“The Lord will give you a sign. It is this: the maiden is with child and will soon give birth to a son whom she will call Emanuel, a name which means ‘God is with us’.”
These words from the prophecy is Isaiah actually cover about two hundred years of history for the people of Israel. (roughly 8th Century to the 6th Century B.C. ) Clearly not all of the Book could have been written by one man. It is likely that the early chapters are the work of the prophet himself. What is even more remarkable is the message that the prophecy contains, summed up in the name Emanuel ...God is with us! The birth of Emanuel signals that the rift between God and Creation caused by the sin of Adam and Eve is beginning to be healed. The long expected Messiah would achieve this by his presence amongst us. This is what the prophecy foretells.
Move forward about 500 years and the prophecy comes to fulfilment in the encounter of the angel Gabriel and Mary of Nazareth. Yet for all it’s impetus and divine power. Despite all that God had already brought about to prepare for the gift of salvation, the one who was to “make flesh” God’s promise of salvation still had to say “YES”. Mary, being the seat of all wisdom (one of her titles in Latin is Sede Sapientiae) asks questions of Gabriel about how this plan can or will unfold. Finally her response come forward “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me even as you have said”. often summarised in the Latin phrase “Fiat” or “I will”. This plan called salvation unfolded decisively within the life and body of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It continues into the life of all those who accept the Christ as their saviour...this is the on-going work of God’s salvation which began after the Fall of our first parents right upto the present age. The positive response of the Immaculately Conceived Virgin Mary remained pivotal to this plan unfolding. A positive response from the Christian people remains pivotal for God’s plan of Salvation to continue unfolding.
Fr Steve
 |
| O Come, O Come Emmanuel |