Isaiah Chapter 2
- 1
- 1 This is what Isaiah, son of Amoz, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
- 2
- 2 In days to come, The mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established as the highest mountain and raised above the hills. All nations shall stream toward it;
- 3
- 3 many peoples shall come and say: “Come, let us climb the LORD’S mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, That he may instruct us in his ways, and we may walk in his paths.” For from Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
- 4
- He shall judge between the nations, and impose terms on many peoples. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; One nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again.
- 5
- O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD!
- 6
- 4 You have abandoned your people, the house of Jacob, Because they are filled with fortunetellers and soothsayers, like the Philistines; they covenant with strangers.
- 7
- Their land is full of silver and gold, and there is no end to their treasures; Their land is full of horses, and there is no end to their chariots.
- 8
- Their land is full of idols; they worship the works of their hands, that which their fingers have made.
- 9
- But man is abased, each one brought low. (Do not pardon them!)
- 10
- Get behind the rocks, hide in the dust, From the terror of the LORD and the splendor of his majesty!
Footnotes
1 [1] An editorial addition introducing Isaiah 2-5.
2 [2-4] The messianic destiny which ensures Judah’s later restoration. In the messianic kingdom the prophets generally see the Lord’s house as the seat of authority and the source of clear and certain doctrine; also, its rule willingly accepted by all peoples, maintained by spiritual sanctions, and tending to universal peace. This passage is found substantially unchanged in Micah 4:1-3; it probably, although not certainly, has Isaiah as its author.
3 [3] Zion . . . Jerusalem: types of the earthly center of the messianic kingdom.
4 [6] Fortune-tellers and soothsayers: divination was strictly forbidden; cf Deut 18:9-14.
photo credit: http://pinker.wjh.harvard.edu/photos/New_York/images/Swords%20into%20plowshares%20at%20UN.jpg
The following article contains Pope Benedict XVI’s message for Lent.
The quotes that jump put at me are: “Taking up one’s cross and following Christ is part of entering into Lent, and the only path in life that leads to the victory of love and peace over hatred and violence.” “Entering into Lent means to enter into a time of particular commitment in the spiritual combat that opposes us to the evil present in the world, in each one of us and around us”
“It means to look evil in the face and dispose oneself to fight against its effects, above all against its causes, right up to its ultimate cause, Satan.”
“The cross,” he added, is the “opportunity to follow Christ and in this way acquire strength in the battle against sin and evil.”
My sense is that:
We women are being called to take the lead and turn our swords into plowshares. Examples include the slicing swords of our quick tongues, “avenging angel swords” (especially when it comes to our children, our husbands our “heart stuff,” the piercing sword of criticism, judgment, anger, lack of charity.
The question that comes to mind, “Am I laying down my life, each moment, to become holy? or ” Am I running away from the Crucifixion as Peter ran from Rome to avoid the crucifixion that awaited him? Peter meeting Jesus heading into Rome as Peter runs in the opposite direction. Peter asks Jesus, ” Quo Vadis, Domine?” Jesus answers: “To Rome to be crucified again.” Jeuss is crucifed over and over in our lace when we run from picking up our cross.
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Pope Benedict XVI : Cross Leads to Victory of Love and Peace
Offers Reflection on Entering Into LentVATICAN CITY, FEB. 10, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Taking up one’s cross and following Christ is part of entering into Lent, and the only path in life that leads to the victory of love and peace over hatred and violence, says Benedict XVI.The Pope said this today in an address to the thousands gathered in St. Peter’s Square to pray the midday Angelus, in which he reflected on what it means to live the liturgical season of Lent.
Entering into Lent, he said, “means to enter into a time of particular commitment in the spiritual combat that opposes us to the evil present in the world, in each one of us and around us. It means to look evil in the face and dispose oneself to fight against its effects, above all against its causes, right up to its ultimate cause, Satan.
“It means not unloading the problem of evil onto others, onto society, onto God, but recognizing one’s own responsibility and consciously taking it upon oneself.”
The Holy Father said that it’s also a time to take up one’s cross and follow Christ. The cross, he added, is the “opportunity to follow Christ and in this way acquire strength in the battle against sin and evil.”
The Pontiff concluded: “Entering into Lent therefore means renewing the personal and communal decision to face evil together with Christ. The way of the cross is in fact the only way that leads to the victory of love over hate, of sharing over egoism, of peace over violence.
“Seen in this way, Lent is truly an occasion for determined ascetic and spiritual commitment founded upon the grace of Christ.”
