19 July 2024 Isaiah 38:1-6, 21-22, 7-8

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Please read the passage before reading the commentary

First, a word about the ordering of the verses.  The reading and the responsorial psalm used in the Roman Catholic tradition form one piece.  The part used a psalm for reflection consists of verses 11-12 and 16.  As the chapter is currently ordered, the psalm is excised from the middle of the reading and used to reflect on the reading.  The way the chapter is currently order is this:

            Prophecy of impending death;

            Hezekiah’s prayer;

            Prophet’s declaration of healing and fifteen more years of life;

            Canticle of Hezekiah (the responsorial psalm);

            The asking of a sign and the sign itself.

The Canticle is considered by many scholars as a later insertion.

Many hands have worked on the pages of the Bible to give us the text that we considered inspired by God.  At times we can see the stages of development.  Ultimately, we accept that the processes that gave us the bible as inspired by God and are ordered according to God’s ultimate plan for presenting the word to us.

During the threat of invasion and defeat by Assyria, the king was arranging for the defense of the city and kingdom.  The king, however fell gravely ill and was at the point of death.  He could not defend his city.  The prophet came to him with God’s word, “I will heal you, and I will rescue the city, I will save you.”  In other words, the prophet said that, although the king could not, God could and would save.  The crisis in the king’s life provides another opportunity for God to intervene to save God’s people.

The same holds true in our lives and time.  While we tend to think we can do everything possible to save ourselves from the political, climatic, and personal disasters that threaten us, only God has the power to save us.  At times we may only realize this when disaster impends, but it is aways true that God alone has the power to save.  Each of our candidates for president would have us think that only he has the power to fulfill the American dream for each person in the country, but only God has such power.  We may think that we are the only people who can do a particular job or solve every problem in the workplace, but only God has the power.  If God has shared this power with us, we should humbly accept the task, fulfill the task, and thank God for the power and will to do what had to be done.

The story of the near-death experience of the king is another instance to teach that God is the one who controls life and governs us in how we must live, relying on God rather than ourselves.