Sunday Homily, September 16, 2012, 24th Ordinary Time B
Readings:
Isaiah 50, 4-9, I gave my back to those who beat me.
Psalm 116, I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living.
James 2, 14-18, What good is it if someone says he has faith but does not have works?
Mark 8, 27-35, Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself.
Isaiah Observations:
Date of Composition:
A picture of the time span:
1. Solomon (he of Wisdom, the temple builder, 700 wives, & 300 mistresses–if he really existed) dies ca. 900-1000 before Christ.
2. The Hebrew kingdom divides into 2 parts, the north, Israel (Galilee today), the south, Judah, around 900 before Christ.
3. Assyria destroys Israel and obliterates the 10 Hebrew tribes located there, ca. 700.
4. Babylon carries into captivity the Hebrews of Judah, the 2 remaining tribes, ca. 600.
Contemporary scholars conjecture that this work could have been composed over a period of 400 years, i.e., 700-300. It obviously begins by predicting disasters, typical of prophets. They happen, 2 of the biggest tragedies in Jewish history up to the Romans' destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem (70 years after Christ) and the Holocaust, that is, the Assyrian destruction & the Babylonian Captivity. 4 big tragedies.
Author (s): obviously it was composed by numerous people. Isaiah himself is considered behind chapters 1-39. In fact, line 1 identifies Isaiah as the author of the ideas.
What is it about: 1st, 2nd, & 3rd Isaiah
1st Isaiah, Chapters 1-39: predict doom for the Hebrews because they have not been faithful to their one god.
2nd Isaiah, Chapters 40-55: this & the remaining chapters are called The Book of Consolation. They try to assure the people who are now in exile that God will restore them to their former glory & peace. In fact, in chapter 45 the composer even mentions the name of Cyrus, the king of the Persians who defeats Babylon & sends the Hebrews back to Jerusalem. So the composer knew of Cyrus and a date can be narrowed down.
This 2nd Isaiah section presents 4 suffering servant songs, #3 being our selection today. Jews see the servant to be the Hebrew people/nation. Christians see the servant to be Christ. Isaiah 2 is considered maybe the most influential O.T. book. On Isaiah 2 Mark built much of his gospel, especially the story of the crucifixion.
Handel's Messiah uses 2nd Isaiah for its lyrics.
3rd Isaiah, Chapter 56-66: more assurances of a return to peace & glory.
Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself and take up his cross
I would like to say a few words this morning about denying myself and taking up my cross.
A story from our CO trip last week.
The day is the third of our trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. The 7 of us have left a delightful campsite and are headed over a pass, Flat Top Pass, right on the Continental Divide, about 12 thousand feet high. We are climbing one to two thousand feet.
As we climb the weather is getting nastier & nastier, cloudy skies, wind, and cold. We come across a series of what I describe as receding ridges. I see a ridge up ahead. I get to it only find another ridge 200 yards further up. We must have had 15 of these.
It begins to sleet and rain. The group of us is stretched out over a few hundred yards.
Suddenly I look up and see somebody coming down the trail by himself. Even from a distance I see he has on only running shorts and a light pack, not like ours. He is jogging down this rough trail and has already crossed over the pass in the sleet, rain, and wind.
I am astounded. Rose Banzhaf says that his whole trip is about 30 miles. She calls him The Mean Running Machine.
I mention this event to make a distinction about denying myself and taking up my cross. Unhealthy and healthy. Observations.
Unhealthy. In my early years as a Jesuit I think we had some unhealthy attitudes and behaviors influenced by this demand. I am embarrassed to admit that, yes, we had little scourges that we were supposed to use on our backs and we had chains with little spikes we were supposed to wear on our thighs.
Once we joined the Jesuit community we never expected to return home. I did not return for 7 years. I came back to teach for 3 years at Jesuit, not go home. At the time I never thought anything about it.
In my years as a spiritual director especially for priests & nuns I found a lot of guilt for not being hard enough on myself. I personally can still feel guilty if I take a 15 minute morning break or a day off. Rosemary is good for me on this. She calls me to relax.
Healthy. Self discipline to achieve a goal. The runner obviously has some kind of goal. Look at high school sports and how strenuously so many kids drive themselves. Look at education, the discipline to achieve a Ph.D., to be a doctor. What about Alcoholics Anonymous or giving up smoking? The reward: inner peace.
Finally, let me remind you of that gospel dynamic I mention so often, infinite demand plus infinite acceptance.
I would suggest that the runner I met at 12 thousand feet in sleet was denying himself and carrying his cross. Hopefully he has a healthy goal.
How do you deny yourself and take up your cross?
