“11 In the streets they cry out for wine;
all joy turns to gloom,
all joyful sounds are banished from the earth.
12 The city is left in ruins,
its gate is battered to pieces.
13 So will it be on the earth
and among the nations,
as when an olive tree is beaten,
or as when gleanings are left after the grape harvest.”
Sounds like some Old Testament shiz there, does it not? Good reason why it does: it’s some Old Testament shiz. Isaiah, to be precise. Prophet to the Kingdom of Judah in the land of Israel in the time following King Huzziah. Isaiah was letting it be known that the people were stepping in it. They had repeatedly been saved from a ass kicking, only to fall back on their old ways of mistreating widows, orphans, and strangers. Probably small dogs too. And pink bunnies.
Anyway, this sort of behavior being “not ok,” Isaiah was charged with getting the message to the peeps that the party had ended. I suspect Isaiah was something of a bummer. Being aware of his reputation, he probably got used to not being invited to parties. It’s hard out there for a prophet. Why, then, would anyone pick that line of work. Why, for instance, would anyone venture down the following road:
“But God has a way of even putting nations in their place. (Amen) The God that I worship has a way of saying, ‘Don’t play with me.’ (Yes) He has a way of saying, as the God of the Old Testament used to say to the Hebrews, ‘Don’t play with me, Israel. Don’t play with me, Babylon. (Yes) Be still and know that I’m God. And if you don’t stop your reckless course, I’ll rise up and break the backbone of your power.’ (Yes) And that can happen to America.”
Maybe because Dr. King could see that equal protection under the law and the right to vote were two necessary but preliminary steps to establishing justice in America. The point of establishing justice, of course, is to secure domestic tranquility. A society that is not just, then, is likely to be volatile. At the time of his death, Dr. King had extended his efforts for justice beyond legal barriers to equality and began working to tear down economic barriers.
This struggle hits us at home. It’s one thing to say that my vote might count a little less so that someone else’s may be counted. It’s another thing to say that I might have a little less so that someone else can have a little something. I don’t have all that much to begin with. Maybe that is why we are more comfortable with the dreamer than with the prophet.