The prophet Isaiah wrote his prophetic book during the end of the Babylonian captivity. To understand his message in today's first reading we first have to understand the reason for the captivity in the first place. In the view of the prophet, God led Israel into captivity because of her infidelity to God, her unjust behavior toward the poor, and the divisions that existed among the people of God. It was these divisions that separated Israel into two separate kingdoms - the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah. These divisions led to the downfall of Israel in the face of menacing enemies. So, Isaiah's message today is one of hope: the punishment of God has been lifted and we are once again reunited to live as the faithful people of God.
Similarly, the message of Jesus finds a hearing among the people of his day. Roman occupation had divided the people of Israel into various political factions: Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians, Essenes, and Zealots. Some called for compromise and collaboration with the Romans, while others called for opposition that ranged from fidelity to the Law to violent measures. In the midst of this scense comes Jesus proclaiming the kingdom of God, a term of Messianic expectation, but one that was easily misinterpreted.
Some people heard this phrase and immediately opined that the Messiah was here to re-establish the kingdom of Israel and overthrow the Roman occupiers. Is it not odd how we have the tendency to interpret the words of God to fit our own particular political allegiances? Yet, there can be found no trace of the political in the words of Jesus; clearly he meant something else by these words. Overthrow of an enemy like the Romans would take years, and Jesus declares the reign of God to be now. Where is the kingdom found? The answer to that question is the same place as where the action of the Gospels takes place: within our hearts. God is already present and at work in our lives. We need not wait for some nebulous indeterminate future. Repentance and reconciliation are to happen now in order for us to inaugurate the reign of God in our lives.
The first followers of Jesus do not realize this point yet; they follow him because they are Galileans - the land of Zebulon and Naphtali from the time of Isaiah - and desperate to be relieved of the oppression of Rome that has hit them particularly hard. Still, they follow Jesus and over the course of his ministry they come to learn more about this reign of God, not fully understanding all of its implications until Jesus has died and risen from the dead. Only then can we know what the full implications of the reign of God are.
Only when we realize what Jesus meant by the reign of God can we then understand the point Paul is making in the second reading: if we know the cross of Christ, how can we have divisions among us, for it is in the cross of Jesus that the reign of God comes to be fully known? The reign of God can only be founded in a heart that has emptied itself of its own desires, pleasures, and preconceived ideas. Only when we have been crucified as Christ himself can we know the reign of God and bring it forth in our world. The presence of divisions within the Church is a sign that while we may have been ritually baptized we have not died with Christ in our hearts and thus not truly ready for the reign of God to be realized in our lives.
The Psalmist's prayer - to dwell in the house of the Lord, to gaze on his loveliness, and to contemplate his temple - must be our own desire. Thus, we pray with the Church: "Let us pray, pleading that our vision may overcome our weakness. Almighty Father, the love you offer always exceeds the furthest expression of our human longing, for you are greater than the human heart. Direct each thought, each effort of our life, so that the limits of our faults and weaknesses may not obscure the vision of your glory or keep us from the peace you have promised. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen."
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