Reflection - Fantasy

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/120219.cfm
Isaiah 4:2-6
Matthew 8:5-11

Oracles and prophecies are integral parts of the Old Testament office of prophet. These men spoke of what God was doing then and of what God will do, and frequently such teachings embrace both the events of the present and the events of the future. Moreover, it is especially common for such prophecies to reach a more perfect fulfillment at a future time.

The current selection from Isaiah is one whose theme will be repeated frequently during Isaiah’s lifetime. Here he is speaking of the Day of the Lord. The message, though truncated by the brevity of our selected passage, promises physical blessings for the people.

“The branch of the LORD will be luster and glory,
and the fruit of the earth will be honor and splendor.”

But not just any people. Rather, these promises are made to a certain group, namely: “the survivors of Israel.” That is, the survivors of an eminent attack.

Moreover,

“He who remains in Zion
and he who is left in Jerusalem
Will be called holy: every one marked down for life in Jerusalem.”

The thing about Isaiah is both the magnitude and the magnificence of his promises. The coming Kingdom will be like a great wedding banquet. The King will conquer all enemies and establish an order of justice and peace. There will be no more war. The orphan, the widow, the downtrodden and the poor will be cared for. Isaiah’s list goes on with elements scattered through the multiple chapters of his text.

We have a critical, almost cynical attitude towards those making what seem to be outlandish promises. It’s probably a useful attitude given the product and service advertisements we so often hear and read. “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” we say; and we subsequently consign such things to the realm of fantasy.

But the world of fantasy creates its own problems for us. Just consider the teachings of Isaiah. Universal peace! True justice for all! Abundance of all necessities! No more war! Where is the line distinguishing reality from fantasy? Sure, Isaiah predicts those things for sometime in the future — but are they so far in the future as to deserve consignment to the world of the imaginary? In the text of a sci-fi fantasy novel I recently read: “I just can’t get my head around the fact that we’re millions of miles away from Earth, in a hollowed-out asteroid with an ecologically sustainable environment, hiding from a rainstorm.” The oracles of Isaiah and the Christian origins of Advent and Christmas could easily be phrased in similar, questioning language.

I just can’t get my head around the fact that:

. . . God, who created all things in the universe, loves us.
. . . He loves us so much that He became one of us.
. . . His coming was for the sole purpose of saving us from eternal separation.
. . . His birth was heralded by angels.
. . . His coming was observed in the alignment of the stars.
. . . He will conquer death!
. . . He will establish a Kingdom of peace and we can live in that Kingdom!

The line of demarcation that separates reality and fantasy is an ambiguous one; and there is that subtle, hidden attitude that says If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. But in the child, born of a Virgin in Bethlehem 2000 years ago, the impossible becomes real and what sounds too good to be true actually is true. The story of Jesus doesn’t belong with The Polar Express or the Elf on the Shelf.

SUMMARY

We have a critical, almost cynical attitude towards those making what seem to be outlandish promises. It’s probably a useful attitude given the product and service advertisements we so often hear and read. “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” we say; and we subsequently consign such things to the realm of fantasy.

But the world of fantasy creates its own problems for us.