Readings: Isaiah 50, 4-9; Psalm 116, I will walk before the Lord, in the Land of the Living; James 2, 14-18; Mark 8, 27-35
Isaiah:
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 BCE
2. the Hebrew kingdom divides into 2 parts, the north, Israel (Galilee), the south, Judah.
3. Assyria destroys Israel and obliterates the 10 Hebrew tribes located there, ca. 725.
4. Babylon carries into captivity the Hebrews of Judah, ca. 590.
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. They happen, the 2 big tragedies in Jewish history up to the Holocaust, the Assyrian destruction & the Babylonian Captivity.
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:
Chapters 1-39: predict doom for the Hebrews because they have not been faithful to their one god, YHWH.
Chapters 40-55: called Isaiah 2, this & the remaining chapters (56-66) are called The Book of Consolation. They try to assure the people who are now in exile that YHWH 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 Isaiah 2 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, especially on the New Testament. On Isaiah 2 Mark built much of his gospel, especially the story of the crucifixion.
Handel's Messiah uses Isaiah 2 for its lyrics.
Chapter 56-66: more assurances of a return to peace & glory.
Our selection: Isaiah 2. The suffering servant is talking about the abuse he is experiencing. Then he proclaims, 'YHWH will help me & I won't be put to shame.'
Take up Your Cross and Follow
As most of you know, the last Saturday in August I joined Bill Hammond & 14 thousand plus other nuts to ride in the Hotter 'N Hell Hundred (as in miles). Folks, it was ecstatic. For me participatory athletic events like this have an elixir, a kinetic energy that touches me all the way down to my toes. In fact, for the second year in a row, as I rode down the ramp of a bridge and headed toward the dramatic finish arch, I had tears of consolation in my eyes. I am humbled that I can actually be part of the event.
As much as I was intoxicated by the over all event, two smaller happenings moved me. Both occurred in the latter 50 mile section, the section where I know I am more wako than I thought. I had pulled into one of the marvelous rest stops around mile 70. There were tons of riders & volunteers all around. I went over to a chair to rest a few moments. Near me was a group of about 6 guys in their late 20's, very athletic and full of personality and energy. One of their guys was sitting about one seat over from me and he was teasing back & forth with the other guys. I look over at him and he's got no left foot. I am stunned. Lying on the ground was his artificial foot and he was massaging his stump. So, what am I complaining about!
Later I am pedaling along and clumps of riders are passing me. I see ahead of me a young guy whom I just might pass, hooray. I get up behind him, say, "On your left," and begin to pass him. I look over at him as I am coming along side and he has no arms. He has metal prosthetics. I gulp. Suddenly I am embarrassed to pass him.
I talk about this because it feeds right into something that is mentioned in Mark, a paragraph that has great potential for healthy living, and for unhealthy living. Mark mentions that to follow Jesus I have to deny myself and take up my cross. I got to lose my life to save it. Hey, I don't like denying myself and I am not attracted to the idea of taking up a cross. Look what happened to him.
Folks, we have infinite demand here again. The other side being infinite acceptance. Let me touch three points, a little history and an explanation of the unhealthy and healthy approach to these ideas.
First, the history. When Mark wrote you can bet he was under the influence of the philosophy of dualism. That is, all the world is divided into two, bad-good, flesh-spirit, body-soul. To enhance the growth of the spirit & soul, the flesh & body has to be disciplined. In fact, basic appetites & attractions must not only be disciplined but hammered into quiescence.
Which leads to the second point, the unhealthy & healthy living. It is easy to see how a person, influenced by this philosophy could be hard on himself, in fact, could do damage to himself. It is called masochism. Spiritual practices that mirrored this philosophy were part of my early Jesuit training.
In order to detach ourselves from our attachment to our families, our love of our families, we young Jesuits were never allowed to return home for a visit, not for Christmas, Easter, anything. I remember one summer vacation floating down the Calcacieu River in a pirogue in s.w. Louisiana with a classmate of mine, and he told me that a few miles away in New Orleans his brother was getting married at that very time. We thought that was normal. We had to extinguish our desires. This is how the idea of denying myself can be unhealthy or at least just unnecessary. I have told you about the little rope scourges we were expected to use on ourselves especially on Fridays.
Thirdly, on the healthy side, I have my two handicapped guys in the HHH. I would propose that to live a healthy life, to develop a wholeness in myself, to aim to be a Renaissance person, I need to focus on four targets, the intellectual, the physical, and the spiritual/psychological. This involves denying myself and self discipline, it involves moderation. I am my cross. The reward is contentment & peace.
The fourth element in wholeness is you got to live for others, like James' reading brings up. Jesuit talks about being men for others. I specialize in aiding the underprivileged. I do it not for me but for them. In giving, however, I am richer.
Those two guys I encountered in the HHH have taken up their crosses, they have denied themselves and I would suggest that they are more content and peaceful than if they had stayed home watching TV.
Your cross? What is it?
Picture 1: Mass with Kevin & T.J.
Picture 2: The Choir with Celeste, Marianne, & Ray
Picture 3: Birthdays & Anniversaries, Theresa McClure, Doug, Teresa, & Taylor Read, and Chloe's mom Claire (24)
Picture 4: The Donut Shoppe with Chloe surrounded by Frank, Jackie, her mom, Claire, and grand dad Tom