Isaiah 40 flows thematically from Isaiah 34 and 35.
My soundtrack for Isaiah 40:1-11 comes courtesy of Handel‘s Messiah. Now that I have gotten that out of the way, I proceed with the rest of this post.
Just as the commissioning of First Isaiah does not open First Isaiah (It occurs in Isaiah 6.), the commissioning of Second Isaiah occurs three chapters in. Chronology is not the organizing principle in the Book of Isaiah. Second Isaiah’s commission is to be a comforter, we read. This contrasts with the mission of Ezekiel, the previous prophet. One may recall that God called Ezekiel to be a watchman (Ezekiel 2:1-3:11) to a rebellious people who would not listen to him. The Book of Ezekiel contains oracles of consolation, though. The expectation in Second Isaiah, however, is that people will listen.
Again, divine judgment and mercy remain in balance. The time for mercy and deliverance is at hand, we read.
The reference to the royal road in the wilderness (40:3-5) calls back to other passages of scripture. The Divine Presence, having departed Jerusalem and the Temple (Ezekiel 8-11), will travel with returning exiles, we read. (See Ezekiel 43:1-5, too.) The highway in the desert is also a motif in Isaiah 35:8-10.
YHWH is the good shepherd in Isaiah 40:10-11, protecting the sheep from enemies. One may recall that YHWH is also the good shepherd in Ezekiel 34:11-31; Psalm 23; and Psalm 78. Perhaps one recalls that Lamentations 3:1-20 depicts YHWH as a bad shepherd, and that this raging voice against YHWH indicates just one opinion in that chapter.
Rage against God is predictable, especially after a terrible event or during a time of crisis and distress. Many people blame God for doing what God has not done. God is a convenient scapegoat. Many people also misunderstand God. This is predictable, too. God is so much greater than and different from we mere mortals, after all. The extent to which we can understand God is limited. So be it.
The nature of God is the topic of the next post in this series.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 8, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF GERALD FORD, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND AGENT OF NATIONAL HEALING; AND BETTY FORD, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND ADVOCATE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE
THE FEAST OF ALBERT RHETT STUART, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF GEORGIA, AND ADVOCATE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS
THE FEAST OF ALICE PAUL, U.S. QUAKER WOMEN’S RIGHTS ACTIVIST
THE FEAST OF GEORGE NEUMARK, GERMAN LUTHERAN POET AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF GIOVANNI BATTISTA BONONCINI AND ANTONIO MARIA BONONCINI, ITALIAN COMPOSERS
(Youths) See, the conqu’ring hero comes! Sound the trumpets! Beat the drums! Sports prepare! The laurel bring! Songs of triumph to him sing!
(Virgins) See the godlike youth advance! Breathe the flutes and lead the dance! Myrtle wreaths and roses twine to deck the hero’s brow divine!
(Israelites) See, the conqu’ring hero comes! Sound the trumpets! Beat the drums! Sports prepare! The laurel bring! Songs of triumph to him sing! See, the conqu’ring hero comes! Sound the trumpets! Beat the drums!
Judas Maccabaeus came forward to take his father’s place. He had the support of all his brothers and his father’s followers, and they carried on Israel’s campaign with zest.
He enhanced his people’s glory.
Like a giant he put on his breastsplate
and girt himself with weapons of war…..
His renown spread to the ends of the earth,
and he rallied a people near to destruction.
–1 Maccabees 3:1-3a, 9, The Revised English Bible (1989)
The liveliness of that translation explains why I prefer to read the First Book of the Maccabees in The Revised English Bible (1989).
The account in 2 Maccabees is, predictably, concise. One should expect that from the condensed version of five books. The longer account in 1 Maccabees is vivid. The anonymous author of 1 Maccabees and the anonymous Epitomist of 2 Maccabees wanted people to know that the Hasmoneans fought on God’s side.
By the way, “Heaven,” in 1 Maccabees, is a reverential circumlocution. Yet “Heaven” is not a reverential circumlocution in the Gospel of Matthew, which uses “God” at least fifty times and “Kingdom of God” four times. Look it up, O reader. You may wish to look it up here or here. The Dalman consensus is erroneous.
I have already made an extended comment about sacred violence in the previous post in this series. I refer you, O reader, to that post.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
FEBRUARY 10, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT SCHOLASTICA, ABBESS OF PLOMBARIOLA; AND HER TWIN BROTHER, SAINT BENEDICT OF NURSIA, ABBOT OF MONTE CASSINO AND FATHER OF WESTERN MONASTICISM
THE FEAST OF SAINT BENEDICT OF ANIANE, RESTORER OF WESTERN MONASTICISM; AND SAINT ARDO, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT
THE FEAST OF JULIA WILLIAMS GARNET, AFRICAN-AMERICAN ABOLITIONIST AND EDUCATOR; HER HUSBAND, HENRY HIGHLAND GARNET, AFRICAN-AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND ABOLITIONIST; HIS SECOND WIFE, SARAH J. SMITH TOMPKINS GARNET, AFRICAN-AMERICAN SUFFRAGETTE AND EDUCATOR; HER SISTER, SUSAN MARIA SMITH MCKINNEY STEWARD, AFRICAN-AMERICAN PHYSICIAN; AND HER SECOND HUSBAND, THEOPHILUS GOULD STEWARD, U.S. AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL MINISTER, ARMY CHAPLAIN, AND PROFESSOR
THE FEAST OF SAINT NORBERT OF XANTEN, FOUNDER OF THE PREMONSTRATENSIANS; SAINT HUGH OF FOSSES, SECOND FOUNDER OF THE PREMONSTRATENSIANS; AND SAINT EVERMOD, BISHOP OF RATZEBURG
THE FEAST OF PHILIP ARMES, ANGLICAN CHURCH ORGANIST
Revelation 5:1-14 provides the keynote for this blog post. This scriptural text is one I cannot read without hearing the finale of Handel’s Messiah thundering inside my cranium.
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, and hath redeemed us to God by his blood, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.
Ernest Lee Stoffel, writing in The Dragon Bound: The Revelation Speaks to Our Time (1981), summarized verses 6-14 with five words:
THE VICTORY OF SUFFERING LOVE.
Stoffel elaborated:
What is this really saying? I believe it is saying the suffering love of God is the key that will help us live with our suffering and ourselves. There is something in the universe that has not been defeated by pain and evil and sin. That something is the crucified love of the Creator. I have to believe that love is the key to the world’s destiny, and that it will triumph over my pain and sin. I believe I can give my pain and sin to that love, which is also wisdom….
–43-44
I go off the Humes lectionary briefly to bring in a germane text:
“I have told you all this
so that you may find peace in me.
In the world you will have hardship,
but be courageous:
I have conquered the world.”
–John 16:33, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
Divine, suffering love has triumphed and conquered. This love figuratively hung up its bow of war in the beautiful mythology of Genesis 9:12-17. This divine love called and accompanied St. Paul the Apostle. This love has long inspired people to bless the Lord.
What should a person or a faith community do with the “victory of suffering love” in the context of heartbreaking, preventable human suffering? I write this post during the COVID-19 pandemic. The news is mostly grim. The temptation to curse God, fate, or whatever, then to curl up in a ball of despair is great. Yes, vaccines are available, to an extent. Yes, more vaccines are in the process of gaining official approval. And yes, people continue to die needlessly, before they can receive a vaccination. We, as a species, will spend a long time digging our way out of the wreckage of this pandemic. Furthermore, many people will never recover from the economic carnage. Many people will always have health-related effects of COVID-19. And the dead will remain deceased. None of this had to happen.
Do we trust that the crucified love of the Creator has remained unconquered? Do we trust that Jesus has conquered the world? Depending on the time of day, I may or may not so trust. Yet I know that I must take my fears and doubts to the foot of the cross of Christ and deposit them there. Having faith is not living free of doubts. No, having faith entails wrestling with them and even with God. Having faith entails never giving up the idol of false certainly and resisting the allure of easy answers to difficult questions.
God is faithful. God is faithful when we neglect to be faithful. God is faithful when we strive unsuccessfully to be faithful. God is faithful when we are faithful. May we stand, sit, or assume any posture we can in the presence of God wherever we are. And may we bless the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth, whose love remains unconquered. May we cooperate with that love. May it conquer our despair and grief. May it heal the world.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 22, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF JOHN JULIAN, ANGLICAN PRIEST, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMNOLOGIST
THE FEAST OF ALEXANDER MEN, RUSSIAN ORTHODOX PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1990
THE FEAST OF SAINT LADISLAO BATTHÁNY-STRATTMANN, AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PHYSICIAN AND PHILANTHROPIST
THE FEAST OF LOUISE CECILIA FLEMING, AFRICAN-AMERICAN BAPTIST MISSIONARY AND PHYSICIAN
THE FEAST OF SAINT VINCENT PALLOTTI, FOUNDER OF THE SOCIETY FOR THE CATHOLIC APOSTALATE, THE UNION OF CATHOLIC APOSTOLATE, AND THE SISTERS OF THE CATHOLIC APOSTOLATE
Above: The Incredulity of Saint Thomas, by Caravaggio
Image in the Public Domain
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FOR THE FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EASTER, ACCORDING TO A LECTIONARY FOR PUBLIC WORSHIP IN THE BOOK OF WORSHIP FOR CHURCH AND HOME (1965)
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O God, who through the resurrection of Jesus Christ has freed us
from the power of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of your love:
Grant, we ask you that, as by his death he has recalled us into life,
so by his abiding presence he may bring us to the joys eternal;
through him who for our sakes died and rose again, and is ever with us in power,
the same your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
–Modernized from The Book of Worship for Church and Home (1965), page 119
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Job 19:1, 23-27
Psalm 43
1 Corinthians 15:12-22
John 20:19-31
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I am not one given to complex theological purity tests, for I almost always fail them. That is fine, for I have never sought to please those who have written and applied these purity tests.
I do, however, assert that the following passage is crucial to Christianity:
…and of Christ has not been raised, the our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain.
–1 Corinthians 15:14, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)
One must affirm the resurrection of Jesus to be a Christian. To work through doubts is fine, for doubt is a feasible route to knowledge. Besides, St. Thomas the Apostle is my favorite Biblical character. I harbor strong suspicions that people who never doubt never think deeply.
Vindication is a theme uniting Psalm 43 and Psalm 19. In the latter reading the titular character, in TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985), expresses confidence that his Vindicator (verse 25) lives. Job means that he will see his Vindicator during his (Job’s) lifetime, not in the afterlife. One might think of George Frederick Handel‘s Messiah, which uses the text (as “I Know That My Redeemer Liveth” in reference to Jesus, consistent with much of Christian tradition. Job understands his Vindicator to be one, probably a relative, who will defend his (Job’s) rights. The author of Psalm 43 identifies God as his Vindicator. If we apply this theme to Jesus, we arrive at the ultimate vindication of Jesus and ourselves–his resurrection.
I like to ponder stories the Biblical authors chose not to tell or could not tell. For example, news of the resurrection reached Temple authorities. How could it not have done so? I wonder what Caiaphas and company say in meetings? Perhaps they sent spies out to observe Jesus. What did these religious authorities make of the reality of Christ’s restoration to life?
What do we make of it? More importantly, what do we and will we do with it?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 18, 2017 COMMON ERA
THE SIXTEENTH DAY OF ADVENT
THE FEAST OF MARC BOEGNER, ECUMENIST
THE FEAST OF SAINT GIULIA VALLE, ROMAN CATHOLIC NUN
THE FEAST OF SAINT ISAAC HECKER, FOUNDER OF THE MISSIONARY SOCIETY OF SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE
O Lord God, you teach us that without love, our actions gain nothing.
Pour into our hearts your most excellent gift of love, that,
made alive by your Spirit, we may know goodness and peace,
through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 34
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The Assigned Readings:
Daniel 7:13-14 (Friday)
Daniel 7:27 (Saturday)
Psalm 148 (Both Days)
Revelation 11:15 (Friday)
Revelation 11:16-19 (Saturday)
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Let them praise the Name of the LORD,
for his Name only is exalted,
his splendor is over earth and heaven.
He has raised up strength for his people
and praise for all his loyal servants,
the children of Israel, a people who are near him.
Hallelujah!
–Psalm 148:13-14, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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The fact that the Apocalypse of John quotes the Book of Daniel is old news. The “son of man,” or as TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985) renders the term, “One like a human being,” in Daniel 7, is a heavenly figure the text never identifies specifically. He might be the archangel Michael. In subsequent Jewish interpretation “the son of man” is a representation of Israel. Whoever the “son of man” is in Daniel 7, he receives an everlasting dominion on earth in a vision in that chapter. In Revelation Jesus receives that everlasting dominion.
Revelation 11:15 cues Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” to start thundering inside my head, it was one of the passages of the composer used in that portion of theMessiah. The New Revised Standard Version (1989) renders the text as:
The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord
and of his Messiah,
and he will reign forever and ever.
The translation in The Revised English Bible (1989) is less traditional:
Sovereignty over the world has passed to our Lord and his Christ, and he shall reign for ever!
In Revelation 12-18 God proceeds to destroy the corrupt human order on earth before inaugurating the divine order in chapters 19-22.
Many of the texts regarding the Kingdom of God in the New Testament indicate its partial presence, at least from a human perspective. It is evident among people, but there will be more to come. We need not wait for the complete realization of the Kingdom of God to praise and exalt God, whose mighty acts are numerous. The full Kingdom of God will come to pass and become obvious in human sight in time. Until then reminders of divine sovereignty are still in order, for appearances often prove both deceptive and discouraging.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 2, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE NINTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS
THE FEAST OF JOHANN KONRAD WILHELM LOEHE, BAVARIAN LUTHERAN MINISTER AND COORDINATOR OF DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN MISSIONS
THE FEAST OF SABINE BARING-GOULD, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER
we implore you to hear the prayers of your people.
Be our strong defense against all harm and danger,
that we may live and grow in faith and hope,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 41
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The Assigned Readings:
Lamentations 1:16-22 (Thursday)
Lamentations 2:1-12 (Friday)
Lamentations 2:18-22 (Saturday)
Psalm 30 (All Days)
2 Corinthians 7:2-16 (Thursday)
2 Corinthians 8:1-7 (Friday)
Luke 4:31-37 (Saturday)
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Weeping may spend the night,
but joy comes in the morning.
While I felt secure I said,
“I shall never be disturbed.
You, LORD, with your favor, made me as strong as the mountains.”
Then You hid your face,
and I was filled with fear.
–Psalm 30:6-8, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition (1996) defines theodicy as
A vindication of God’s goodness and justice in the face of the existence of evil.
Defenses of divine goodness and justice also occur in the context of misfortune attributed to God’s judgment of sinful people. It is present in the readings from Lamentations and in Psalm 30, for example. The anonymous authors of Lamentations wept over sins, wrote bitterly that the foe had triumphed, and thought that God had acted as a foe. Yet the book ends:
Take us back, O LORD, to Yourself,
And let us come back;
Renew our days as of old!
–Lamentations 5:22b, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
The titular character in the Book of Job says of God:
He may well slay me; I may have no hope;
Yet I will argue my case before Him.
In this too is my salvation:
That no impious man can come into His presence.
–Job 13:15-16, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
Modern translations of the Bible, with some exceptions, depart from the King James rendering, which is:
Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him….,
which comes from a marginal note in the Masoretic Text. Saying
I may have no hope
differs from uttering
yet I will trust in him,
at least superficially. The first translation fits Job 13:15 better than does the second rendering, but pressing the lawsuit against God indicates some hope of victory.
But I know that my Vindicator lives;
In the end He will testify on earth–
This, after my skin will have been peeled off.
But I would behold God while still in my flesh.
I myself, not another, would behold Him;
Would see with my own eyes:
My heart pines within me.
–Job 19:25-27, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
Job, in that passage, speaks of a divine hearing within his lifetime. During that proceeding a defender (presumably not a relative, since his sons had died and his surviving kinsmen had abandoned him) will speak on his behalf. The translation of this passage from The Jerusalem Bible gets more to the point, for it has an Avenger, not a Vindicator. These rendering differ from the familiar King James text, which George Frederick Handel set to music in The Messiah (1742) as a reference to Jesus:
For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth….
We who claim to follow God ought to proceed carefully when defending God. First, God does not require the defenses which mere mortals provide. Second, many human defenses of God depict God erroneously, as either a warm fuzzy on one hand or a cosmic bully or thug on the other hand. Often our attempts to justify God to ourselves and others obstruct a healthy relationship with God and dissuade others from following God. We need to question inadequate God concepts.
The God of Luke 4:31-37, who, through Jesus, delivers people from illnesses allegedly caused by demonic possession is the same God who has blessings and woes just two chapters later (Luke 6:20-26). This is the same God who encourages repentance–the act of turning around or changing one’s mind. Apologizing for one’s sins is a fine thing to do, but repentance must follow it if one is to follow God.
I do not pretend to have worked out all or even most of the answers to difficult and uncomfortable questions regarding God and human-divine relationships. No, I acknowledge that my doubts and unanswered questions in these realms outnumber my answers. Furthermore, some of my answers are certainly wrong. I am, however, comfortable with this reality. I can repent of my errors, by grace, and progress spiritually. Besides, knowledge is not the path to salvation, as in Gnosticism. No, grace is the path to salvation. God has the answers. That is fine with me. I remain inquisitive, however, for the journey itself has much merit.
I pray that my conduct of my spiritual journey will encourage others in their pilgrimages with God and prompt others to begin, not have a negative affect on anyone.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 27, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF CHARLES VILLIERS SANFORD, COMPOSER, ORGANIST, AND COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF CHARLES HENRY BRENT, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF WESTERN NEW YORK
THE FEAST OF JOHN MARRIOTT, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT RUPERT OF SALZBURG, APOSTLE OF BAVARIA AND AUSTRIA
–Martin Luther; translated by William James Kirkpatrick
Yesterday I sang in my parish choir’s performance of the Christmas portion of Handel’s Messiah. We dropped “His yoke is easy and his burden is light,” culminating instead in the Hallelujah Chorus. The concert was glorious and spiritually edifying for many people.
There are still a few days of Advent left. So I encourage you, O reader, to observe them. Then, beginning sometime during the second half of December 24, begin to say
Merry Christmas!
and continue that practice through January 5, the twelfth and last day of Christmas. And I encourage you to remember that our Lord and Savior was born into a violent world, one in which men–some mentally disturbed, others just mean, and still others both mean and mentally disturbed–threatened and took the lives of innocents. Names, circumstances, empires, nation-states, and technology have changed, but the essential reality has remained constant, unfortunately.
The Hallelujah Chorus, quoting the Apocalypse of John, includes these words:
The kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ.
That is not true yet, obviously. But that fact does not relieve any of us of our responsibilities to respect the Image of God in others and to treat them accordingly. We must not try to evade the duty to be the face and appendages of Christ to those to whom God sends us and those whom God sends to us. We cannot save the world, but we can improve it. May we do so for the glory of God and the benefit of others.
May the peace of Christ, born as a vulnerable baby and executed as a criminal by a brutal imperial government, be with you now and always. In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 17, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF MARIA STEWART, EDUCATOR
THE FEAST OF EGLANTYNE JEBB, FOUNDER OF SAVE THE CHILDREN
THE FEAST OF FRANK MASON NORTH, U.S. METHODIST MINISTER
BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
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