The oracle of the prophet Isaiah that we read today addresses one of the principal defects in the observance of the Law. Isaiah issues a powerful indictment of the religious hypocrisy of rulers and others who neglect just judgment and oppress the weaker members, yet believe they can please God with sacrifices and other external forms of worship. The long list of observances suggests the Lord’s tedium with such attempts. Identifying Israel as Sodom and Gomorrah, names picked up from v. 9, are used to emphasize their wickedness rather than the good fortune of escaping total destruction. These words would have stung the Israelites. Sodom and Gomorrah existed long before the covenant of Sinai. The people of Isaiah’s time would have had the benefit of knowing the commandments and therefore are to be considered guiltier than their predecessors.
In the final verses, Isaiah mentions the specific commandments which have gone unheeded: “Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow.” Isaiah claims that their hands are covered in blood. Their lack of concern for the plight of the poor is equated with murder.
Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, has continued to preach this message to the world. Many have criticized him because of the fact that he always seems to come back to this concern for the poor, for the voiceless and vulnerable. If they think that Pope Francis is relentless in this message, they should sit down and read through the prophet Isaiah. While he is considered the Messianic prophet, his oracles about the Messiah always lead back to this theme of social justice.
Only when we make justice the priority in our religious observance can we say that we are faithful followers of Jesus. God rescued Israel from the injustice of Egypt and expects his children to protect the innocent and vulnerable of the world. Jesus asks the same of us.
Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator