Mersey Leven Catholic Parish
To be a vibrant Catholic Community
unified in its commitment
to growing disciples for Christ
Parish Priest: Fr Mike Delaney
Mob: 0417 279 437
Mob: 0417 279 437
Priest in Residence: Fr Phil McCormack
Mob: 0437 521 257
Mob: 0437 521 257
ssm77097@bigpond.com
Postal Address: PO Box 362
Parish Office: 90 Stewart Street
(Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 10am - 3pm)
Office Phone: 6424 2783 Fax: 6423 5160
Email: merseyleven@aohtas.org.au
Secretary: Annie Davies / Anne Fisher
Pastoral Council Chair: Jenny Garnsey
Parish Mass times for the Month: mlcpmasstimes.blogspot.com.au
Weekly Homily Podcast: mikedelaney.podomatic.com
Our Parish Sacramental Life
Baptism: Parents are asked to contact the Parish Office to make arrangements for attending a Baptismal Preparation Session and booking a Baptism date.
Reconciliation, Confirmation and Eucharist: Are received following a Family–centred, Parish-based, School-supported Preparation Program.
Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults: prepares adults for reception into the Catholic community.
Marriage: arrangements are made by contacting one of our priests - couples attend a Pre-marriage Program
Anointing of the Sick: please contact one of our priests
Reconciliation: Ulverstone - Fridays (10am - 10:30am)
Devonport - Saturday (5:15pm – 5:45pm)
Care and Concern: If you are aware of anyone who is sick or in need of assistance in the Parish please visit them. Then, if they are willing and give permission, could you please pass on their names to the Parish Office. We have a group of parishioners who are part of the Care and Concern Group who are willing and able to provide some backup and support to them. Unfortunately, because of privacy issues, the Parish Office is not able to give out details unless prior permission has been given.
|
Archdiocesan Website: www.hobart.catholic.org.au for news, information and details of other Parishes.
Parish Prayer
Heavenly Father,
and calling us to serve as your disciples.
as we use our gifts to serve you.
as we strive to bear witness
to the Gospel and build an amazing parish.
Amen.
Weekday Masses 5th - 8th Dec, 2017
Tuesday: 9:30am Penguin
Wednesday: NO MASS
Thursday: 12noon Devonport … St Ambrose
Friday: 9:30am Ulverstone - Feast of the Immaculate Conception
12noon Devonport
Next Weekend 9th & 10th December, 2017
Saturday Vigil: 6:00pm Penguin
Devonport
Sunday Mass: 8:30am Port Sorell
9:00am Ulverstone
10:30am Devonport
11:00am Sheffield
5:00pm Latrobe
Eucharistic Adoration - Devonport: Every Friday 10am - 12noon,
concluding with Stations of the Cross and Angelus
Ministry Rosters 9th & 10th December, 2017
Ulverstone:
Reader/s: J & S Willoughby Ministers of Communion: M Byrne, D Griffin, K Foster, R
Locket
Latrobe:
Penguin:
Port Sorell:
Readers: M Badcock, G Duff Minister of Communion: P Anderson
Clean/Flowers/Prepare: A Holloway
Readings this week – First Sunday of Advent – Year B
First Reading: Isaiah 63:16-17, 64:1, 3-8
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:3-9
Gospel: Matthew 13:33-37
PREGO REFLECTION:
I ask Jesus to help me to be aware of the presence of God in my
life.
How do I feel as I come to prayer today?
I place my thoughts and feelings
before God and prepare to pray in whatever way suits me best.
I read the Gospel
passage slowly.
Jesus taught his followers using parables and images.
I
therefore use my imagination to enter fully into the truth of his teaching.
What do I notice?
What is Jesus teaching me?
As a servant of Jesus, what tasks
have I uniquely been given to do?
I listen carefully to what Jesus desires of
me.
Do I wait on the Master with a spirit of fear ... or a spirit of joyful
anticipation?
Why?
I talk to Jesus about how I feel ... about what graces I
think I need for the task … and most importantly, I take time to listen with an
alert and watchful heart.
As I look forward to the coming days and weeks of
Advent, how will I best ensure that I stay awake to God’s presence in my life?
How will I prepare to greet Jesus with joy?
In what ways can I help others to
wake up to the message of God’s saving love?
I close my prayer slowly, noticing
how I feel at the end of my prayer time.
I finish saying Our Father …
Readings next week – Second Sunday
of Advent – Year B
Your prayers
are asked for the sick:
Let us pray for those who have died recently:
Let us pray for those whose anniversary occurs about this time: 29th
Nov – 5th December
Weekly
Ramblings
This weekend we have another major
event in this Parish journey to become an even better Parish as we gather for
the Next Steps from our Parish Forum. This is an opportunity for everyone in
the Parish to assist us as we take these next steps especially in our focus on
intentional prayer and how that effects our weekend Mass experience. This Sunday – 2pm in the Community Room at
Ulverstone. ALL WELCOME
We recently made available the
material produced by the Diocese of Wollongong – CHOSEN. I encourage everyone
to begin using the booklet today. It is filled with reflections and the
opportunity for prayer during the Advent and Christmas seasons. This resource
should give us all a great opportunity to grow in our prayer life.
On Wednesday (6th) there
is no Mass at Latrobe – we will be attending a Deanery Meeting in Launceston
learning about the Safe Communities project. This is being run out as part of
the response to, in preparation for the Report of the Royal Commission.
Information regarding the program will be made available as soon as we have a
final document. Please pray that we will be able to respond quickly and
appropriately to whatever the Royal Commission findings present to the Church
and that we will support all those who are survivors of abuse.
CHRISTMAS PARTY/AFTERNOON TEA – SACRED HEART
CHURCH:
You are invited to a Christmas
Party afternoon tea Wednesday 6th December at Sacred Heart Church Community Room,
Ulverstone commencing at 1:45pm. If you know someone who would like to
join us on the day please pass this invite on to them. RSVP by 4th
December to Juliet Smith 6425:5854, Debbie Rimmelzwaan 6425:1384 or Elizabeth
Cox 0400 179 297.
ADVENT 2017:
SOLEMNITY OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF THE BLESSED
VIRGIN MARY:
will be celebrated Friday 8th December at Our Lady of Lourdes Church Devonport with
Adoration commencing at 10:00am (Rosary & Psalm 51), Benediction at 11:50am
followed by Mass at 12noon.
EMPTY
STABLE OUR LADY OF LOURDES CHURCH:
OLOL PIETY SHOP: A variety of Christmas Cards are
now available so hurry and buy some today!!
SACRED HEART CHURCH
CHRISTMAS EVE MASS:
Thursday Nights OLOL Hall, Devonport. Eyes down 7.30pm!
Mersey Leven Catholic Parish
Christmas Mass Times - 2017
OUR LADY OF LOURDES CHURCH
DEVONPORT
Christmas Eve 6.00pm Vigil Mass
LATROBE
HOLY CROSS CHURCH
SHEFFIELD
ST JOSEPH’S MASS CENTRE
PORT SORELL
SACRED HEART CHURCH
ULVERSTONE
PENGUIN
RECONCILIATION
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
6th Dec: 1:45pm Christmas Party/Afternoon Tea – Sacred Heart Community Room, Ulverstone.
7th Dec: Advent Program with Clare Kiely-Hoye: Parish House Devonport 10am – 11:30am
21st Dec: Advent Program with Clare Kiely-Hoye: Parish House Devonport 10am – 11:30am.
Remembering Our Covenant
This article is taken from the daily email sent by Fr Richard Rohr OFM. You can subscribe and receive the email here
Today I’d like to
share a perspective on sin or transgression—and practices that remind us of our
union with God—from the Muslim tradition. Persian author and activist Avideh
Shashaani writes:
Reference:
PLAYING LOOSE WITH THE TRUTH
and calling us to serve as your disciples.
as we use our gifts to serve you.
as we strive to bear witness
Amen.
Weekday Masses 5th - 8th Dec, 2017
Tuesday: 9:30am Penguin
Wednesday: NO MASS
Thursday: 12noon Devonport … St Ambrose
Friday: 9:30am Ulverstone - Feast of the Immaculate Conception
12noon Devonport
Next Weekend 9th & 10th December, 2017
Saturday Vigil: 6:00pm Penguin
Devonport
Sunday Mass: 8:30am Port Sorell
9:00am Ulverstone
10:30am Devonport
11:00am Sheffield
5:00pm Latrobe
Eucharistic Adoration - Devonport: Every Friday 10am - 12noon,
concluding with Stations of the Cross and Angelus
Benediction with Adoration Devonport:
First Friday of each month.
Legion of Mary: Wednesdays 11am Sacred Heart Church
Community Room, Ulverstone
Prayer Group: Charismatic Renewal – In
Recess until Monday 15TH January, 2018
Healing Mass sponsored by CCR will be held at St Mary’s Church Penguin
on Thursday 8th February, 2018
Ministry Rosters 9th & 10th December, 2017
Devonport:
Readers: Vigil: A McIntyre, M Williams, C Kiely-Hoye
10:30am: F Sly, J
Tuxworth, K Pearce
Ministers of Communion: Vigil:
B & B Windebank, T Bird, J Kelly, R Baker, Beau
Windebank
10:30am: S Riley, M Sherriff, R Beaton, D
Barrientos, M Barrientos
Cleaners. 8th Dec: P Shelverton, E Petts 15th Dec: B Paul, D Atkins, V Riley
Piety Shop 9th Dec:
R Baker 10th Dec: K Hull Lawns at Parish House: T Davies
Ulverstone:
Reader/s: J & S Willoughby Ministers of Communion: M Byrne, D Griffin, K Foster, R
Locket
Cleaners: V Ferguson, E Cox Flowers: M Swain Hospitality: S & T Johnstone
Latrobe:
Reader: M Chan Ministers of Communion: I Campbell, B Ritchie
Procession: M Clarke
Penguin:
Greeters: J Garnsey, P Lade Commentator: E Nickols Readers: Y Downes, J Garnsey Setting Up: A Landers
Ministers of
Communion: T
Clayton, M Hiscutt Liturgy: Pine Road Care of Church: M Bowles, J Reynolds
Port Sorell:
Readers: M Badcock, G Duff Minister of Communion: P Anderson
Clean/Flowers/Prepare: A Holloway
Readings this week – First Sunday of Advent – Year B
First Reading: Isaiah 63:16-17, 64:1, 3-8
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:3-9
Gospel: Matthew 13:33-37
PREGO REFLECTION:
At the beginning of this Advent season, I am called to
“stay awake!”
I ask Jesus to help me to be aware of the presence of God in my life.
How do I feel as I come to prayer today?
I place my thoughts and feelings before God and prepare to pray in whatever way suits me best.
I read the Gospel passage slowly.
Jesus taught his followers using parables and images.
I therefore use my imagination to enter fully into the truth of his teaching.
What do I notice?
What is Jesus teaching me?
As a servant of Jesus, what tasks have I uniquely been given to do?
I listen carefully to what Jesus desires of me.
Do I wait on the Master with a spirit of fear ... or a spirit of joyful anticipation?
Why?
I talk to Jesus about how I feel ... about what graces I think I need for the task … and most importantly, I take time to listen with an alert and watchful heart.
As I look forward to the coming days and weeks of Advent, how will I best ensure that I stay awake to God’s presence in my life?
How will I prepare to greet Jesus with joy?
In what ways can I help others to wake up to the message of God’s saving love?
I close my prayer slowly, noticing how I feel at the end of my prayer time.
I finish saying Our Father …
I ask Jesus to help me to be aware of the presence of God in my life.
How do I feel as I come to prayer today?
I place my thoughts and feelings before God and prepare to pray in whatever way suits me best.
I read the Gospel passage slowly.
Jesus taught his followers using parables and images.
I therefore use my imagination to enter fully into the truth of his teaching.
What do I notice?
What is Jesus teaching me?
As a servant of Jesus, what tasks have I uniquely been given to do?
I listen carefully to what Jesus desires of me.
Do I wait on the Master with a spirit of fear ... or a spirit of joyful anticipation?
Why?
I talk to Jesus about how I feel ... about what graces I think I need for the task … and most importantly, I take time to listen with an alert and watchful heart.
As I look forward to the coming days and weeks of Advent, how will I best ensure that I stay awake to God’s presence in my life?
How will I prepare to greet Jesus with joy?
In what ways can I help others to wake up to the message of God’s saving love?
I close my prayer slowly, noticing how I feel at the end of my prayer time.
I finish saying Our Father …
Readings next week – Second Sunday
of Advent – Year B
First Reading: Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11
Second Reading: 2 St Peter 3:8-14
Gospel: Mark
1:1-8
Your prayers
are asked for the sick:
Rex Bates, Joseph Kiely, Victoria Webb, David Welch & …
Let us pray for those who have died recently:
Kieran Hofer, Ken Lowry,
Margaret Kenney, Kelvin Green,
Margaret Devine, Ken Denison.
Let us pray for those whose anniversary occurs about this time: 29th
Nov – 5th December
Allan
Morley, Cyril Knaggs, Margaret Delaney, Arthur Cooke, Terence Murphy, Noreen
Johnson, Cecilia Rootes, Iris Nickols, Lorraine Sullivan, Neville Tyrell, Marjorie Simpson, Peter Flynn.
Weekly
Ramblings
Thanks to all the parishioners who
helped make last weekend a great celebration of the Parish – the musicians and
singers and ministers, the ladies (and all) who helped with the setting up and
serving of the food, the members of the KSC who braved the weather to cook the
BBQ, and for everyone who came to share in the day. I also express my hope that
our future celebrations will continue to develop our sense of being a great
Parish working to become an even better Parish.
This weekend we have another major
event in this Parish journey to become an even better Parish as we gather for
the Next Steps from our Parish Forum. This is an opportunity for everyone in
the Parish to assist us as we take these next steps especially in our focus on
intentional prayer and how that effects our weekend Mass experience. This Sunday – 2pm in the Community Room at
Ulverstone. ALL WELCOME
We recently made available the
material produced by the Diocese of Wollongong – CHOSEN. I encourage everyone
to begin using the booklet today. It is filled with reflections and the
opportunity for prayer during the Advent and Christmas seasons. This resource
should give us all a great opportunity to grow in our prayer life.
On Wednesday (6th) there
is no Mass at Latrobe – we will be attending a Deanery Meeting in Launceston
learning about the Safe Communities project. This is being run out as part of
the response to, in preparation for the Report of the Royal Commission.
Information regarding the program will be made available as soon as we have a
final document. Please pray that we will be able to respond quickly and
appropriately to whatever the Royal Commission findings present to the Church
and that we will support all those who are survivors of abuse.
Please take care on the roads and
in your homes,
CHRISTMAS PARTY/AFTERNOON TEA – SACRED HEART
CHURCH:
You are invited to a Christmas
Party afternoon tea Wednesday 6th December at Sacred Heart Church Community Room,
Ulverstone commencing at 1:45pm. If you know someone who would like to
join us on the day please pass this invite on to them. RSVP by 4th
December to Juliet Smith 6425:5854, Debbie Rimmelzwaan 6425:1384 or Elizabeth
Cox 0400 179 297.
ADVENT 2017:
The Advent
Program based on the Scripture Readings of the Season will take place Thursday
7th December, 10am – 11:30am and Thursday 21st December, 10am – 11:30am at
‘Parish House’, 90 Stewart Street, Devonport. For bookings contact
Clare Kiely-Hoye 6428:2760 or leave a message.
SOLEMNITY OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF THE BLESSED
VIRGIN MARY:
will be celebrated Friday 8th December at Our Lady of Lourdes Church Devonport with
Adoration commencing at 10:00am (Rosary & Psalm 51), Benediction at 11:50am
followed by Mass at 12noon.
EMPTY
STABLE OUR LADY OF LOURDES CHURCH:
Parishioners are invited to place
gifts, non-perishable goods in the empty stable at Our Lady of Lourdes Church.
The items donated will be placed in the many Christmas Hampers St Vincent de
Paul Society will be distributing in the communities. Your kindness and
generosity is appreciated and will make life a little more joyful for families
and isolated people.
OLOL PIETY SHOP: A variety of Christmas Cards are now available so hurry and buy some today!!
SACRED HEART CHURCH
CHRISTMAS EVE MASS:
‘Calling all children’ you are very
welcome to participate in the nativity play at the 6pm Christmas Eve Mass at
Sacred Heart Church Ulverstone. Practise
will take place Sunday 10th & 17th December during 9am Mass
at Sacred Heart Church. For more information
please phone Charlie Vella 0417 307 781.
Thursday Nights OLOL Hall, Devonport. Eyes down 7.30pm!
Callers for Thursday 7th December - Merv Tippett & Terry Bird.
Mersey Leven Catholic Parish
Christmas Mass Times - 2017
OUR LADY OF LOURDES CHURCH
DEVONPORT
DEVONPORT
Christmas Eve 6.00pm Vigil Mass
8.00pm Vigil Mass
ST PATRICK’S CHURCH
LATROBE
LATROBE
Christmas Day 9.30am Mass
HOLY CROSS CHURCH
SHEFFIELD
SHEFFIELD
Christmas Day 9.30am Mass
ST JOSEPH’S MASS CENTRE
PORT SORELL
PORT SORELL
Christmas Day 8.00am Mass
SACRED HEART CHURCH
ULVERSTONE
ULVERSTONE
Christmas Eve 6.00pm Vigil Mass
ST MARY’S CHURCH
PENGUIN
PENGUIN
Christmas Eve 8.00pm Vigil Mass
RECONCILIATION
Tuesday 12th December – 7pm OLOL Church Devonport
Wednesday 13th December – 7pm Sacred Heart Church Ulverstone
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
3rd Dec: 2 - 4pm Parish Forum – Ulverstone
6th Dec: 1:45pm Christmas Party/Afternoon Tea – Sacred Heart Community Room, Ulverstone.
7th Dec: Advent Program with Clare Kiely-Hoye: Parish House Devonport 10am – 11:30am
21st Dec: Advent Program with Clare Kiely-Hoye: Parish House Devonport 10am – 11:30am.
Remembering Our Covenant
This article is taken from the daily email sent by Fr Richard Rohr OFM. You can subscribe and receive the email here
Today I’d like to
share a perspective on sin or transgression—and practices that remind us of our
union with God—from the Muslim tradition. Persian author and activist Avideh
Shashaani writes:
My understanding of Islam has come through Sufism—the
interior life of Islam. Islam, like any religion, may be viewed as a spectrum
of light—ranging from the fundamentalists to the mystics. Our place on this
spectrum depends on our level of spiritual expansion and knowledge. In the
Islamic tradition, we are considered to be an amazing weave of heaven and
earth. Islam does not see us as sinful beings to be redeemed, but as neglectful
and forgetful beings endowed with the primordial light. When we “step” across
the boundary of the divine realm into the world and become forgetful of our
reality, we are in a state of transgression. Forgetfulness is what we must
constantly struggle against. The message of Islam is meant to guide us to
uncover our true identity deeply buried under the layers of our neglectful
nature. The Qur’an says “[God] created man in the best of stature” (95:4), and
says that “We are closer to him than his jugular vein” (50:16).
The duties prescribed for the Muslim are directed toward
uncovering our primordial nature and remembering our covenant with God, “‘Am I
not your Lord?’ They said: ‘Yes, we bear witness’” (7:172). . . . The duties of
Muslims that pave the way for the remembrance of this covenant include prayer,
fasting, and charity. . . .
Praying in Islam requires a state of presence. It begins
with the ablutions. By washing the face with water we put aside the five senses
that are engaged with the world; the washing of the hands signifies giving to
the world what belongs to the world; wetting the head means putting all thoughts
aside; and wetting the feet means redirecting our steps from the world to God.
It is after we have cleansed ourselves of our interactions with the world that
we are able to stand before God and declare our intention to enter the heart
and walk on the straight path that leads to the Divine presence.
Fasting is another requirement for Muslims [which] has an
outer form and an inner meaning. Fasting is another means for us to relinquish
attachments and to be in the remembrance of God. It is a time of purification
in which we fast from the world. Through prayer, sacrifice, and charity, the
gates of heaven are cast open and we feast at the heavenly banquet of God. . .
.
The ultimate purpose of all acts of devotion and sacrifice
in Islam is to renew our relationship with God.
Reference:
Avideh Shashaani, “An Islamic Perspective on Transgression:
Oneness,” Oneing, vol. 2, no. 1 (Center for Action and Contemplation: 2014),
24-27.
PLAYING LOOSE WITH THE TRUTH
This article is taken from the archive of Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI. You can find the original article here
It can be quite disheartening to watch the news these days. Our world is full of hatred, bigotry, racism, and over-stimulated greed and ego. The gap between the rich and poor is widening and random, senseless violence is an everyday occurrence. One lives with hope, but without much optimism.
Among all of this, perhaps the most distressing thing of all is the erosion of our capacity to recognize and acknowledge the truth. From the highest government offices, to the major media outlets, to our local newspapers, to the thousands of bloggers, down to our dinner tables, we are becoming irresponsible, manipulative, and outright dishonest with the truth, denying it where it’s inconvenient, bending it to suit our own purposes, or labeling it as “fake news”, “an alternative fact”, “misinformation”, “a truth that’s no longer operative”, or as “political correctness” with no truth value. Studies from major scientific institutes are dismissed as just another opinion with the result that we are creating an entire society within which it’s becoming more and more difficult for any of us to trust what’s a fact and what isn’t. That’s dangerous territory, not just politically but especially spiritually.
Scripture tells us that Satan is the Prince of Lies and Jesus makes it clear that, among all sins, failure to acknowledge the truth is far and away the most dangerous. We see this motif particularly in the text that warns us that we can commit a sin that’s unforgiveable because it’s a blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. .
What’s this sin? Why is it unforgiveable? And what has it got to do with telling lies?
The unforgiveable sin is precisely the sin of lying which can become unforgiveable because of what lying can do to us. Here’s how the biblical text unfolds: Jesus has just cast out a demon. Part of the Jewish faith at that time was the belief that only someone who came from God had power to cast out a demon. Jesus had done that, but the Scribes and Pharisees who have just witnessed this found it to be an inconvenient truth since they denied Jesus’ goodness. So in the face of truth they had to either acknowledge something that they did not want to or they had to manipulate the truth to give it a different meaning. They chose the latter and, clearly aware that they were manipulating the truth, accused Jesus of performing the miracle through the power of Satan. They knew better, knew they were lying, but the actual truth was too difficult to accept.
Jesus initially tries to argue with them, pointing out that there’s no logic in suggesting that Satan is casting out demons. They persist, and it’s then Jesus utters his warning: “In truth I tell you, all human sins will be forgiven, and all the blasphemies ever uttered, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, but is guilty of an eternal sin.” (Mark 3,28-29 parallel text in Matthew 12, 31-32). What exactly is this warning?
Jesus is saying this: Be careful about what you are doing just now, putting a false spin on something because it is too awkward to accept as true. The danger is that if you continue doing this you may eventually come to believe your own lie. That will be unforgiveable, given that you will no longer want to be forgiven because you will see truth as a lie and a lie as the truth. The sin cannot be forgiven, not because God doesn’t want to forgive it but because we no longer want to be forgiven.
Dictionaries tell us that blasphemy is the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God. We don’t blaspheme when we use foul language when we’re frustrated; nor do we blaspheme when we shake our fists at God in anger or turn away from him in bitterness. God can handle that. The one thing God cannot handle is lying, where we lie to the point of believing our own lies (the real danger in lying) because that eventually warps our consciences so that we can no longer tell truth from falsehood or falsehood from truth.
Theology teaches us that God is One, this means that God’s inner integrity assures that all of reality also has an inner integrity, an intelligibility, meaning that something cannot be and not be at the same time; meaning that two plus two cannot equal anything but four; meaning that a tree is always a tree no matter what you say it is; and meaning that black can never be white. God’s Oneness allows us to both trust reality and trust our normal perception of it.
That’s what’s under attack today, most everywhere. It’s the ultimate moral danger: God is One and so two plus two can never be five – and if it is then we are no longer in touch with God or with reality, are warped in conscience, and are blaspheming the Holy Spirit.
This article is taken from the archive of Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI. You can find the original article here
It can be quite disheartening to watch the news these days. Our world is full of hatred, bigotry, racism, and over-stimulated greed and ego. The gap between the rich and poor is widening and random, senseless violence is an everyday occurrence. One lives with hope, but without much optimism.
Among all of this, perhaps the most distressing thing of all is the erosion of our capacity to recognize and acknowledge the truth. From the highest government offices, to the major media outlets, to our local newspapers, to the thousands of bloggers, down to our dinner tables, we are becoming irresponsible, manipulative, and outright dishonest with the truth, denying it where it’s inconvenient, bending it to suit our own purposes, or labeling it as “fake news”, “an alternative fact”, “misinformation”, “a truth that’s no longer operative”, or as “political correctness” with no truth value. Studies from major scientific institutes are dismissed as just another opinion with the result that we are creating an entire society within which it’s becoming more and more difficult for any of us to trust what’s a fact and what isn’t. That’s dangerous territory, not just politically but especially spiritually.
Scripture tells us that Satan is the Prince of Lies and Jesus makes it clear that, among all sins, failure to acknowledge the truth is far and away the most dangerous. We see this motif particularly in the text that warns us that we can commit a sin that’s unforgiveable because it’s a blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. .
What’s this sin? Why is it unforgiveable? And what has it got to do with telling lies?
The unforgiveable sin is precisely the sin of lying which can become unforgiveable because of what lying can do to us. Here’s how the biblical text unfolds: Jesus has just cast out a demon. Part of the Jewish faith at that time was the belief that only someone who came from God had power to cast out a demon. Jesus had done that, but the Scribes and Pharisees who have just witnessed this found it to be an inconvenient truth since they denied Jesus’ goodness. So in the face of truth they had to either acknowledge something that they did not want to or they had to manipulate the truth to give it a different meaning. They chose the latter and, clearly aware that they were manipulating the truth, accused Jesus of performing the miracle through the power of Satan. They knew better, knew they were lying, but the actual truth was too difficult to accept.
Jesus initially tries to argue with them, pointing out that there’s no logic in suggesting that Satan is casting out demons. They persist, and it’s then Jesus utters his warning: “In truth I tell you, all human sins will be forgiven, and all the blasphemies ever uttered, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, but is guilty of an eternal sin.” (Mark 3,28-29 parallel text in Matthew 12, 31-32). What exactly is this warning?
Jesus is saying this: Be careful about what you are doing just now, putting a false spin on something because it is too awkward to accept as true. The danger is that if you continue doing this you may eventually come to believe your own lie. That will be unforgiveable, given that you will no longer want to be forgiven because you will see truth as a lie and a lie as the truth. The sin cannot be forgiven, not because God doesn’t want to forgive it but because we no longer want to be forgiven.
Dictionaries tell us that blasphemy is the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God. We don’t blaspheme when we use foul language when we’re frustrated; nor do we blaspheme when we shake our fists at God in anger or turn away from him in bitterness. God can handle that. The one thing God cannot handle is lying, where we lie to the point of believing our own lies (the real danger in lying) because that eventually warps our consciences so that we can no longer tell truth from falsehood or falsehood from truth.
Theology teaches us that God is One, this means that God’s inner integrity assures that all of reality also has an inner integrity, an intelligibility, meaning that something cannot be and not be at the same time; meaning that two plus two cannot equal anything but four; meaning that a tree is always a tree no matter what you say it is; and meaning that black can never be white. God’s Oneness allows us to both trust reality and trust our normal perception of it.
That’s what’s under attack today, most everywhere. It’s the ultimate moral danger: God is One and so two plus two can never be five – and if it is then we are no longer in touch with God or with reality, are warped in conscience, and are blaspheming the Holy Spirit.
A child by any other name
‘Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace’: this grand and evocative list from the book of Isaiah is read to us at Midnight Mass on Christmas Day each year. Thinking Faith’s Advent series will consider how each of these titles can kindle our imaginations as we prepare to celebrate the gift of the Incarnation. Karen Eliasen sets the scene by exploring the significance of this ‘remarkable list of names’ as it appears in Isaiah 9:6. Karen Eliasen works in spirituality at St Beuno’s Jesuit Spirituality Centre, North Wales.
Any foray into the writings of the prophet Isaiah soon calls attention to a number of confusing issues that hamper a straightforward reading. Already as soon as we try to pinpoint the man behind the name Isaiah we run into trouble, for we meet possibly three different prophets. The first – proto-Isaiah – is active in the 8th century of King Hezekiah’s dicey dealings with the war-mongering Assyrians; the second – deutero-Isaiah – is active in the 6th century of uprooted Exiles despairing among Babylonians and eventually Persians; and the third – trito-Isaiah – is active in the 5th century that sees a self-examining but kingless people returned to Jerusalem. Add to this historical havoc a mix of literary forms whose language is complex and often elusive; some conflicting evaluations of human behaviour, especially of kings; and finally some unsettling images of a God caught in flagrante delicto swinging wildly between the extreme moods of desolation and consolation. After combining all these strong flavours of the book of Isaiah we may find ourselves readily agreeing with Martin Luther’s summary of the prophets: they ‘have a queer way of talking, like people who, instead of proceeding in an orderly manner, ramble off from one thing to the next, so that you cannot make head or tail of them.’[1]
How then can we begin to make head or tail of the remarkable list of names in Isaiah 9:6 that rambles out at us anew every Christmas:[2] ‘and his name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace?’ If there is one verse in the whole of the Old Testament that begs engagement with the classic ‘who, what, when, where, why and how’ series of questions, then this may well be it – even if we as Christians may have our hardcore convictions about the answers: ‘Jesus!’ of course, and so on from there. But all may not be so obvious. In a recent introduction to the book of Isaiah, writer and critic Peter Ackroyd claims it as ‘a story of universal significance rather than a sample of pre-Christian revelation,’ holding that what is at stake for Isaiah are ‘the central aspirations of humankind.’[3] The reality is that not only for Christians but as well for Jews has the book of Isaiah down the centuries been the most oft-cited, and perhaps even the best-loved, of the prophetic books. This eager response across the board suggests that as Christians we might explore more deeply those ‘central aspirations of human kind’ by revisiting that familiar list of names in 9:6 from a broader perspective than we are wont to do.
Of particular interest is the use Jewish liturgy makes of the list of names. Obviously the mainstream Jewish understanding of the verses around ‘a child born’ contrasts sharply with the Christian understanding by applying the reference to the immediate past rather than a messianic future. The Hebrew grammar certainly supports this (the child has already been born, therefore possibly refers to Hezekiah), although this may also be a case of the so-called ‘prophetic past’ by which a particular future is treated as unquestionably guaranteed by referring to it as if it has already happened.[4] But considering this kind of tense quibbling as an end in itself may not be a fruitful way of proceeding, any more than pinpointing three different centuries for Isaiah’s prophetic activities. Rather, bearing in mind that awareness of ‘central human aspirations’ pervading the book of Isaiah across time and place, still stirring us as readers today, we can turn to the Jewish liturgy itself.
In Jewish liturgy, the weekly Saturday readings from the Torah (i.e. from the Five Books of Moses) are accompanied by additional readings taken from the other Biblical books, called the Haftarah readings. Each of the 52 weekly Torah texts has its own prescribed Haftarah accompaniment, and it so happens that the Isaianic list of names is part of a text matched with a reading from Exodus, Ex 18:1-20:23 to be exact. Within these Exodus chapters two important events in the history of Israel take place: firstly, there is a very sober conversation between Moses and his father-in-law Jethro about the practical organisation of what is basically a judiciary for settling disputes amongst the Israelites themselves – bringing law and order to the community. No fireworks and tantrums here, but a great deal of quiet common sense about leadership and judicial teachings. Secondly, there is the giving of the Ten Commandments to the Israelites at the foot of Mount Sinai, which takes place in anything but sober circumstances – tensions and fears run high in this fiery encounter between God and people as God spells out his demands. Both events are takes on the creation of a just society and the practice of accountable leadership within such a society – as central as human aspirations can get. But where one take coolly spreads roles of responsibility amongst capable but God-sensitive human beings, the other hotly proclaims God’s sole right to be the one and only everything. Humans may be assured that we are made in God’s image (Gen 1:27), but if there is one thing guaranteed to pique God’s old-style zealous wrath, it is our human habit of taking that assurance to a self-glorifying and greedy extreme. This wrath seems always to be threatening just around the corner – whether people are too far away from or too close to God. The giving of the Ten Commandments, even as it warns people of turning away from God, is hedged with dire warnings of the danger of approaching God too closely: ‘let not the priests or the people break through to come up to the Lord, lest He break out against them’ (Ex 19:24).
These Exodus issues around the creation of a just society and the consequences for that society of the human desire to be and act like God, are reiterated and given further intense and unsettling treatment in the book of Isaiah. Human rulers, the very people commissioned and empowered with keeping law and order, enter and exit the Isaianic stage. Some are Israelite and some foreign, some more powerful than others, some marginally nicer than others, some outright evil; yet none of them seem to have the wherewithal to put into practice a just society as Moses and Jethro have mapped it out, let alone as so fierily proclaimed in the Ten Commandments – although some are looked upon less disapprovingly (Hezekiah and Cyrus come to mind). The interplay between being made in the image of God yet not comparable to him remains an elusive metaphorical paradox well-nigh impossible to live out, even as we get hints along the way. So how are we to answer the question repeatedly hammered home in the book of Isaiah: ‘To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him?’ (Isa 40:18)? [5] To whom indeed – what then are we humans as leaders supposed to be like?
That list in Isaiah 9:6 may well be the most focused and concentrated formulation the Old Testament has to offer for addressing this question directly. Martin Luther, in his honest struggles to make head and tail of the prophets, hits the nail on the head in one of his Christmas sermons on Isaiah 9:6 when he relates the name list directly to the ‘how’ of leadership. After expanding on the customary images of leaders and authorities being carried on their subjects’ shoulders (even the good ones are), Luther observes that Isaiah turns everything around by placing the subjects on the shoulders of this different kind of ruler: ‘Thus, here you see the very definition of the Son, the one who carries his subjects on his shoulders. Those who are not on his shoulder are not under his rule. … So hop on! … This message goes forth into the world … by adding these six names, the prophet explains how the carrying takes place.’[6] That these descriptive terms, ‘Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace’, in some concrete way explain the ‘how’ of leadership in a just society may be completely at odds with the significance we moderns in the West give to names. In answer to the question, ‘what’s in a name?’, chances are Shakespeare’s Juliet neatly sums it up for us:
'Tis but thy name that is my enemy;
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!
What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
But the Isaianic mind-set, the ancient Hebrew mind-set, participates in a completely different understanding of the significance of names. It hangs on names an ontological significance that fundamentally links name and existence, a linking that seems to belong to the nature of the Biblical Hebrew language itself. Old Testament scholar John L. McKenzie’s concise observation is helpful here: ‘(Hebrew language) prefers nouns to adjectives, for it does not even like to make the obvious distinction between a substance and its properties.’[7] The series of words in Isaiah 9:6, however we wish to split and splice the grammar and theological meanings, suggests deeply-rooted qualities that are not merely fine-sounding abstract concepts, but are concrete, embodied qualities, drives even, to be lived out. These particular qualities and drives lead to the direct practice of knowledge and power and embodied behaviour in the context of a just society, to walking the talk. Given the conflict between God and human images of God, it is not untoward to ask to whom these qualities and drives then belong – who are they actually naming, the child or God? In a satisfying way, the answer is: both. Although these qualities appear in names definitely given to the child, the naming custom they express is straight out of the Ancient Near East, where Semitic names often consist of phrases or sentences that describe God. Therefore these names do not describe the child as much as they describe the God whom the child’s parents worship. After all else is said and done, worship may be the human act that makes the difference in the creation of a just society, not all the knowledge-posturing or power-mongering with which human leadership is so riddled. The God of the book of Isaiah puts it as bluntly as it can be put: ‘I am the Lord, the Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King’ (Isa 43:15); if any practical gaps need filling in about what the God making this claim is like, in what sort of image we are made, then Isaiah 9:6 is a good place to start exploring.
Any talk of leadership qualities in a faith context is bound to nudge us in the direction of Ignatian spirituality. In his Spiritual Exercises Ignatius describes a meditation which in full is entitled ‘The call of the earthly king is a help towards contemplating the life of the Eternal King.’[8] Its two parts consist of imagining first a human king chosen by God – Ignatius describes such a king as ‘liberal and kind’ – and then imagining the Christ King. In both instances the imagination is pulled into play: how far do we think we can we walk the talk? What is at stake for us? It is a meditation that dovetails smoothly with Exodus and Isaiah as these ancient scriptures explore ‘central aspirations of humankind.’ Human leaders for better or for worse, the messiah-king who embodies fully the desired qualities of a ruler of a just society, God himself as the ultimate one and only responsible for everything that is … to say nothing of thee and me as we ponder the nature of Incarnation at its very best: Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
[1] Quoted in John Goldingay’s very readable The Theology of the Book of Isaiah (IVP Academic 2014)
[2] Or for that matter at any time: witness Pope Francis’ homily at Madison Square Garden in New York earlier this year, which zeroed in on Isa 9:6.
[3] Peter Ackroyd’s introduction to The Book of Isaiah in the Pocket Canons series (Canongate, 1999). In refreshing contrast to Martin Luther, Ackroyd summarises the book of Isaiah as a ‘plangent combination of prophetic passages, with visionary epiphanies and lyrical enchantments.’
[4] Anyone interested in the details of the biblical Hebrew in Isaiah 9:5-6 can check out http://thejewishhome.org/counter/Isa9_56.pdf
[5] Alongside Isa 40:18 have a look at Isa 40:25; 46:5, 9. I like the explicitness of the variation in the book of Job: ‘Have you an arm like God, and can you thunder with a voice like his?’ (Job 40:9).
[6] See http://wordandworld.luthersem.edu/content/pdfs/16-4_Corinthians/16-4_Luther_Sermon.pdf It is not immediately obvious how Luther arrives at the number six.
[7] John L. McKenzie’s classic The Two-Edged Sword: An Interpretation of the Old Testament (The Bruce Publishing Company 1956)
[8] Spiritual Exercises [91]
‘Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace’: this grand and evocative list from the book of Isaiah is read to us at Midnight Mass on Christmas Day each year. Thinking Faith’s Advent series will consider how each of these titles can kindle our imaginations as we prepare to celebrate the gift of the Incarnation. Karen Eliasen sets the scene by exploring the significance of this ‘remarkable list of names’ as it appears in Isaiah 9:6. Karen Eliasen works in spirituality at St Beuno’s Jesuit Spirituality Centre, North Wales.
Any foray into the writings of the prophet Isaiah soon calls attention to a number of confusing issues that hamper a straightforward reading. Already as soon as we try to pinpoint the man behind the name Isaiah we run into trouble, for we meet possibly three different prophets. The first – proto-Isaiah – is active in the 8th century of King Hezekiah’s dicey dealings with the war-mongering Assyrians; the second – deutero-Isaiah – is active in the 6th century of uprooted Exiles despairing among Babylonians and eventually Persians; and the third – trito-Isaiah – is active in the 5th century that sees a self-examining but kingless people returned to Jerusalem. Add to this historical havoc a mix of literary forms whose language is complex and often elusive; some conflicting evaluations of human behaviour, especially of kings; and finally some unsettling images of a God caught in flagrante delicto swinging wildly between the extreme moods of desolation and consolation. After combining all these strong flavours of the book of Isaiah we may find ourselves readily agreeing with Martin Luther’s summary of the prophets: they ‘have a queer way of talking, like people who, instead of proceeding in an orderly manner, ramble off from one thing to the next, so that you cannot make head or tail of them.’[1]
How then can we begin to make head or tail of the remarkable list of names in Isaiah 9:6 that rambles out at us anew every Christmas:[2] ‘and his name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace?’ If there is one verse in the whole of the Old Testament that begs engagement with the classic ‘who, what, when, where, why and how’ series of questions, then this may well be it – even if we as Christians may have our hardcore convictions about the answers: ‘Jesus!’ of course, and so on from there. But all may not be so obvious. In a recent introduction to the book of Isaiah, writer and critic Peter Ackroyd claims it as ‘a story of universal significance rather than a sample of pre-Christian revelation,’ holding that what is at stake for Isaiah are ‘the central aspirations of humankind.’[3] The reality is that not only for Christians but as well for Jews has the book of Isaiah down the centuries been the most oft-cited, and perhaps even the best-loved, of the prophetic books. This eager response across the board suggests that as Christians we might explore more deeply those ‘central aspirations of human kind’ by revisiting that familiar list of names in 9:6 from a broader perspective than we are wont to do.
Of particular interest is the use Jewish liturgy makes of the list of names. Obviously the mainstream Jewish understanding of the verses around ‘a child born’ contrasts sharply with the Christian understanding by applying the reference to the immediate past rather than a messianic future. The Hebrew grammar certainly supports this (the child has already been born, therefore possibly refers to Hezekiah), although this may also be a case of the so-called ‘prophetic past’ by which a particular future is treated as unquestionably guaranteed by referring to it as if it has already happened.[4] But considering this kind of tense quibbling as an end in itself may not be a fruitful way of proceeding, any more than pinpointing three different centuries for Isaiah’s prophetic activities. Rather, bearing in mind that awareness of ‘central human aspirations’ pervading the book of Isaiah across time and place, still stirring us as readers today, we can turn to the Jewish liturgy itself.
In Jewish liturgy, the weekly Saturday readings from the Torah (i.e. from the Five Books of Moses) are accompanied by additional readings taken from the other Biblical books, called the Haftarah readings. Each of the 52 weekly Torah texts has its own prescribed Haftarah accompaniment, and it so happens that the Isaianic list of names is part of a text matched with a reading from Exodus, Ex 18:1-20:23 to be exact. Within these Exodus chapters two important events in the history of Israel take place: firstly, there is a very sober conversation between Moses and his father-in-law Jethro about the practical organisation of what is basically a judiciary for settling disputes amongst the Israelites themselves – bringing law and order to the community. No fireworks and tantrums here, but a great deal of quiet common sense about leadership and judicial teachings. Secondly, there is the giving of the Ten Commandments to the Israelites at the foot of Mount Sinai, which takes place in anything but sober circumstances – tensions and fears run high in this fiery encounter between God and people as God spells out his demands. Both events are takes on the creation of a just society and the practice of accountable leadership within such a society – as central as human aspirations can get. But where one take coolly spreads roles of responsibility amongst capable but God-sensitive human beings, the other hotly proclaims God’s sole right to be the one and only everything. Humans may be assured that we are made in God’s image (Gen 1:27), but if there is one thing guaranteed to pique God’s old-style zealous wrath, it is our human habit of taking that assurance to a self-glorifying and greedy extreme. This wrath seems always to be threatening just around the corner – whether people are too far away from or too close to God. The giving of the Ten Commandments, even as it warns people of turning away from God, is hedged with dire warnings of the danger of approaching God too closely: ‘let not the priests or the people break through to come up to the Lord, lest He break out against them’ (Ex 19:24).
These Exodus issues around the creation of a just society and the consequences for that society of the human desire to be and act like God, are reiterated and given further intense and unsettling treatment in the book of Isaiah. Human rulers, the very people commissioned and empowered with keeping law and order, enter and exit the Isaianic stage. Some are Israelite and some foreign, some more powerful than others, some marginally nicer than others, some outright evil; yet none of them seem to have the wherewithal to put into practice a just society as Moses and Jethro have mapped it out, let alone as so fierily proclaimed in the Ten Commandments – although some are looked upon less disapprovingly (Hezekiah and Cyrus come to mind). The interplay between being made in the image of God yet not comparable to him remains an elusive metaphorical paradox well-nigh impossible to live out, even as we get hints along the way. So how are we to answer the question repeatedly hammered home in the book of Isaiah: ‘To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him?’ (Isa 40:18)? [5] To whom indeed – what then are we humans as leaders supposed to be like?
That list in Isaiah 9:6 may well be the most focused and concentrated formulation the Old Testament has to offer for addressing this question directly. Martin Luther, in his honest struggles to make head and tail of the prophets, hits the nail on the head in one of his Christmas sermons on Isaiah 9:6 when he relates the name list directly to the ‘how’ of leadership. After expanding on the customary images of leaders and authorities being carried on their subjects’ shoulders (even the good ones are), Luther observes that Isaiah turns everything around by placing the subjects on the shoulders of this different kind of ruler: ‘Thus, here you see the very definition of the Son, the one who carries his subjects on his shoulders. Those who are not on his shoulder are not under his rule. … So hop on! … This message goes forth into the world … by adding these six names, the prophet explains how the carrying takes place.’[6] That these descriptive terms, ‘Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace’, in some concrete way explain the ‘how’ of leadership in a just society may be completely at odds with the significance we moderns in the West give to names. In answer to the question, ‘what’s in a name?’, chances are Shakespeare’s Juliet neatly sums it up for us:
'Tis but thy name that is my enemy;
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!
What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
But the Isaianic mind-set, the ancient Hebrew mind-set, participates in a completely different understanding of the significance of names. It hangs on names an ontological significance that fundamentally links name and existence, a linking that seems to belong to the nature of the Biblical Hebrew language itself. Old Testament scholar John L. McKenzie’s concise observation is helpful here: ‘(Hebrew language) prefers nouns to adjectives, for it does not even like to make the obvious distinction between a substance and its properties.’[7] The series of words in Isaiah 9:6, however we wish to split and splice the grammar and theological meanings, suggests deeply-rooted qualities that are not merely fine-sounding abstract concepts, but are concrete, embodied qualities, drives even, to be lived out. These particular qualities and drives lead to the direct practice of knowledge and power and embodied behaviour in the context of a just society, to walking the talk. Given the conflict between God and human images of God, it is not untoward to ask to whom these qualities and drives then belong – who are they actually naming, the child or God? In a satisfying way, the answer is: both. Although these qualities appear in names definitely given to the child, the naming custom they express is straight out of the Ancient Near East, where Semitic names often consist of phrases or sentences that describe God. Therefore these names do not describe the child as much as they describe the God whom the child’s parents worship. After all else is said and done, worship may be the human act that makes the difference in the creation of a just society, not all the knowledge-posturing or power-mongering with which human leadership is so riddled. The God of the book of Isaiah puts it as bluntly as it can be put: ‘I am the Lord, the Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King’ (Isa 43:15); if any practical gaps need filling in about what the God making this claim is like, in what sort of image we are made, then Isaiah 9:6 is a good place to start exploring.
Any talk of leadership qualities in a faith context is bound to nudge us in the direction of Ignatian spirituality. In his Spiritual Exercises Ignatius describes a meditation which in full is entitled ‘The call of the earthly king is a help towards contemplating the life of the Eternal King.’[8] Its two parts consist of imagining first a human king chosen by God – Ignatius describes such a king as ‘liberal and kind’ – and then imagining the Christ King. In both instances the imagination is pulled into play: how far do we think we can we walk the talk? What is at stake for us? It is a meditation that dovetails smoothly with Exodus and Isaiah as these ancient scriptures explore ‘central aspirations of humankind.’ Human leaders for better or for worse, the messiah-king who embodies fully the desired qualities of a ruler of a just society, God himself as the ultimate one and only responsible for everything that is … to say nothing of thee and me as we ponder the nature of Incarnation at its very best: Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
[1] Quoted in John Goldingay’s very readable The Theology of the Book of Isaiah (IVP Academic 2014)
[2] Or for that matter at any time: witness Pope Francis’ homily at Madison Square Garden in New York earlier this year, which zeroed in on Isa 9:6.
[3] Peter Ackroyd’s introduction to The Book of Isaiah in the Pocket Canons series (Canongate, 1999). In refreshing contrast to Martin Luther, Ackroyd summarises the book of Isaiah as a ‘plangent combination of prophetic passages, with visionary epiphanies and lyrical enchantments.’
[4] Anyone interested in the details of the biblical Hebrew in Isaiah 9:5-6 can check out http://thejewishhome.org/counter/Isa9_56.pdf
[5] Alongside Isa 40:18 have a look at Isa 40:25; 46:5, 9. I like the explicitness of the variation in the book of Job: ‘Have you an arm like God, and can you thunder with a voice like his?’ (Job 40:9).
[6] See http://wordandworld.luthersem.edu/content/pdfs/16-4_Corinthians/16-4_Luther_Sermon.pdf It is not immediately obvious how Luther arrives at the number six.
[7] John L. McKenzie’s classic The Two-Edged Sword: An Interpretation of the Old Testament (The Bruce Publishing Company 1956)
[8] Spiritual Exercises [91]
