Daily Prophets
Day 68
“In that day, this song shall be sung…Trust in God for ever and ever, for in Yah, God, you have an everlasting Rock. For God has brought low those who dwelt high up, has humbled the secure city… To be trampled underfoot by the feet of the needy, by the soles of the poor. The path is level for the righteous person.”(Isaiah 26:1, 4-6).
Isaiah is reminding us of the day(s) to come, not some far away time I believe, rather the day that we can sing the song of “Trust in God for ever and ever”. He is reminding us of the true nature of God; concerned with the human condition, involved in human affairs, afflicting us so we can wake up and turn back to God and God’s ways.
God has to afflict “those who dwelt high up” not out of spite, vengeance, or even justice, in my opinion and experience. God has to afflict us/them because they/we haven’t heard nor responded to God’s numerous calls to them/us to change, to return, to care for the poor, the needy, the stranger, etc. We/they have been deaf to God’s call and the cry of those in need, materially and spiritually. They/We have been so sure of themselves/ourselves that there was no need to hear anything except what they/we wanted to. It became all about them/us and this is why they/we had to be afflicted.
Rather than seeing this as punishment, I see this as the only way God could get our/their attention. The prophets have been calling to the people in God’s Name to no avail. So, Isaiah is telling them there will be affliction and the city will be destroyed, the people will suffer and then, the remnant who turn back to God will be restored.
The very thing “those who dwelt high up” were afraid of will happen, according to Isaiah in these verses. The needy and the poor will pave the new roads of and for righteousness and decent people. There will be smoothness where there had been bumps, detours, pot holes. Those that were the lowest will be leading them/us in a new way of living. A life based in caring for another(s). A life which is free of deceit, guile, comparison, etc.
While Rabbi Heschel doesn’t have any commentary on these verses directly, I see these verses as proof of a teaching of his. “The prophet is a man who is able to hold God and man in one thought, at one time, at all times…The kind of men who combine a very deep love, a very powerful dissent, a painful rebuke, with unwavering hope”(Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity pg 399). Rabbi Heschel is teaching me/us not only about the prophets, he is telling us how we should live as well.
Take heed, you political leaders in Washington DC and in State Capitals across this land. Isaiah’s words should be ringing loudly in your ears so that your soul hears them, begins to weep and forces your return to caring for the poor, the needy, the righteous. You who don’t want people to earn $31,400/year because you are concerned what it will do to business of the rich and powerful, you need to listen to the words of Isaiah, the words of God. The song you sing to the idol you worship is the opposite of the song that Isaiah is teaching us to sing. From Jesus, Mohamed, Moses, Buddha, etc the message is the same: love, justice, truth, compassion, kindness and caring are the foundational components of every faith/spiritual discipline. Sing to God before it is too late for all of us.
In recovery, this is the song we sing every day. We are the recipients of God’s love, care, kindness, justice and compassion. By owning the truth of our actions, by repenting and returning to God and a way of living that is moral, we are welcomed back by God. We know that the old ways have to be humbled to the ground. We know that our old ideas have brought us to defeat and near destruction and with this knowledge we rebuild our lives with these “new” ideas of righteousness and love, kindness and truth. We are the ones who are smoothing the path for other people in recovery, we are the ones who are leveling out the path to God for the newcomer and helping them navigate their own path. We sing this song through our actions, our prayers, our belonging to community and our love for our fellow people.
I have sung this song loudly for my entire recovery. Sometimes too loudly and off-key as Harriet reminds/scolds me. I know also, that I have been humbled by God and been blessed by God’s humbling actions towards me. I am struck by a new truth; God’s humbling of me has never been humiliating-only learning, loving and speaking to me in a way I can hear. When others humiliate me, it is never from a place of love, never from a place of learning, it is from a place of superiority, of needing to ‘win’, to ‘put me in my place’. I have fallen into this trap instead of singing this song to God and myself. I have forgotten “in that day” can be today, if I make it so. God’s humbling is never punishment, only a call-human humiliation is always punishing, never a call. I am committed to continuing to trample the road for the righteous to be able to walk on a level and smooth path. I am committed to continuing speaking out for the poor, the needy. I am committed to singing this song to God, are you committed to returning and joining this Choir? Stay safe and God Bless, Rabbi Mark