Links for today’s readings:
Jun 17 Read: Isaiah 14 Listen: (5:04) Read: Acts 3 Listen: (3:33)
Scripture Focus: Isaiah 14:9-11
9 The realm of the dead below is all astir
to meet you at your coming;
it rouses the spirits of the departed to greet you—
all those who were leaders in the world;
it makes them rise from their thrones—
all those who were kings over the nations.
10 They will all respond,
they will say to you,
“You also have become weak, as we are;
you have become like us.”
11 All your pomp has been brought down to the grave,
along with the noise of your harps;
maggots are spread out beneath you
and worms cover you.
Reflection: Death, the Final Equalizer
By Erin Newton
“There are dead things, dead faces in the water,” he whispered with horror. “Dead faces!”
Gollum laughed. “The Dead Marshes, yes, yes: that is their names…”
“Can’t we get on and get away?”
“Yes, yes,” said Gollum. “But slowly, very slowly. Very carefully! Or hobbits go down to join the Dead ones and light little candles of their own.”
This scene from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers describes the perilous journey of Frodo and Sam to Mordor. In the movie, Frodo is entranced by the faces and falls into the water, being pulled further and further down. Like the refrain in Isaiah 14, “The realm of the dead is astir to meet you.”
The imagery is potent. The dead are ravenous for their newcomer.
When people die, as we often hear from well-meaning friends, “They’ve gone to a better place.” And for those we disdain, we proclaim they are “worm food” or we wish them to “rot in Hell.”
The first sentiment speaks of the loved person’s everlasting soul. The second sentiment sounds closer to the prophet’s description of an eager underworld.
The ancient Near East focused primarily on this earthly life. The taunt in Isaiah strikes at that focus specifically.
The prophet declares to this soon-to-be-fallen king: You’re on borrowed time. You’re definitely going to die.
And the prophet adds: Death has come for your fellow royals already. You are weak, just like them, swallowed up by death.
Instead of cheers of fans or a parade, harps and drums sound a processional to the underworld.
The fallen king’s abode is simply a means of becoming compost—a bed of worms, a blanket of maggots.
Tolkien envisioned the dead as ghostly faces drifting in a dreary marsh. Isaiah describes the dead as lying in beds of decomposition.
All of this morbid description is a reality check for Israel’s enemy king. Gone will be the days of their superiority and subsequent oppression of others. Like all humanity, even kings return to dust.
In the end (quite literally), we are all equals. There is some comfort in knowing even trillionaires become worm food. But more importantly, we remember that our bodies are not the final word. We are more than our frail cells. We are not bound to be dust for eternity. Perhaps our bodies will become part of God’s good creation once more, but that is not our true end. Hallelujah!
Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting
In you, O Lord, have I taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness. — Psalm 31.1
– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.
Read more: Waiting at the Beautiful Gate
Jesus didn’t give us the Holy Spirit for warm, fuzzy feelings in our sanctuaries. The Holy Spirit is given to us to heal
Read more: Taunting Ourselves
Babylon honors the brutal and brutalizes the gentle.
Babylon protects the powerful rather than the weak.
