Coming Back To Our Common Home And Original Innocence Christmas Crib Part - II

Towards an Ecological Conversion

PART TWO

2. Dream of the prophet

In the Bible and in the histories linked to the biblical texts, however, imagination is more than wishful thinking and other than momentary escape. In scripture imagination is generative, perceiving reality differently from the dominant perception and inspiring behavior accordingly. In the Bible imagination is the portal for seeing the hand of God, the means for hearing the word of God, and the link between our deepest selves and our eternal destinies. Thus the prophet Isaiah 11:1-9 got out of his dream the utopic new reality of harmony that seems to try resolve the breaking down reality which we just analyzed before.

As it is well known the decisive role of the prophets “is to evoke and nurture a faithful consciousness which is alternative to the dominant culture which surrounds us”. In doing so, “the prophets criticize the dominant culture and energize the people of God to live in faithful covenant, which the alternative consciousness allows us to imagine and to experience” (Walter Brueggemann 2001, pp.1-11). In this case, Isaiah and his disciples have to face the power of at least four kings: Uzziah (787-742), Jotham (742-735), Ahaz (735-715), and Hezekiah (715-687). The chapter 11:1-9 which we are going analyzes belongs to Jotham and Ahaz period, where the prophet clashed against coalition with Assyrian power (cf. Moriarty 1968, pp.265-282).

Structure of the Text: Is 11:1-9

Identity Vs 1-2	Bridge V 3	Actions Vs 3b-4	Bridge V 5	Integration Vs 6-8	Total peace V 9
				Lion & lamb Panther & kid Calf, lion & fat-stock beast A little boy to lead them Cow & bear Their young together Lion will eat grass like ox The infant will play over the den of the adder The baby will put his hand into the viper's lair	No violence in God’s mountain The country full of knowledge of Yahweh as the waters cover the sea.
New shoot with Spirit of Yahweh Wisdom & insight Counsel & power Knowledge & fear of Yahweh	Inspiration or delight fearing Yahweh	Deep judgment Integral & fair to the poor Strike the country with the rob of his mouth Bread of his lips bring death to the wicked	Integrity is the belt around his waist Faithfulness the belt about his hips

Ref. Self elaboration, 2016.

A new shoot. The image used by the prophet is ecological itself (cf. Müβig 2012, p.22): new shoot[1] will spring from the stock of Jesse that comes from the Hebrew name יִשַׁי (Yishay) which possibly means “gift” and “root” as well. Jesse was the father of king David. The new and integral man will be full of Yahweh’s Spirit, the sap of life. This is the recovered identity of human being, which was denied by fragmented vision of human being. It is totally connected to its source or root.

Identity. The new integral identity is endowed by the God’s Spirit. It means being enriched by wisdom and insight, counsel and power (energy), knowledge and fear of Yahweh. These are the saps that nourish his whole being.

Actions into social realm. From what we are we act. So from this interconnected identity and spirituality comes out his actions like deep judgment, that is not (appearance and hearsay) moralizing (apollonius) judgment but enlighten and transforming dynamic process full of compassion (cf. Rathinam 2013, p.22); the weak and poor will find in his judgment justice and righteousness (v 3), this for one side. In another side, his word is a rod that strikes the ruthless, his sentences brink death to the wicked  (v 4). The transformative justice[2] not just change the harassment life of the poor lifting up in his dignity, but it transforms too the unworthy (and dionysiac) life of the ruthless and wicked breaking down their unjust convictions (cf Is 10:33-34). At both cases there are a deep process of dis-centering and setting their new life or identity into a completely renewed reality.

Integrity and faithfulness as belt. All this could happen because the new man fill by God’s Spirit has the integrity (uprighteousness, justice) as loincloth round his waist and faithfulness (constancy, truth) the belt about his hips (v 5). In our clothing way the belt about hips, somehow places in a very connection between upper and lower members of the body, the middle of the body. In the spiritual sense is here located the solar plexus, which is considered by Taoism, the center of connection between microcosms and macrocosms, the womb of life (our mother), for Hinduism is one of the seven Chakras known as Manipura, the same for Tibetan Buddhism. These integrity and faithfulness reunify human being with whole creation. Personal and social harmony turns the humanity into creational harmony or peace.

At home again. The Yahwistic author amusingly depicted the harmony of new creational community. At the very heart of this new reality there is unity into diversity, reconciliation between opposites, meeting of two extreme poles like big and small, strong and weak. Transformation of the carnivorous to vegetarian, human beings utterly integrated to the nature, but in the baby stage, the innocence and openness that characterize to small ones allowed them to turn back home. And the little boy will lead all of them. There are no more poisoning violence, injustice, inequality, shame, ruthlessness, patriarchalism or androcentrism nor hierarchy, no more anthropocentrism, exclusion, and so on. Nonetheless, there are peace, happiness, love, justice, restfulness, respect, humility, etc. that reigns at all whole cornel of the new Eden. The nakedness of the humanity has come back again, the careful mission of human being to the nature and the helpful presence of the nature to human being are playing once again. The partnership of Adam (earth) and Eve (source of life) are enjoying the God’s love into the garden. The Truth and Freedom shining again. The psychological realm principles of anima (dionysiac-passion) and animus (apollonian-rational law) have open to the spiritual or pneumatic principle, where humanity, nature and God are integrated in love.

The total peace. The new earth and new sky (Rev 21:1) are brightening because no more fragmentation but fullness of knowledge of God as water covers the sea. “The true peace is fruit of justice, fruit of love, and ongoing task” (CELAM 1968).

By - Efrain Vasquez Mamani, cmf

zhengyuanyu66@yahoo.com

                                                                  

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[1] According J. Spong (1992, p.56) the shoot what is mention is not precisely referring to Jesus, but to a sign of God in that troubling moment.

[2] See the biblical sense of justice in Silva Rathinam (2013, pp.19-39).