Daily Prophets
Day 182
“For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her righteousness goes forth like radiance, and her salvation like a burning torch. And the nations shall see your righteousness, and all kings your glory: You shall no more be termed Forsaken; nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married.”(Isaiah 62:1,2,4).
Second Isaiah is speaking up for Judah and Jerusalem. He is calling to God to restore Jerusalem now, or at least soon. The prophet who usually calls the people to account is now the spokesperson for the people to God. Second Isaiah is very forceful about the return to and of Jerusalem. What is he trying to save and restore? An idea, a way of being that never really was and yet the promise of what could be is uppermost in his mind. Second Isaiah is calling out to God and to the people, I believe, to radiate righteousness and be the safe harbor for everyone’s salvation.
Radiating righteousness is a beautiful image to me. Isaiah is calling to us to ensure that this happens. We have to build the ‘city of wholeness’ into a shining example of righteousness and then we will achieve salvation and make it possible for another(s) to achieve salvation as well. The people of Jerusalem will not have the market on righteousness and salvation, rather they will be the examples and the spreaders of righteousness and salvation to the world, a “light unto the nations”. I think of Ronald Reagan calling Washington DC the “shining city on a hill” and we see that the light has dimmed somewhat just as Jerusalem’s light dimmed in the time of the prophets AND they kept hope alive, they held humans and God responsible for returning the light, the righteousness and the salvation to both the city, the people and all people. How are we engaged in bringing righteousness and salvation to country, city, home, to Jerusalem?
Second Isaiah goes on to tell the people of what will be and what they shall make happen in partnership with God. They are going to create such righteousness and salvation that the entire world will see the light and, hopefully, want to bring this same righteousness and salvation to their people, their land. Kings will see the glory of the city as well as the Glory of God and will finally bend their knees to God. What a beautiful vision, much like Reagan’s vision of Washington DC, and in both cases this prophecy is yet to happen. We are charged, as I read Second Isaiah with making this happen in our time, in every time; yet we delay, we dally, we get stuck in senseless hatred and competition for power and prestige, there is none of this type of behavior in the prophets visions and words. He is telling us that we are not forsaken, Jerusalem is not forsaken any more, Jerusalem is not desolate anymore, God is delighting in us and in our return, our salvation, and is waiting for us to be righteous so the marriage can flourish. This is a marriage between what Jerusalem is meant to be and the work of the people who inhabit it. This is a marriage between God and the people, a marriage to give strength, confidence, and love to the people to carry out God’s call to them/us.
Yet we dally with our pettiness and pride, envy and enmity, we forget to allow ourselves the opportunity to enjoy God’s love, God’s grace, and allow ourselves to build the righteousness that radiates from us and from Jerusalem. At the risk of sounding blasphemous, Jerusalem is more than a city in the State of Israel, Jerusalem is a spiritual home and a way of being that has to, as the prophet says, “radiate righteousness” throughout the world so that every place becomes ‘a city of wholeness’ a “shining city on the hill”. We have the opportunity to take God’s delight and use it to rebuild our cities, our countries, our homes, our neighborhoods into places of righteousness and salvation. Will we all accept this challenge?
In recovery, we are so grateful for God’s light, righteousness and salvation that we work each day to honor it and grow the light, righteousness and salvation inside of us. We are also aware, as the prophet teaches, that we have to shine this light of salvation and righteousness to all people. We get to create and build on the creations of safe spaces for people to recover. We get to “carry the message to other alcoholics who suffer” actually to all people who suffer from the spiritual malady of disconnection. In recovery, we know that God delights in us because we have returned, we have rejoined our partnership with God and we are growing along spiritual lines.
In my years of recovery, I have been blessed with the myriad of opportunities to bring light, salvation and delight to many human beings and their families. I have also blown some of these opportunities as well. I have erred and brought thunder and lighting when I should have brought a candle and I am sorry now for these errors as I was when they happened. I will not dwell in my past errors as I have done T’Shuvah for all that I am aware of. While there have been times when I have tarnished the shine on their amazing place, the honor of “carrying the message” and helping Harriet Rossetto build a Jerusalem in Los Angeles, a place of wholeness, salvation and righteousness is so overwhelming I have no words to describe this honor. I am grateful to God for the strength and to the thousands of people who have touched and enhanced me during this Godly adventure. God Bless and Stay safe, Rabbi Mark