This blog follows the daily bible readings of the Catholic Church
Reading 1, Isaiah 45:6b-8, 18, 21b-25
6 So that it may be known from east to west that there is no one except me. I am the Lord, and there is no other,
7 I form the light and I create the darkness, I make well-being, and I create disaster, I, the Lord, do all these things.
8 Rain down, you heavens, from above, and let the clouds pour down saving justice, let the earth open up and blossom with salvation, and let justice sprout with it; I, the Lord, have created it!
18 For thus says the Lord, the Creator of the heavens — he is God, who shaped the earth and made it, who set it firm; he did not create it to be chaos, he formed it to be lived in: I am the Lord, and there is no other.
21 Speak up, present your case, let them put their heads together! Who foretold this in the past, who revealed it long ago? Was it not I? There is no other god except me, no saving God, no Saviour except me!
22 Turn to me and you will be saved, all you ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is no other.
23 By my own self I swear it; what comes from my mouth is saving justice, it is an irrevocable word: All shall bend the knee to me, by me every tongue shall swear,
24 saying, ‘In the Lord alone are saving justice and strength,’ until all those who used to rage at him come to him in shame. 25 In the Lord the whole race of Israel finds justice and glory.
So, the Catholic Lectionary’s at it again, picking the verses it wants from scripture (see above!) The exclusion of verses however reveals how often God is made to say, “I am the Lord and there is no other.” This seems to have been a major part of Second Isaiah’s experience of God. That God should free his people from Babylon made him much more than a tribal God-is he not the Only One, the Creator, the God of all? As the creator of all things and all peoples he unifies the earth: no place is excluded from his concern; no people deprived of his saving justice. Although it is often claimed that monotheism is simultaneously discovered in China, India, Persia and Greece as well as in Israel, I have not found it as clearly stated elsewhere as by Isaiah. The faith, that God is the creator and saviour of all creatures, disables all human idols, both ancient and modern.

Gospel, Luke 7:18b-23
18 The disciples of John gave him all this news, and John, summoning two of his disciples, 19 sent them to the Lord to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to expect someone else?’
20 When the men reached Jesus they said, ‘John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask, “Are you the one who is to come or are we to expect someone else?” ‘
21 At that very time he cured many people of diseases and afflictions and of evil spirits, and gave the gift of sight to many who were blind. 22 Then he gave the messengers their answer, ‘Go back and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind see again, the lame walk, those suffering from virulent skin-diseases are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, the good news is proclaimed to the poor; 23 and blessed is anyone who does not find me a cause of falling.’
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Jesus dispenses God’s saving justice to the disabled, the sick, the dying and the poor. God’s pure goodness is made evident to the underclass of his society. John the Dipper wondered if that was enough. Where was the fire of God’s judgement, where was the restoration of Israel, the defeat of the gentile overlords, the kosher kingdom? Jesus answers that the God of everybody starts with the nobodies, because he permits no exclusions. This ministry can easily cause “offence”-which is surely a better translation of the Greek word “skandalon” here translated “cause of falling.” God’s saving justice as demonstrated by Jesus was offensive to those who reckoned it was a commodity better held in their control. That’s still true. We’ll find better Advent action in most night shelters than in most cathedrals. Blessed are those who are not offended.