What would you do if 5500 days were added to your life? King Hezekiah is granted a 15-year extension to his life, and he responds with a magnificent hymn of gratitude and thanksgiving. The apostles face the wrath of the persnickety Pharisees, but Our Lord defends them while reminding them and us that we should all deal rather more in clemency and shuck their accusations.
The Canticle of Hezekiah
Unlike the unending succession of bad, ugly, and terrible kings who seemed hell-bent (pun intended) on incurring the wrath of God, King Hezekiah really tried. He pulled down all the abominable altars of pagan worship and unswervingly tried to do what was right in the sight of the LORD.
He put his trust in the LORD, the God of Israel and neither before nor after him was there anyone like him among all the kings of Judah. 2 Kings 18:5
Hezekiah falls mortally ill and God, through the prophet Isaiah, informs him of his impending death, inviting him to put his house in order. At this, the stricken king turns his face to the wall and prays that God remembers his faithful conduct and weeps bitterly. God heard his prayer, saw his tears, and gave him a new lease on life. And Hezekiah responds with his jubilant psalm of relief, thanksgiving, and trusting. Pope John Paul II wrote a commentary on this, which is paraphrased below.
The Canticle of Hezekiah invites reflection on the fragility of the human creature. We are always pilgrims and guests on earth, our days the briefest of spans, mere shadows our deeds, mere vapors our restless pursuits. It is fitting to raise our lament to God, even if it feels that God is our adversary, we should not cease to invoke him. For the Lord is not indifferent to the tears of the one who suffers, and he responds, consoles, and saves.
King Hezekiah and Pope John Paul remind us to hope, to pray, and to be confident that God will not abandon us.
Temple Worship
Hezekiah is instructed to go up to the temple. An invitation by God to resume the salubrious activity he has practiced all his life, that of glorifying God through worship. This is something to emulate. God gives us the precious gift of life and we exult in it, cling to it and mourn bitterly when our loved ones depart, knowing that we too will go that same route. But what is it that God desires from us, the living?
Our life is meant to be for others, just as the Lord himself demonstrates. And God should be at the forefront. If you’re looking for a way to improve on this, might I suggest attending Holy Mass as often as you can, and daily if at all possible. For through the sacrament of the Eucharist, we do three things. This is the response that we give during each and every Mass, at the invitation of the presider:
May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands, for the praise and glory of His name, for our good and the good of all His holy church.
Each time we go for Mass, we’re giving praise and glory to God. We return the eternal sacrifice of the Son back to the Father! Not a mere remembrance, but in a mysterious way, we make it present, anew as at the Last Supper and the First Mass! This is the highest praise we can give Our God. Moreover, we’re also praying for our good and the good of the Church. So, with one fell swoop, we cover God and neighbor. This is the pinnacle of ancient Israel’s temple worship, my dear readers. Fall in love with Jesus through the Blessed Sacrament.
Something Greater
When Jesus defends his hand-picked dozen, he points out the priests breaking the Commandment in their Sabbath temple service but remaining innocent. But in Jesus, there is something greater than the temple. For He is none other than the Lord of the Universe. In serving Our Lord, the apostles are in the clear. The Lord who alone has the right to judge the actions of others is the merciful judge. So instead of brandishing judgements on our fellow brethren like the Scribes and Pharisees do, we need to dispense mercy freely, often, and speedily because we long for His forgiveness of the multitude of our daily trespasses and one day, we’ll cling to the hope and promise of Divine Mercy.
The Canticle of Hezekiah is a pointer to the promise of Easter: for in dying, Jesus places all his trust in God the Father who would free him from the clutches of death. By His Resurrection, we too can look with certain hope, that when these days of our lives run their course, a brighter future awaits, and immortality beckons.
[Readings: Isaiah 38:1-6, 21-22, 7-8; Matthew 12:1-8]
Other related articles
