The Prophet Isaiah issues us a jubilant invitation to rejoice, because our exile is coming to an end.

For the ancient Israelites, exile was more than a poetic term. God’s Chosen People had been conquered by the Babylonians, who physically destroyed Jerusalem and forcibly relocated them to Babylon. The Jews were foreigners and second-class citizens in a hostile land. Cut off from their Temple, cut off from the land of their ancestors, cut off from the Kingdom that God had established for them, they were suffering under the unjust oppression of their conquerors and captors. In their weakness, they had no hope of freeing themselves and returning to their homeland.

Imagine their suffering. Imagine their sense of helplessness.

We are in the same situation, spiritually speaking. We are in exile from our true homeland, heaven. Through original sin, the devil took possession of this world and our human nature was damaged. We were conquered and taken captive, spiritually. The human family was plunged into misery and injustice. The suffering of innocents, the slavery to sin, the victory of evildoers… These are the realities that surround us and which we cannot escape.

And yet, God made a bold promise to his Chosen People while they were in their exile, through the Prophet Isaiah. He promised to bring joy and prosperity out of their misery and suffering, as in today’s First Reading. That promise came true when Babylon fell to the Medes and Persians, and Cyrus the Great permitted the Jews to return to Israel.

As joyful as that return was for them, it only hinted at the joy that Christ brings to the fallen world. In Christ, God himself comes to rescue us from the spiritual exile of ignorance, since, and meaningless. Jesus is the Savior who enters into our exile and leads us home to the Father’s embrace. The last prophet, John the Baptist, announced his coming just as Isaiah had announced it in images centuries before. And today, the Church renews the announcement, inviting us to rejoice in the spiritual freedom that Jesus brings us, and to hope for the fulfillment of that freedom which will come at the end of history when Jesus returns to bring all of history to its completion in the new heavens and the new earth. Today, let’s stir up our joy in Christ by stirring up our hope in his everlasting salvation.  Amen.

Fr. John Bartunek, L.C., leads free online video retreats. You can access these retreats and other rich resources at rcspirituality.org. If you’re ready to delve deeper into Advent, don’t miss “Do I Need A Savior: An Advent Retreat Guide on the Prophet Isaiah”, accessible here.

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