Today’s Scripture Reading (November
16, 2013): Isaiah 11
Francis
Scott Key wrote a poem that was originally entitled the “Defence of Fort
McHenry.” At the center of the poem is a flag, one that brought hope in the
midst of a terrible battle. The opening lines of the poem can be recited by
even small school children in the United States and even by some children in
other areas of the world (although apparently the words of the poem are not
memorable enough when the “Defence of Fort McHenry” is put to music and sung at
sporting events, because it seems the words of the poem are sometimes forgotten
in those circumstances.) The opening line of the poem – “O! say can you see, by
the dawns early light.”
It might be
that the lyrics of the poem are sometimes forgotten by singers because in the
words that are now 200 years old a story has been lost. A story of bombing and
the attempt to take the away the Fort by a powerful enemy. The feel of the
smoke from the fires that were rapidly spreading and the death that seemed to
reign everywhere – and in the midst of all of this – a flag. According to Key,
that fateful night as the battle raged, what kept the spirits of the defenders
of the Fort up was that even as the bombs exploded that were meant to defeat
them, what the bombs really did was illuminate for the troops the flag that was
still standing, still waving; encouraging the troops to continue the fight a
little longer. As long as the Star Spangled Banner stood, how could the
soldiers ever lie down and give up?
It is
exactly this kind of imagery that Isaiah is trying to evoke with his readers.
In that day, the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for all to see. The
imagery is almost ridiculous. How can a root, most of which is hidden
underground, ever be revealed for all to see. Of course, the prophecy is
partially about the Messiah who would come to the nation he was sent to save as
a child – one who at the beginning of his life was considered inconsequential;
born in a stable, but who would grow into the Messiah and a symbol around which
the people of God could rally. Even in the darkest places in the battle, the
Messiah is still there, instilling into his community hope.
But possibly
a darker meaning for the prophecy might be found in the image of the root. The
one time when a root is visible – and often stands tall – is when the tree has
died. As the tree falls over, the root often stands in the place of the tree,
standing for all to see; stretching its crooked fingers toward the sky. The
root has very literally become like a flagpole; one that is now visible to all.
Is it
possible that Isaiah unknowingly was prophesying about the coming of the
Messiah and at the same time about the death of Judaism as he understood it?
Not that Judaism has or will die, but that at some point in the future the
Temple of Jerusalem would be destroyed, and the Jewish way of life, at least as
the Jew had understood it in Isaiah’s time, would cease to be a possibility. In
that moment, which would happen twice after the Isaiah prophecy and most
recently near the end of the Roman-Jewish War in 70 C.E., it would be the
Messiah, the Root of Jesse that would rally not just the Jewish people, but all
people to him – and usher all of us toward victory.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Isaiah
12
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