Memory of the Poor
Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
This is the Gospel of the poor,
liberation for the imprisoned,
sight for the blind,
freedom for the oppressed.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Isaiah 4,2-6
That day, Yahweh's seedling will turn to beauty and glory, what the earth brings forth will turn to the pride and ornament of Israel's survivors. Those who are left in Zion and remain in Jerusalem will be called holy, all those in Jerusalem noted down to live. When the Lord has washed away the filth of Zion's daughters and with the wind of judgement and the wind of burning cleansed Jerusalem of the blood shed in her, Yahweh will create, over every house on Mount Zion and over those who assemble there, a cloud by day, and by night smoke with the brightness of a flaring fire. For over all will be the Glory as canopy and tent to give shade by day from the heat, refuge and shelter from the storm and the rain.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
We are in front of words of hope for a defeated people and a city destroyed by war and destruction. The future was dark for Israel. The prophet opens to the vision of a new future and he indicates it with the image of a new "branch:" the Lord will make it sprout. It is a new people who follows the Lord, obeys his Law and therefore will inhabit the whole of Jerusalem in peace. They will be the little remnant, the small group of survivors, who are "holy" because they obey the Lord and therefore also blessed. Holy indeed are those who welcome God's love; those who live in communion with God, obey his commands, and walk in his light. When times are difficult, when the violence of evil and war destroy people and things, God is not far off, even if he seems elusive to see and impossible to catch. The Lord has made a commitment to be faithful and to sustain his "little remnant." Not only will God not abandon them, God will accompany and protect them. And that branch - the prophet says - will grow in "pride and glory," not as the world understands pride and glory, but as a tree that produces good fruit of good for all. This is why we believers of the last hour need to invoke the Lord to be near to us, so that evil may not conquer, and so that all people may hope for a new future of peace and fraternity. Prayer is at the root of peace. It makes peace "blossom" even in a dry and devastated land. This is the proclamation of the prophet, a man who never stops believing in the love of God, which defeats evil and saves his people.