One of the things that every author must take into account as he or she is writing is the setting; namely, where does the action take place, when does it happen, and, sometimes, what kind of weather is evident. There are two particular settings which are frequently used in the Scriptures. The first is the desert, sometimes referred to as God’s trysting place, the place where God woos Israel into a love affair. The second is the mountains which is usually regarded as the place where God dwells. It is this latter setting which comes into play today.
The picture that Isaiah paints for us today has a fairy tale like quality to it. That quality is accomplished by two images. The first image is that of a banquet which presents the diners with rich, pure, and juicy food and wine. Because the people of the ancient Middle East lived in a hot, dry climate, and because they did not have the modern marvel of refrigeration, most of the meat served at their meals would have been dry and salted. It would have been akin to what we call jerky. A banquet such as Isaiah describes would have been unthinkable for the ordinary peasant.
The second image is that of the veiled figure of death, veil which covers all people. Most of our modern fairy tales employ such an evil figure to heighten the suspense of the story. Isaiah uses it to reveal to these people that perhaps death is not the end of life. Jewish people, even some of the Jewish people of Jesus’ time, did not believe in a life after death. So Isaiah is treading into new territory by suggesting that the veil of death will one day be destroyed.
Jesus becomes the hero figure of the prophetic oracle as he feeds the multitude, not on a mountain top, but in a deserted, out of the way place to which he has led them and in which he reveals that the prophecies of Isaiah about the Messiah have come to pass in Jesus who heals the sick, makes the blind to see, the deaf to hear, the lame to walk, the mute to speak, and the deformed whole. He then feeds them with a few loaves of bread and a couple dried fish.
As we await the Second Coming of Jesus and prepare for the feast of his birth in our midst, we recall Isaiah’s proclamation that God is our Savior and Redeemer.
Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M, Administrator