Please read this passage before reading this homily.
The words of the prophet are addressed to us, not our leaders but to us, as they always are because God’s word is eternal, never changing, but always up to date. I am Israel, you are Israel: we all are Israel. We need to take with us words. We need to give up whatever we use as tanks, horses, or defense mechanisms. We need no longer consider what we have accomplished as our god or as our wealth or as our own legacy.
The prophet tells us that God will give us growth and splendor. The good that is accomplished will be God’s doing, not ours. We shall be on the receiving end of God’s blessings. Remember that we add nothing to God’s greatness, but that God adds greatness to our nothingness.
We are supposed to come before the Lord with words, sincere words, not the words of the politician seeking election, but the words of the repentant needing forgiveness and consolation.
The prophet speaks to the nation as a whole. He speaks not only to the leaders ands politicians, but also to each individual person because the leaders follow the leads of the individuals (individuals vote for
people who share their values). It is God who causes us to bear fruit. The prophet tells us to remember this.
Whom, then, do I trust? Do I have horses, catapults, cannon, tanks and weapons in my arsenal, or do I have only the Lord God in whom I trust? God remains forever; nothing else does. We must listen to the prophet.