Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord - March 25

Isaiah 7:10-14, 8:10 Hebrews 10:4-10 Luke 1:26-38

Today’s reading from Isaiah caused something of a stir back in the early 1950’s. This passage is generally accepted as a prophecy of the virgin birth of Jesus. However, the Revised Standard Version (RSV) of the Bible (completed in 1952) did not translate the Hebrew word almah as “virgin” or “maiden” in the prophecy. Instead, it translates the description as “young woman.” This altered vocabulary did not change the understanding of the verse in any significant way; scholars still agreed that this was a messianic prophecy. However, the different translation caused quite an uproar among
certain fundamentalist Christians, some of whom went as far as to burn copies of the RSV in protest.

Immediately prior to the prophecy in Isaiah, King Ahaz is commanded to ask for a sign. He declines, quoting scripture back to God’s prophet (Deuteronomy 6:16) and is chastised for trying God’s patience. I find it ironic that several millennia later we are still stiff-necked people, trying God’s patience by insisting on our preferred translation of a word instead of rejoicing in the prophetic
fulfillment of our savior. There is a certain irony that all humans, saved by God’s grace through the sacrifice of Jesus, had and continue to have such vehement and occasionally violent reactions to, in my opinion, comparatively small things. This Lenten season, this passage is a reminder to me that God promised his Son to all of us “so that none should perish but all should come to repentance;” and that perhaps our differences are far less important than our similarities in Christ.

Q: What beliefs do you consider foundational to your Catholic Christian tradition?

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