Each Christmas I try to write a poem to include in my Christmas card—poetry seems fitting for the dark winter days before Christmas. The liturgy opts for poetry as well, much of it to be found in our Advent readings from the book of Isaiah. Some call it the “Fifth Gospel,” since the evangelists quote from Isaiah so extensively.
Some Bible scholars believe the book is actually the work of three different prophetic voices, over a period stretching from the eighth to the sixth century before Christ. Another theory sees a more unified work, centered on chapters 40—55, dating from the sixth century BC, when Israel was in exile in Babylon. The hope for the restoration of God’s people is focused in these chapters; and some suggest that the rest of the book was then collected from earlier traditions attributed to the original Isaiah. Theories aside, our Advent selections from Isaiah are among the most beautiful in the Bible, touching upon poetic imagery of deserts blooming, mountains lowering, and valleys filling up to provide a way for the coming of the Lord. Here we find words of comfort and hope for all times, centering on the coming of the Messiah, who is named “Emmanuel,” “God with us.”
May we allow the poetry of Isaiah to color our Advent waiting!
—adapted from the book Advent with the Saints: Daily Reflections
by Greg Friedman, OFM
