Rev. Michael Piazza, in Liberating Word says about Isaiah 7, “In this chapter, we find a favorite Christmas image: Behold a virgin shall bear a son and you shall name him Immanuel.(Isaiah 7:14)…The word virgin used in Isaiah simply means young woman…As a kid I always thought it was strange that we sang “O Come, O Come Immanuel” and read that the virgin was to name her child Immanuel, but then Mary named him Jesus….Did Isaiah hear wrong, or was it Mary who messed up?..Or is it possible that the Messiah named Immanuel that Isaiah talked about really wasn’t Jesus…? So are we to ask the question that John the Baptist asked Jesus; was he the one or are we waiting for another?....There is still no peace on earth. The yoke of oppression remains unbroken. God’s will is not done on earth as it is in heaven. So, was Jesus not the messiah of which Isaiah spoke? Are we still waiting on the messiah” Or is God still crying, “Who will I send and who will go for us” waiting on us to bring peace, justice and the reign of God on earth as it is in heaven?” In chapter 8 we see Isaiah’s withdrawal. Isaiah’s silence is deliberate. The message has been delivered, the warning sounded, and the appeal to honor and faith has been made. Therefore, humankind must go its own stubborn and foolish way until life brings it up short and it is beaten to its knees, at last ready to hear the word of God.
Rev. Michael Piazza, in Liberating Word says about Isaiah 7, “In this chapter, we find a favorite Christmas image: Behold a virgin shall bear a son and you shall name him Immanuel.(Isaiah 7:14)…The word virgin used in Isaiah simply means young woman…As a kid I always thought it was strange that we sang “O Come, O Come Immanuel” and read that the virgin was to name her child Immanuel, but then Mary named him Jesus….Did Isaiah hear wrong, or was it Mary who messed up?..Or is it possible that the Messiah named Immanuel that Isaiah talked about really wasn’t Jesus…? So are we to ask the question that John the Baptist asked Jesus; was he the one or are we waiting for another?....There is still no peace on earth. The yoke of oppression remains unbroken. God’s will is not done on earth as it is in heaven. So, was Jesus not the messiah of which Isaiah spoke? Are we still waiting on the messiah” Or is God still crying, “Who will I send and who will go for us” waiting on us to bring peace, justice and the reign of God on earth as it is in heaven?” In chapter 8 we see Isaiah’s withdrawal. Isaiah’s silence is deliberate. The message has been delivered, the warning sounded, and the appeal to honor and faith has been made. Therefore, humankind must go its own stubborn and foolish way until life brings it up short and it is beaten to its knees, at last ready to hear the word of God.
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