Readings for today: Isaiah 13-17
“Give counsel; grant justice; make your shade like night at the height of noon; shelter the outcasts; do not reveal the fugitive; let the outcasts of Moab sojourn among you; be a shelter to them from the destroyer. When the oppressor is no more, and destruction has ceased, and he who tramples underfoot has vanished from the land, then a throne will be established in steadfast love, and on it will sit in faithfulness in the tent of David one who judges and seeks justice and is swift to do righteousness.” (Isaiah 16:3-5)
Human beings are fearful creatures. We struggle with anxiety. We do not like feeling insecure. As such, we find ourselves coping in different ways. The great Viennese schools of psychotherapy - all founded by Jewish psychotherapists - suggested human beings deal with fear in one of three ways. Sigmund Freud argued for the “pleasure principle.” Human beings are oriented towards pleasure whether it be sex or drugs or some other activity that helps us escape our fears. The problem is we all know pleasure is fleeting at best and there tends to be a crash when we come down from our “high.” Alfred Adler argued for power. Human beings are oriented towards power in an effort to control their environment so they don’t have to be afraid. After all, if you can eliminate “threats” then perhaps you can eliminate fear. The problem is we all know such a pursuit is futile. History is littered with strong men and dictators and the power-hungry who eventually find themselves overcome by the same forces they unleashed. Viktor Frankl argued for meaning. Human beings are ultimately oriented towards meaning and if one can lay hold of some vision greater than themselves, one can endure just about anything. Forged in the fires of death camps like Auschwitz where all pleasure and power were stripped away, Frankl realized he needed something more. Something deeper to hold onto if he were going to survive without giving into despair or going insane. And while I appreciate Frankl’s approach the most, I think there is yet another approach to consider. The way of yet another Jewish “psychotherapist” - Jesus Himself. It is the way of love.
The words from Isaiah today are powerful. They present a vision that is foreign to us. Alien to the human experience. In our experience, thrones and dominions and kingdoms are founded on power. Authority. Control. It doesn’t matter whether one is talking about monarchies, dictatorships, socialist republics, or democracies. All human governmental institutions are established in power. They are maintained through power. They often come to an end because some other power rises up against them. This is the way of the world and it has been like this since the beginning. Furthermore, those in power tend to become corrupt. They begin using their power to pursue their own selfish ends. They chase pleasure. How else can one explain the rampant financial and sexual and criminal abuses that we so often see from our political leaders? Certainly not all of them succumb to such temptations but it must be hard to resist when so many are trying to curry favor. And, of course, the ones who do find the strength to resist are often successful only because they cling to a higher purpose. A greater meaning to their lives that gives them the strength to overcome.
Isaiah identifies that “higher purpose” for his people. It is love. When a throne is established in God’s love, justice and mercy naturally flow. When a kingdom is founded on God’s love, it becomes a light to the world. A beacon of peace and righteousness and goodness that shines for all to see. This was the whole point of the nation of Israel. To show the world a different way. To be a light to the nations around them. To be a country built on the foundation of righteousness and justice where steadfast love and faithfulness undergirded how they lived. In such a nation, outcasts would find refuge. Enemies would become friends. Widows and orphans would find care. The poor would be lifted up. Oppression would cease. Destruction would end. Peace would reign. This is a picture of the Kingdom of God and it is what we pray for when we pray the Lord’s Prayer together.
Jesus affirms this Kingdom. He came to establish this Kingdom on earth through His life, death, and resurrection. Jesus is love. He is the love of God incarnate. He is the love of God made flesh and blood. And as He lays down His life for us, He defines love for us. It’s not a feeling. It’s not an attraction. It’s not selfish or arrogant or boastful or impatient or unkind. It is self-sacrificing. Self-denying. It always puts the needs of others before itself. It always focuses on the welfare of others before it’s own. It is costly. It is a high-risk endeavor. It never loses hope. Never gives into despair. It always endures. It always perseveres. It never fails because Jesus never fails.
Ultimately, a passage like the one we read today points us forward to Jesus. He is the One who gives counsel. Who grants justice. Who shelters the outcast and the fugitive. He is the One who puts an end to all oppression and destruction and brings peace. He establishes His throne from the cross, the place where perfect love and justice meet. He sits on His throne with faithfulness and is always swift to do righteousness and justice. As followers of Christ, we acknowledge Jesus is our King. We acknowledge Jesus as Lord. We acknowledge His authority over our lives. As such, we who are called by His name must align ourselves with His Kingdom. We must seek to incarnate His values in our lives. We must reject the ways of this world. The will to power. The will to pleasure. Even the will to meaning and instead find - in Christ - the will to love.