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"The prophet is a man who feels fiercely. God has thrust a burden upon his soul and he is bored and stunned by man's fierce greed. Prophecy is the voice that God has lent to the silent agony, a voice to the plundered poor, to the profaned riches of the world. God is raging in the prophet's words. The prophet is intent on intensifying responsibility, is impatient with excuses, contemptuous of pretense and self-pity. His tone, rarely sweet and caressing , is frequently consoling and disburdening; his words are often slaying even horrid - designed to shock rather than edify."
THE PROPHET ISAIAH LIVED 750 YEARS BEFORE JESUS. Those Christian communities which share a common Lectionary (book of readings) become familiar with Isaiah during Advent, and many of the texts sung in Handel's Messiah come to us from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah.
But as Isaiah is a long and layered book of the Hebrew Scriptures, it takes time to become familiar with its many themes. In the first section Isaiah warns the ancient Hebrews against corruption born of prosperity, the worship of false gods and mistaken and false alliances. Reading these pages we might move along thinking that this is just about 'them' - hardly mindful that God's Word is perennial and has everything to do with us - as families, as nation, as Church.
But before we read a little of Isaiah, notice in the painting above that the prophet has spirit-wind blowing on him and that the Hebrew message he shares is in a bold font. His eyes are clear and intense; his rolled up sleeve reveals a strong forearm. This prophet means business. Here's an Isaiah sampler:
But before we read a little of Isaiah, notice in the painting above that the prophet has spirit-wind blowing on him and that the Hebrew message he shares is in a bold font. His eyes are clear and intense; his rolled up sleeve reveals a strong forearm. This prophet means business. Here's an Isaiah sampler:
The faithful city,
what a harlot she has become!
Zion, once full of fair judgment,
where saving justice used to dwell,
but now assassins!
Your silver has turned into dross,
your wine is watered.
Your princes are rebels,
accomplices of brigands,.
All of them greedy for presents
and eager for bribes,
they show no justice to the orphan,
and the widow's cause never reaches them. (1:21-23)
The county is full of horses, its chariots are unlimited;
the country is full of idols.
They bow down before the work of their hands,
before what their own fingers have made. (2:7,8)
Because Zion's daughters are proud
and walk with heads held high
and enticing eyes-with mincing steps they go,
jingling the bangles on their feet (3:16)
Woe to those who add house to house
and join field to field until there is nowhere left
and they are the sole inhabitants of the country. (5:8)
creating friendships
which serve your purposes.
Making money from war -
calling the death of
my littlest ones,
collateral damage.
I told you in the time of Moses,
no gods of metal,
yet you profit richly
from technology and
preparations for war.
2 You are addicted to
pharmaceuticals,
products and
procedures
you believe will
erase your aging.
Walgreens and Rite-Aid are your shrines.
3 You deny me the sound of
your voice,
wrangling
in partisan politics.
Personalities are your priests;
CNN, FOX, MSNBC
your new
Word of the Lord.
4 The country gorges itself
with huge portions
while the children
weaken and starve.
Charity is your cheap justification,
but I say justice.
5 Your billion dollar stadiums -
your new cathedrals
sparkling
while emptying churches fall into ruin,
the housing stock of the poor
decays.
6 A people unwilling to stop the money-wheel
they work and shop round the clock -
as their families break down
in alienation and loneliness,
as the children I give them
become enslaved.
have stolen away your hearts from me.
The ancients of Mesopotamia worshiped stars;
you dance with them.
8 The nation that flies to me in calamity,
has forgotten my name.
Claiming prestige in what they wear -
they celebrate
the designers of underwear.
9 Your capitalism like children in riotous play,
profiting some; leaving many behind.
A quarter of your children are poor.
Overtaken by greed,
you're made toxic by possessing.
10 I weep that you've destroyed and poisoned
the paradise-gift I created for you.
In your appetite for things
the plants and animals vanish.
The earth bleeds from below the waters
as you've raped her for your gain.
11 Portending a great gloom,
the blind-darkness of their love of guns
supersedes their love for me.
O that they were as zealous
in the care of their children
and the world beyond their window.
with the message of No fear,
the heavenly army
singing Peace on earth.
You answer
with an evasive bomber
above the clouds:
raining angel of terror.
13 You see the elderly poor unfed,
the child without a doctor,
the mother with no shelter.
They shiver in the parks and
on the streets of your
domed and white-pillared headquarters.
Still you throw money like incense
at the billion dollar flying weapon.
Indeed, stop insulting me:
"One nation under God."
I will tell the truth:
One nation under Lockheed, Boeing and Gruman."
Maranatha! Lord, Come Quickly
(I Corinthians 16:22)
(I Corinthians 16:22)
