Coherent Structure For Your Life

Coherent Structure For Your Life

By Thomas Cosmades

One of the most moving sections in Handel’s “Messiah” is the music interlude between the Old Testament prophecies and the anticipation in the New Testament. The uplifting fulfillment opens with, “There were shepherds abiding in the field”. The four hundred years of Intertestamental period depict the earnest longing for the accomplishment of what had been foretold by the prophets. Isaiah, the heralder of the age ahead masterfully articulates the bright times to dawn on humanity. Malachi who prophesies in the same manner foretells the appearance of John the Baptist to announce the advent of the Messiah (cf. 3:1, 2). Isaiah puts John’s crucial role in succinct language by prophesying, “a voice cries” (40:3, 6). The voice which gave Isaiah the command, “Cry!” is the eternal Logos speaking in both Old and New Testaments. “For the mouth of the Lord has spoken” (40:5b). John, the messenger moved by the Logos, is to cry out. He is the kiryks vested with public authority conveying a message of vital importance. The kiryks extended summons from kings, magistrates, princes and commanders with an authoritative, grave command to be listened to and obeyed.

Isaiah, a pre-exilic prophet, foretold the exile and laid the groundwork for the Jews’ return from Babylon. The people were re-established in the land under Ezra and rebuilt the ruined temple. This too was later destroyed and a third temple—Herod’s—was in the process of being restructured when John emerged on the scene. Centuries elapsed but the people remained un-reconstructed in their inner ruin and stubborn mind.

At John’s appearance with a divinely inspired message, Isaiah’s admonition was apropos for his time, also (40:3-5). Its gravity can be well comprehended considering its use by all four evangelists. Alarmingly not much spiritual territory was gained in the ensuing centuries. Those spoken to in ca. 700 B.C. and again later were in the same coldness of heart and attitude. The two mighty figures of both testaments convey a timeless message applying to everyone in all epochs, not excluding our own complacent generation. Now it is directed not only to Jews but to everyone in this wide world. Here is the coherent structure on how to hail the Incarnate Logos. It is proclaimed with its mandatory dimensions.

I. CONSTRUCT A STRAIGHT HIGHWAY (3)

Until oil-affluent Arabs constructed unswerving highways in the desert, treading makeshift routes by camel was arduous. Winding pathways stretching in every direction could only offer the caravaneers a wandering track and delay their journey. Quoting from the physical landscape in Isaiah’s description John the Baptist presses his point upon the hearers’ inner impairment: “Go through, go through the gates, prepare the way for the people; build up, build up the highway, clear it of stones, lift up an ensign over the peoples” (62:10).

God’s Son became man’s son to redeem us from sin, enable us to construct a straight highway within and secure a consistent, confident structure for life. He is the planner and architect of the total operation. Christ our Redeemer shields the restored life from the bumps and buffetings of irregularity called sin. He restores everyone he has rescued from rough and rocky terrain. His guidance is carried through with loving care. The Light of the World brightens the rejuvenated life with joy and satisfaction to him/her and to all those around. “A highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way… The highway of the upright turns aside from evil” (Isaiah 35:8a; Proverbs 16:17a). “Make straight in the desert a highway for our God” (40:3b).

II. ELEVATE THE IMPASSABLE LOWLANDS (4)

The characterizing term for inferiority complex is micromania. Other names are self-denigration, self-accusation, despair, defeatism, inertia, apathy, etc. The mighty prophet Elijah sank into apathy at Jezebel’s terroristic threat. He asked the LORD to take away his life (cf. I Kings 19:1-14). From the highland of Mt. Carmel he sank to the lowland of the wilderness. Some people are inherently self-denigrating, others like Elijah slide down at the prospect of a menacing eventuality. Neither of these can be considered healthy for the normal Christian life. The Psalmist dealing with his own defeatism is guided to sound counsel: “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God” (Psalm 42:5; cf. 6, 11; 43:5). ‘Hope in God’ is the Psalmist’s call.

Atheistic existentialist thought scorns the concept of ‘hope’. Its philosophy says, “Life is a joke, and the final joke is death.” To the Psalmist and the informed follower of Christ, hope in God has substance. Elsewhere, the Psalmist takes issue with God: “O LORD, why do you reject me and hide your face from me?” (Psalm 88:14). Interceding for God’s support to reach the spiritual ascent, Jacob refused defeat in Peniel while having reasons for despair: “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” The striver with God and man insisted and prevailed (cf. Genesis 32:22-32). We may wonder if this patriarch would have been known for his stature had this crucial incident not occurred. “Every valley shall be lifted up” (Isaiah40:4a).

We ought to bear in mind that many are being pulled down by the force of sin. Defeatism due to sin is bound to result in inferiority complex, whether acknowledged or not. In the sovereign power of the Incarnate, Risen, Ascended Christ, abandon the lowlands. Instead, climb up Mt. Carmel where absolute triumph is awaiting everyone who ventures to find his way up. Recall the event of Christ’s raising the low spirit of the dismayed Emmaus-bound travelers (cf. Luke 24:13-35). Celebrate with David the full sense of God’s mighty work: “…he restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake (Psalm 23:3).

III. DEMOLISH THE IMPEDING ELEVATION (4)

Known to everyone, the antonym for the aforementioned quandary is known as ‘superiority complex’, i.e., megalomania. This is the most horrendous trait among mortals. Lucifer was cast out of heaven due to this repulsive trait (cf. Isaiah 14; Ezekiel 28); our ancestors were brought low because they actually believed they could be like God (cf. Genesis 3:5, 6), with countless progenies following in their train. Everyone is captive to some sort of mania, but this is the worst of all. One of the definitions for mania is ‘excessive or unreasonable enthusiasm’. When it is directed to one’s own self it becomes ruinous. Megalomania touches every conceivable area of life: affluence, influence, brilliance, radiance, ancestral importance, offsprings’ progress, noticeable prowess, religious significance, etc. Our Lord warns against this snare in which too many are caught: “Woe to you, when all men speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets (Luke 6:26). It is befitting to search our hearts at this Nativity Season when we are once again reminded about the humble state in which the richest, holiest and wisest of all was born.

Think of the hundreds of millions without shelter and sustenance who are brought before our eyes every day. Remember those who are oppressed for being identified with the despised Nazarene. Ponder Christ’s rebuke of a notable city in his time for magnifying itself: “And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day” (Matthew 11:23). “…every mountain and hill will be made low” (Isaiah 40:4).

IV. LEVEL THE UNEVEN GROUND (4)

The Hebrew word Aqob appears only in this verse: deceitful, inscrutable, perverse. The next word is Rekasim: rough places, heaped up. These two appellations speak of my hidden life wrapped up in secrecy, nevertheless under God’s exact scrutiny. They cannot be entirely hidden. At the Fall, our ancestors sought ways to squirm out of their brazen offence with smartly devised words of justification aiming at acquittal. Nothing could be concealed. The Pharisees who loved wealth and fame were termed as ‘hypocrites’ by the Master of all beings. Against their self-betraying deceptiveness, they had mastered the art of putting on a bold face of piety. John directed Isaiah’s reprimand to these pretenders who were determined to cling to their perverse lifestyle. In the passage of woes (Matthew 23), the Lord Jesus Christ openly renounced their external religiosity. They managed to draw their own line of orthodoxy inside the sphere of truth and virtue. Christ extended to them and their city Jerusalem a final offer to consider and alter their manner of life. This, too, was resolutely shoved off. They could only make ‘pharisaism’ a by-word. After a fashion, Simon Magus of Samaria believed and was even baptized, but did not yield up the bond of iniquity harbored within. He shamelessly expressed his brassiness to purchase the gift of the Holy Spirit, which drew Peter’s castigation. With such an inscrutable intention, he could only leave the odious legacy of ‘simony’ in the language.

Lives in the religious realm everywhere are severely censored by the Holy Spirit. All sorts of moral-ethical misconduct are evident in business, education, athletics, politics, medicine, etc. Everything cries out for the smoothing out of rough places, and ridges to be leveled to a plain. People under Isaiah’s periscopic view could not evade his upbraiding. Others in John’s time could not bypass the same rebuke. And contemporaries in these stormy times will not manage to carry on their shrouded behavior forever. There are departments in each life crying out for pitiless dealing in order to please the Perfect One who offered his sinless life to save and bring into orderliness all conduct of casual lives. “…the uneven ground shall become level and the rough places a plain. And the glory of YAHWEH shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together” (4b, 5). What a resplendent revelation it will be!

At John’s preaching the simple crowds, soldiers and tax-collectors were pricked to the heart. They suddenly became seekers (cf. Luke 3:10-15). Sadly, there was no change of heart or attitude on the part of the Pharisees and Sadducees. They ran to be baptized, but their religious expression stopped there. Their forefathers ignored Isaiah’s admonition; so did they. Another Christmas season will soon be history. How will you attune your life and its course? Everything depends on your willingness or the lack of it to restructure your course and conduct according to the authoritative admonition of Isaiah, John the Baptist or any other voice sounded forth.

____________________________