Reconstruction of Jerusalem and the Temple of Herod. James Tissot, 1886-1894, Brooklyn Museum.

July 7, 2019
Isaiah 66:10–14c

Our first reading this Sunday is from the third prophet to use the name Isaiah. He lived in the first generation of the Jews who accepted the invitation of King Cyrus, the king of Assyria, to return and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. Although his circumstances are different from the other two Isaiahs, he continues their emphasis on the importance of worship; however, he is chastened by a belief that liturgy which does not direct worshippers to justice is idolatry. We will find in third Isaiah not only eloquence, but a realism that is disturbingly real and contemporary.

King Cyrus promised to help the Jews rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, but his idea was much less grand than theirs. Many who went off with great joy to the land of their ancestors were disappointed at the rugged conditions they discovered and the relative lack of funding. Although financing from Assyrian empire was not enough to rebuild the temple to its former splendor, it was a substantial project—then, as now, an opportunity for corruption. Isaiah is writing at the time of the completion of the temple around 515 BC and has first-hand experience. He takes the leaders to task:

They are relentless dogs,
they know not when they have enough.
These are the shepherds
who know no discretion;
Each of them goes his own way,
every one of them to his own gain:
(Isaiah 56:11)

He compares them with those who came back to Jerusalem for the right motives and have paid a price for it:

The just man perishes,
but no one takes it to heart;
Devout men are swept away,
with no one giving it a thought.
(Isaiah 57:1)

The just will, however, be rewarded:

Though he is taken away from the presence of evil,
the just man
enters into peace;
There is rest on his couch
for the sincere, straightforward man.
(Isaiah 57:1–2 )

But not by a mere tinkering with human power. Those who took the name Isaiah always experienced power—the glory of God—emanating from the temple. Several months ago, we read the call of the first Isaiah in the temple:

“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts!”
they cried one to the other.
“All the earth is filled with his glory!”
At the sound of that cry, the frame of the door shook
and the house was filled with smoke.
(Isaiah 6:3–4)

This Isaiah tells his people:

Rise up in splendor! Your light has come,
the glory of the Lord shines upon you.
See, darkness covers the earth,
and thick clouds cover the peoples;
But upon you the LORD shines,
and over you appears his glory.
(Isaiah 60:1–2)

The Lord will powerfully enter into the world not to reform it, but to transform it:

Lo, I am about to create new heavens
and a new earth;
The things of the past shall not be remembered
or come to mind.
Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happiness
in what I create;
For I create Jerusalem to be a joy
and its people to be a delight;
(Isaiah 65:17–18)

This will not be by magic, but by a change of heart that will be seen in true worship and religious practice:

This, rather, is the fasting that I wish:
releasing those bound unjustly,
untying the thongs of the yoke;
Setting free the oppressed,
breaking every yoke;
Sharing your bread with the hungry,
sheltering the oppressed and the homeless;
Clothing the naked when you see them,
and not turning your back on your own.
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your wound shall quickly be healed;
Your vindication shall go before you,
and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
(Isaiah 58:6–8)

The Lord vindicates his people not only to show his power and his justice but to provide a true home for all people. Isaiah several times tells the people that they are to rebuild the temple and Jerusalem as a light to the nations. Isaiah 42:6, 49:6, 52:10 and 60:3 tells us as well:

And nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your rising.
(Isaiah 60:3)

The section we read today is the final chapter of Isaiah and these themes are brought together very powerfully. The chapter begins with the Lord reminding the people that he is more powerful than they are and they cannot impress, much less intimidate him.

This is the one whom I approve:
the lowly and afflicted man who trembles at my word.
Merely slaughtering an ox is like slaying a man;
sacrificing a lamb, like breaking a dog’s neck;
Bringing a cereal offering, like offering swine’s blood;
burning incense, like paying homage to an idol.
Since these have chosen their own ways
and taken pleasure in their own abominations,
(Isaiah 66:2–3)

Worship without love, particularly for the poor and marginalized, is idolatry, the first and greatest sin.

Jerusalem, however, will be the mother of those who act justly. It will be a most miraculous birth:

Who ever heard of such a thing,
or saw the like?
Can a country be brought forth in one day,
or a nation be born in a single moment?
Yet Zion is scarcely in labor
when she gives birth to her children.
Shall I bring a mother to the point of birth,
and yet not let her child be born? says the LORD;
Or shall I who allow her to conceive,
yet close her womb? says your God.
(Isaiah 66:8–9)

This is where we begin today. Through Jerusalem, the Lord is offering us a personal relationship. Note that Jews and Catholics agree that our relationship with God is in through a community. The Jews call it the people, we call it the church. The passage does not however end here. Isaiah continues:

I come to gather nations of every language; they shall come and see my glory.
(Isaiah 66:18)

These Gentiles will be commissioned to bring the name of the Lord:

to the distant coastlands that have never heard of my fame, or seen my glory; and they shall proclaim my glory among the nations.
(Isaiah 66:19)

Some of these will even become priests:

Some of these I will take as priests and Levites, says the LORD.
As the new heavens and the new earth which I will make
Shall endure before me, says the LORD,
so shall your race and your name endure.
(Isaiah 66:21–22)

This is a very important passage for we of St Charles Borromeo. We are renovating our physical Church. In order that it be both functional and beautiful, we will spend a tremendous amount of time, effort, and money. How will we know if it was worth it? Practically, of course, if it completed satisfactorily, looks good, and doesn’t leak, but I think Isaiah is showing us that it will also be not only what we do in it but through it. Will we be a light beyond ourselves?

Elijah throwing his mantle on Elisha by Charles Foster, 1873, from Wikimedia

June 30, 2019
1 Kings 19:16b – 19-21

The relationship between the prophets Elijah and Elisha speaks to us as disciples and apostles almost 3,000 years later. To understand it however, we must take a step back from this scene and see how the Lord worked among his people in their day.

By the opening of this chapter (1Kings 19) Elijah has defeated and killed the prophets of the pagan god Baal. This has infuriated Ahaz, the king of Judah, but more intensely his wife Jezebel. Ahaz had repudiated the Lord, worshiped other gods and lived a dissolute life. The royal couple determine to kill Elijah, and he flees to a land outside of Ahaz’s control.

When Elijah feels that the immediate danger has passed, he falls down exhausted and begs God to kill him: “This is enough, O LORD! Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” ( 1 Kings 19:4)

An angel awakes and feeds him, and after he falls asleep again, he feeds him a second time. After he was strengthened, the angel told him to prepare himself for a journey.

⁸ He got up, ate and drank; then strengthened by that food, he walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God, Horeb.  1 Kings 19:8

Mt. Horeb is another name for Mt. Sinai where the Lord first spoke to the shepherd Moses in the Burning Bush (Exodus 3) and where later he gave him the Ten Commandments. It was a place of revelation of the Lord and commitment to Him: ² The LORD, our God, made a covenant with us at Horeb (Deuteronomy 5:2 (NAB)) The reference 40 is of course, among other instances, the number of years the people wandered in the desert to get to the Promised Land.

When Elijah reaches Horeb he finds a cave and the Lord speaks to him:, “Why are you here, Elijah?” ¹⁰ He answered: “I have been most zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts, but the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to the sword. I alone am left, and they seek to take my life.” 1 Kings 19:9–10

The Lord does not answer him directly but tells him:

¹¹ Then the LORD said, “Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD; the LORD will be passing by.” A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the LORD—but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake—but the LORD was not in the earthquake. ¹² After the earthquake there was fire—but the LORD was not in the fire. 1 Kings 19:11–13

“Passing by” is a technical expression for a king revealing himself to his people as leader. There are still royal processions in monarchies today. They are usually a time for great pageantry and splendor and so it was in the Old Testament and no more so than on Mt. Horeb/Sinai. The Lord spoke to Moses from the Burning Bush and we know of the lightning, thunder and clouds at the time of the giving of the Law. Something spectacular was expected. Yet, the Lord was not in any of these:

After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound.

¹³ When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went and stood at the entrance of the cave. A voice said to him, “Elijah, why are you here?” 1 Kings 19:13–14

The Lord does not have to meet our expectations, nor does he have to repeat his actions. He has an infinite repertoire. He will use only Elijah and Elishia against a king and his army.

Elijah immediately starts to complain:

¹⁴ He replied, “I have been most zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. But the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to the sword. I alone am left, and they seek to take my life.” 1 Kings 19:15–16

At the very least the Lord is abrupt with Elijah. He has proven himself a very faithful and courageous servant and the Lord does not even listen to his complaints. He immediately tells him:

¹⁵ “Go, take the road back to the desert near Damascus,” the LORD said to him. “When you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king of Aram.

¹⁶ Then you shall anoint Jehu, son of Nimshi, as king of Israel, and Elisha, son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah, as prophet to succeed you. 1 Kings 19:15–16

This is important on several levels: It is to be expected that Elijah would anoint the king of Israel and his successor as prophet. That he is to anoint the king of Aram is significant. This is a foreign land. The Lord is showing that he has power everywhere over everyone. He is not just a local god.

The Lord intends to purify his people of those who have done evil and he expects the pruning to be significant:

¹⁷ If anyone escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill him. If he escapes the sword if Jehu, Elisha will kill him. 1 Kings 19:17 (NAB)

He will leave a remnant of 7,000 because He never forgets His promise to David.

Yet there is also a more personal dimension.

We have seen that the Lord’s response to Elisha’s plight was to send him on a mission; indeed, a very dangerous one that required him to go back into land controlled by Ahaz and Jezebel. Where was his concern for Elijah as a person?

We see the same pattern with Elisha. He was obviously well to do with 12 yoke (pair) of oxen, and yet he tells him to give up everything to accept the hard life of the prophet. He accepts and asks only to kiss his parents goodbye. But look at his action. He slaughtered the oxen and used his plow for fuel to provide a feast for his people. He literally burned his bridges behind him, and then this well-off man “followed Elijah to serve him”.

Not a word of thanks or even recognition from the Lord.

Perhaps not in words, but for life to be meaningful and to have weight and substance, it is necessary to think and act beyond oneself. For us this must begin with worship, placing ultimate trust and loyalty in the God who acts in history. This is the way to happiness: it is not God who should thank us, but we who should thank Him.