Sitting in the Dark vs Walking Through it – Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (A)
The thing that struck me as I reviewed this week’s readings is the difference between how we receive the referenced scripture in Isaiah vs the Gospel. Isaiah describes a people who walk in darkness. Matthew describes a people who sit in darkness.
Perhaps it is a matter of translation only, but if so, it goes back at least to Saint Jerome’s Latin Vulgate. The Greek Septuagint has the same translations, so the question seems to boil down to how Matthew chooses to communicate this concept of languishing in darkness. I am no scholar, and cannot legitimately even begin to hazard a guess as to the translation issues, or why the transmitted text differs from the apparent source, but I can comment upon what it means to me.
I’ve struggled the past couple of years to keep walking in darkness, and frequently succumbed to the temptation to just sit. There’s just no call for that. The sun of righteousness has risen, so the darkness I see around me is just a shadow. It’s up to me to get up and step into the light. That will require that I commit to walking in the darkness, and that I choose to walk towards the light.
I feel I’ve belabored this point the past few weeks, but I’m a bit dense, and it takes a while for it to really sink in. In any case, I am thankful that our lectionary cycle encourages me to start the year with a reminder there’s a great light, and that it’s up to me to choose to walk in it.
Moving on…
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- Chosen if we so choose – Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)
- Handy tool! Latin Vulgate with Douay-Rheims and King James