Today is the feast day of Saint Isaiah the Prophet. Isaiah’s voice is so critical in forecasting the arrival of the son of man. It is staggering to think his lifetime was more than 700 years before Jesus entered the world. 

Greatly trusted in his own time, Isaiah advises Sennacherib to resist the Assyrians as their powerful army gets ready to invade Jerusalem and to pray to God for deliverance. After Sennacherib does this, an angel of God destroys 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in a single night. 

Isaiah’s vision of the future is so clear that Saint Gregory once said, he knew the mysteries of the church so vividly, that you would assume he was not prophesying about the future, but rather describing past events. Isaiah will die a martyr at the order of his grandson, Manasseh. But before that, his vision of the future will include the servant song, which so clearly describes Jesus and the kind of savior he will be. In chapter 42 of Isaiah: “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight. I will put my spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations. He will not shout or cry out or raise his voice in the street. A bruised reed, he will not break in. A dimly burning wick, he will not quench. He will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow dim or be bruised until he establishes justice on earth.” 

Saint Isaiah, please pray for us.