiance of your dawning. 4 Raise your eyes and look about; they all gather and come to you— Your sons from afar, your daughters in the arms of their nurses. 5 Then you shall see and be radiant, your heart shall throb and overflow. For the riches of the sea shall be poured out before you, the wealth of nations shall come to you. 6 Caravans of camels shall cover you, dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; All from Sheba shall come bearing gold and frankincense, and heralding the praises of the Lord.
During the time of the prophet Isaiah, the Israelites were in exile in the Assyrian and Babylonian Empires. The prophet Isaiah was giving them a vision of hope. They should rise and shine in the light of the glory of the Lord. Christians interpret this opening verse as a reference to Christ who came to free those who believe in him from slavery to sin and was referred to as the Light of the world. His coming brought divine illumination and salvation to humanity. Light represents knowledge and well-being, a foretelling of the Messiah, while darkness represents ignorance and misery. The Lord’s magnificent and powerful Glory will be seen by all. God’s power and glory were shown through His Son Jesus Christ by the many miracles and wonders he did during his public ministry. As Jerusalem will be made glorious, so too all who accept Jesus will be made glorious. God’s glory will be attractive to not only the Jews but also to the Gentile nations through the preaching of the Gospel.
The sons and daughters of Jerusalem will come to her from the four corners of the earth (the Diaspora) because of God’s glory, and the people’s hearts will swell and rejoice, and other nations will bring gifts (cf. Lk. 2:32). The imagery of kings and nations bringing gifts of gold and frankincense connects this passage to the story of the Magi who brought gifts for the Christ child and acknowledged him as the Messiah (Mt. 2:11). In Isaiah, Jerusalem was the central place for gathering together all of God’s people under the Old Covenant. Jerusalem was the central place where the Messiah was crucified so that all of God’s people could be gathered together, both Jews and Gentiles, under the New Covenant. Christ’s Church is viewed as a radiant bride shining with God's glory drawing people from all nations to Christ.
Almighty
God, we praise and glorify your only begotten Son who came into the world to
set us free from the yoke of sin. Fill
our hearts so they will overflow with the grace you so gratuitously bestow upon
us. This we pray through Christ our
Lord. Amen!
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Comments