LABORING IN LOVE AND HOPE

I have labored in vain;
I have spent my strength for nothing at all.
Yet what is due me is in the Lord’s hand,
and my reward is with my God.

Isaiah 49:4b (read 49:1-6) NIV

Isaiah felt that he was a messenger to "all peoples of the world" and took upon himself the title "Servant of God". He felt very small before the huge challenge of bringing hope to people who were going through the greatest crisis in their history. Not seeing results made the feeling of frustration weigh heavily upon him, and he felt the failure of having strived in vain. Even so, there sprang up in his chest a hope that everything would still be rewarded for acting in harmony with the will of God. It was this consciousness that gave him the strength to not give up.

We know that the universe is trillions of times greater than Isaiah thought it to be. Our present day crisis is unprecedented and covers aspects that Isaiah never dreamed of. It even threatens the existence of the whole human race. Globalization has produced a global crisis: water and air pollution, depletion of natural resources, economic and political inequalities, loss of ethical values, religious conflicts and the development of weapons capable of destroying most of life on Earth in the blink of an eye.

Faced with our chaos of the early twenty-first century, the crisis of Isaiah seems small. Can we draw inspiration from that remote past? I believe so.

With a more ample vision of the universe (multiverse) we need a broader vision of God. We could identify God as being cosmic, as being the consciousness of the whole multiverse and present in every atom and every cell of our body. We are an integral part of this multiverse. Our existence is a part of the scheme of things and fits into the whole. We influence the whole and are influenced by it. Life is an interchange. The sacred and the multiverse are one and the same.

By being in tune with the sacred whole we reach our fullest potential without exhausting our strength. Harmony is letting ourselves be integrated into the mega system of life. As we act on behalf of others, we are acting on behalf of ourselves! To be instruments of the welfare of others, we are also benefiting ourselves.

Being useful and being preserved at the same time is one of the principles of life! To act against others and against love is to act against ourselves. Sin kills, but justice quickens. By practicing goodness and walking according to the principles of the universe we are promoting and strengthening the system of life. By practicing evil and walking against the principles of life, we are actually destroying ourselves. This being true, humanity seems to be marching to its own destruction.

Using biblical symbolism, the union of Jesus with the Father is the ultimate example of the dynamics of salvation. For Christians, the presence of the Spirit of Jesus in them makes them agents of salvation in the world. They are called to be "light" in the world and "salt" on the earth. They are called to come out of the temples and act where the masses are and where danger threatens.

We may not be able to see immediately that by acting in accordance to the principles of love and justice that we are really making any difference in the world, but we can do so, trusting that we are not acting in vain. We can only do our part and leave it up to the future to germinate the good seed that we sow. We may feel that we are acting in vain, but we can hope that what we are planting will bear beneficial fruits.

ISAIAH 49:1-6 – NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV)

Listen to me, you islands;

    hear this, you distant nations:

Before I was born the Lord called me;

    from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.

He made my mouth like a sharpened sword,

    in the shadow of his hand he hid me;

he made me into a polished arrow

    and concealed me in his quiver.

He said to me, “You are my servant,

    Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.”

But I said, “I have labored in vain;

    I have spent my strength for nothing at all.

Yet what is due me is in the Lord’s hand,

    and my reward is with my God.”

And now the Lord says—

    he who formed me in the womb to be his servant

to bring Jacob back to him

    and gather Israel to himself,

for I am[a] honored in the eyes of the Lord

    and my God has been my strength—

he says:

“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant

    to restore the tribes of Jacob

    and bring back those of Israel I have kept.

I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,

    that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”

NO FUNDO DO POÇO

O Deus Eterno não se importa conosco,
o nosso Deus não se interessa pela nossa situação?”

Isaías 40.27b (leia 40.21-31) – NTLH

O povo tinha sofrido a desgraça e estava fora do seu país, humilhado, explorado e sem esperança. Achava Deus indiferente à sua situação. Sentia-se abandonado e entregue à própria sorte. Tinha chegado ao “fundo do poço”.

Mas o profeta afirmou que não era assim, e que, desde a criação, Deus está dentro de tudo que se passa. Os seus propósitos estão fora do alcance do nosso entendimento. Ele é incansável em prosseguir no seu plano e pode dar novas forças aos cansados que confiam nEle. A confiança faz que se encontre força e energia no cansaço e na fraqueza. Em outras palavras: “no fundo do poço é onde se encontra água”.

Passado mais de 2600 anos, podemos ainda encontra inspiração para a nossa época? A nossa realidade é muito diferente daquela do Povo de Israel. A grande desgraça do povo era o exílio: forçado a morar na Babilônia, impedido de ocupar a sua terra natal. As circunstâncias históricas daquela época pouco têm a ver com a nossa vida, leitores destas palavras. Aparentemente a maioria está conseguindo ocupar seu espaço de direito e participar de seus privilégios. Até dizemos que Deus é Brasileiro!...

Mas por outro lado existem outras realidades. Uma delas é representada pelo filme cinematográfico “Cidade de Deus” de Fernando Meirelles. Há grandes segmentos da sociedade brasileira que vivem outro tipo de exílio, impedidos de desfrutar de uma vida de dignidade. Há grandes comunidades de favelados, dominados pela pobreza e a marginalidade. Existem os analfabetos, desempregados, subempregados, sem terra, sem teto, trabalhadores infantis e rurais em regime semiescravo que vivem à margem da sociedade. É uma espécie de exílio dentro de casa. A distribuição de riquezas se concentra cada vez mais com uma pequena minoria, deixando a maioria como cidadãos de segunda classe. O filme “Tropa de Elite” de José Padilha revela que também há muitos que pertencem as classes média e alta, exilados da vida real, viciados pelas drogas sustentando o crime organizado.

No cenário global a situação não é diferente. Os países mais ricos sugam os recursos dos mais pobres e populosos. Uns vivem em abundância e outros mal conseguem sobreviver. Ao lado da subnutrição existe o problema da obesidade.

A fauna e a flora também estão perdendo seu espaço no planeta. O IBAMA (www.ibama.gov.br) publicou uma lista de 627 espécies da fauna brasileira ameaçadas de extinção. O mesmo está acontecendo com a flora. Todo o planeta Terra está sendo atingido pelo egoísmo e desprezo humano.

Deus importa conosco? Interessa-se com a nossa situação? Ele ainda está presente e governando ou já se cansou, desistiu e foi embora? Diante de tanta desgraça, muitos acham que Deus nem existe! Já cansaram e tropeçaram, dominados pela descrença e desespero.

Outras perguntas tão importantes: Nós nos importamos com a injustiça social e econômica? Nós nos importamos com a violência dos donos do poder contra os outros seres humanos indefesos? Nós nos importamos com a ganância materialista que devasta a fauna e a flor e está esgotando os recursos naturais da terra? Nós nos importamos com o envenenamento do ar, do solo e da água para os fins lucrativos?

Não adianta Deus importar conosco se nós não importamos com a nossa coletividade e as futuras gerações. Sim, estamos no fundo do poço, mas cabe a nós tomar providências para descobrir a água e como sair do buraco que nós mesmos cavamos.

ISAÍAS 40:21-31 – NOVA TRADUҪÃO NA LINGUAGEM DE HOJE 2000 (NTLH)

Será que vocês não sabem?

Será que nunca ouviram falar disso?

Não lhes contaram há muito tempo

como o mundo foi criado?

O Criador de todas as coisas

é aquele que se senta no seu trono no céu;

ele está tão longe da terra,

que os seres humanos lhe parecem tão pequenos como formigas.

Foi ele quem estendeu os céus como um véu,

quem os armou como uma barraca para neles morar.

É ele quem rebaixa reis poderosos

e tira altas autoridades do poder.

Eles são como plantas que brotaram há pouco

e quase não têm raízes.

Quando Deus sopra neles, eles murcham,

e a ventania os leva para longe, como se fossem palha.

Com quem vocês vão comparar o Santo Deus?

Quem é igual a ele?

Olhem para o céu e vejam as estrelas.

Quem foi que as criou?

Foi aquele que as faz sair em ordem como um exército;

ele sabe quantas são

e chama cada uma pelo seu nome.

A sua força e o seu poder são tão grandes,

que nenhuma delas deixa de responder.

Novas forças para os fracos

Povo de Israel, por que você se queixa, dizendo:

“O Senhor não se importa conosco,

o nosso Deus não se interessa pela nossa situação”?

Será que vocês não sabem?

Será que nunca ouviram falar disso?

O Senhor é o Deus Eterno,

ele criou o mundo inteiro.

Ele não se cansa, não fica fatigado;

ninguém pode medir a sua sabedoria.

Aos cansados ele dá novas forças

e enche de energia os fracos.

Até os jovens se cansam,

e os moços tropeçam e caem;

mas os que confiam no Senhor

recebem sempre novas forças.

Voam nas alturas como águias,

correm e não perdem as forças,

andam e não se cansam.

THE BOTTOM OF THE PIT

My way is hidden from the Lord;
my cause is disregarded by my God.

Isaiah 40:27b (read 40:21-31) NIV

The people had suffered disgrace and were exiled from their country, humiliated, exploited and hopeless. They thought God indifferent to their situation, felt abandoned and left to fend for themselves. They had reached "bottom of the pit".

But the prophet said that was not so, and that, since the creation, God is within everything that happens. His purposes are beyond our understanding. He is relentless in pursuing his plan and can give new strength to the weary who trust in Him. Confidence gives power and energy in the face of exhaustion and weakness. In other words: "the bottom of the pit is where we find water".

Can we still find inspiration for our time after 2600 years have passed since this writing and our concept of the world has changed? Our reality is very different from that of the People of Israel. Their great misfortune was the exile: forced to live in Babylon far from their homeland. The historical circumstances of that time in the long past has little in common with our lives today. We are in our own country or where we choose to be. We do not feel the absence of God. Brazilians like to jest that God is Brazilian and Americans think of God as blessing America only.

But then there are other realities. One is represented by the motion picture film "City of God" (Cidade de Deus) by Fernando Meirelles. There are large segments of Brazilian society who live another kind of exile, unable to enjoy a life of dignity. There are large squatter communities, dominated by poverty and marginalization. There are illiterate, unemployed, underemployed, landless, homeless, working children and rural areas in semi-slave conditions on the margins of society. It is an “indoor exile”. The distribution of wealth is increasingly concentrated in a small minority, leaving the majority as second-class citizens. The film "Elite Squad” (Tropa de Elite) by José Padilha reveals that there are also many who belong to the middle and upper classes, exiled from real life, supporting organized crime by being drug addicts.

The United States is also a nation of many “indoor exiles”. With mass incarcerations it has more people per capita in prisons than any other country in the world. With less than 5% of the world population the US has 25% of the world’s prisoners of which 45% are afro decent. Other segments of indoor exiles are the migrant farm workers working under slave conditions and the millions who are forced to take temporary jobs at a less than livable minimum salary without fringe benefits in commerce and service industries.

In the global scenario the situation is no different. Richer countries suck the resources of the poor and the populous. A few live in abundance while the majority barely survives. Wars and political violence have produced millions of widows, orphans and refugees who struggle to just stay alive.

The fauna and flora are also losing their space on the planet. IBAMA (www.ibama.gov.br) published a list of 627 species of Brazilian fauna threatened with extinction. The same is happening with the flora. The whole planet Earth is being hit by human selfishness and contempt.

It is hypocritical to ask if God cares about us. This whole situation is manmade. The honest question is “Do we care?” Do we care about the social and economic injustice? Do we care about the violence of those in power against the other defenseless human beings? Do we care about materialistic greed which devastates wildlife and flowers and is depleting the earth's natural resources? Do we care about the poisoning of the air, soil and water for profit? It’s no use trying to evoke God. We are at the bottom of the pit, and it is up to us to take action, to find the water and get out of the hole we have dug for ourselves.

ISAIAH 40:21-31 – NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV)

Do you not know?

    Have you not heard?

Has it not been told you from the beginning?

    Have you not understood since the earth was founded?

He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,

    and its people are like grasshoppers.

He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,

    and spreads them out like a tent to live in.

He brings princes to naught

    and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.

No sooner are they planted,

    no sooner are they sown,

    no sooner do they take root in the ground,

than he blows on them and they wither,

    and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.

“To whom will you compare me?

    Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.

Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:

    Who created all these?

He who brings out the starry host one by one

    and calls forth each of them by name.

Because of his great power and mighty strength,

    not one of them is missing.

Why do you complain, Jacob?

    Why do you say, Israel,

“My way is hidden from the Lord;

    my cause is disregarded by my God”?

Do you not know?

    Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God,

    the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary,

    and his understanding no one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary

    and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary,

    and young men stumble and fall;

but those who hope in the Lord

    will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

    they will run and not grow weary,

    they will walk and not be faint.

A ESPERANÇA DA ERVA SECA

O povo é como a erva.
A erva seca,
a flor cai,
mas a palavra do nosso Deus
dura para sempre."

Isaías 40.7b, 8 – NTLH

A vida está cheia de obstáculos: “montanhas” para vencer, “vales” para atravessar, “desertos” para cortar. Enfrentamos altos e baixos, calor e frio, enchentes e secas, incertezas e imprevisões e o desconhecido além das curvas da estrada tortuosa da caminhada. Nas horas agudas precisamos nos alimentar da esperança, recebermos forças e enfrentarmos os desafios que se apresentam no caminho…

Os moradores de Jerusalém, no cativeiro de Babilônia, tinham pouca perspectiva de voltar para sua cidade natal. Mas veio uma voz, “Preparem no deserto um caminho”. Era o caminho, aberto por Deus, para conduzir o “povo refém” de volta à Jerusalém. Ciro, o imperador da Pérsia (hoje Irã), foi o instrumento ungido por Deus para “estourar” o cativeiro Babilônico e libertar os reféns voltando para casa.

540 anos depois, João Batista repete a mensagem de Isaías: proclamar a abertura para a ação divina abrir caminho! Desta vez, Jesus seria o ungido para trazer a libertação. O cativeiro era a própria terra dos reféns. Além da dominação política dos Romanos o povo estava precisando da libertação de si mesmo.

A história se repete. Sempre precisamos da abertura dum caminho para podermos escapar de algo: a própria ignorância, condições físicas, espirituais, econômicas e opressões sociais. Em nossa cultura decadente ouve se falar muito em sequestros, reféns e cativeiros. A noite muitos ficam recuados dentro das suas próprias casas enquanto os marginais dominam as ruas e praças das grandes cidades.

Diante dos obstáculos da atualidade, sentimos a nossa fragilidade. O texto descreve a humanidade como “erva seca” e “flor caída”. Não somos capazes de resistir os sopros da nossa existência. Quem somos nós para enfrentar as correntezas devastadoras que estão arrastando a pouca estabilidade que conhecíamos! A economia é cada vez mais vacilante, a ordem política mais instável, o clima abalado com o aquecimento global e o cenário religioso mais confuso. O mundo de hoje é radicalmente diferente do de ontem. Nem podemos imaginar o que será o amanhã com o acréscimo de ameaças terroristas com a destruição em massa de populações civis por armas químicas, biológicas e nucleares.

Nossa Esperança!!! “A palavra do nosso Deus dura para sempre.” A palavra não é algo escrito, mas a ação da natureza divina capaz de abrir caminhos, usando os próprios elementos da destruição. Ciro, o pagão, foi instrumento da palavra de Deus. Para os cristãos, Jesus é a palavra viva de Deus, capaz de transformar a desgraça em graça. Esta palavra continua a construir e transformar, misteriosamente além do nosso entendimento.

ISAÍAS 40:1-20 – NOVA TRADUҪÃO NA LINGUAGEM DE HOJE 2000 (NTLH)

O Senhor, nosso Deus, diz:

“Consolem, consolem o meu povo.

Falem carinhosamente aos moradores de Jerusalém

e digam-lhes que já terminou a sua escravidão

e que os seus pecados foram perdoados.

Eles receberam de mim duas vezes mais castigos

do que os pecados que cometeram.”

Alguém está gritando:

“Preparem no deserto um caminho para o Senhor,

abram ali uma estrada reta para o nosso Deus passar!

Todos os vales serão aterrados,

e todos os morros e montes serão aplanados;

os terrenos cheios de altos e baixos ficarão planos,

e as regiões montanhosas virarão planícies.

Então o Senhor mostrará a sua glória,

e toda a humanidade a verá.

O próprio Senhor Deus prometeu que vai fazer isso.”

Alguém diz: “Anuncie a mensagem!”

“O que devo anunciar?” — eu pergunto.

“Anuncie que todos os seres humanos são como a erva do campo

e toda a força deles é como uma flor do mato.

A erva seca, e as flores caem

quando o sopro do Senhor passa por elas.

De fato, o povo é como a erva.

A erva seca, a flor cai,

mas a palavra do nosso Deus dura para sempre.”

Você, mensageiro de boas notícias para Jerusalém,

suba um alto monte;

você, mensageiro de boas notícias para Sião,

entregue a sua mensagem em voz alta.

Fale sem medo com as cidades de Judá

e anuncie bem alto:

“O seu Deus está chegando!”

O Senhor Deus vem vindo cheio de força;

com o seu braço poderoso, ele conseguiu a vitória.

E ele traz consigo o povo que ele salvou.

Como um pastor cuida do seu rebanho,

assim o Senhor cuidará do seu povo;

ele juntará os carneirinhos, e os carregará no colo,

e guiará com carinho as ovelhas que estão amamentando.

A grandeza do Deus de Israel

Quem mediu a água do mar com as conchas das mãos

ou mediu o céu com os dedos?

Quem, usando uma vasilha, calculou

quanta terra existe no mundo inteiro

ou pesou as montanhas e os morros numa balança?

Quem pode conhecer a mente do Senhor?

Quem é capaz de lhe dar conselhos?

Quem lhe deu lições ou ensinamentos?

Quem lhe ensinou a julgar com justiça

ou quis fazê-lo aprender mais coisas

ou procurou lhe mostrar como ser sábio?

Para o Senhor, todas as nações do mundo

são como uma gota de água num balde,

como um grão de poeira na balança;

ele carrega as ilhas distantes como se fossem um grão de areia.

Em toda a região do Líbano, não há animais suficientes

para um sacrifício como Deus merece,

nem árvores que cheguem para os queimar.

Para ele, as nações não são nada;

na presença dele, elas não têm nenhum valor.

Com quem Deus pode ser comparado?

Com o que ele se parece?

Ele não é como uma imagem feita por um artista,

que um ourives reveste de ouro

e cobre de enfeites de prata.

Quem não pode comprar ouro ou prata

escolhe madeira de lei

e procura um artista competente

que faça uma imagem que fique firme no seu lugar.

WITHERING GRASS, FALLING FLOWERS AND HOPE

All people are like grass.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God endures forever.”

Isaiah 40:7b-8 – NIV

We are really quite fragile and limited. There is much that lies ahead of us. Life is full of obstacles with "mountains" to climb, "valleys" to span and "deserts" to cross. We have our ups and downs, experience scorching and freezing and pass through our floods and droughts. The future is unknown and uncertain with the unexpected waiting beyond the curves that lie ahead in the winding road we must walk. In times of acute need we need hope that we can feed upon to give us strength in order to face the challenges that present themselves on the way.

Looking on the other side of life we see that, at the same time, good things happen. The world that challenges us also sustains us. Sometimes threats don’t materialize and other times we have unexpected strength of overcome obstacles. The above text reflects these two aspects: fragility and strength.

This text is the fruit of a feeling of fragility and uncertainty. The inhabitants of Jerusalem who were held in exile in had little prospect of returning to their hometown. They felt their fragility. Then, with a turn of events, Cyrus, the new Emperor of Persia (now Iran) released the hostages to go home. Isaiah looked on him as an anointed instrument of God to free the people.

540 years later, John the Baptist repeats the message of Isaiah to proclaim the opening of divine action to open new ways! This time, Jesus would be the Anointed One to bring deliverance. The captives were the people of Palestine, hostage to Roman oppression. Besides the political rule of the Roman Empire the politically oppressed were in need of liberation from themselves. John misunderstood the nature of the hope he proclaimed, but never-the-less sensed a turn of events. The message of Jesus was not what he expected. The Jesus Way was not to BRING revolution but was to BE revolution.

History has repeated itself. Crisis has become a way of life. Economic and social oppression is on the increase. Human violence has become the norm and becoming the ever more frequent subject of news reports. People are held captive by being kept in ignorance and induced to indifference, intolerance and religious or ideological fanaticism. Compassion, tolerance, humility and nonviolence are seen as weakness. With growing globalism the dominant philosophy is becoming “winner-take-all” with those who are left out to fend for themselves. The increase of individual fortunes is at the expense of spreading poverty and violence. The economy is increasingly shaky, the political order more unstable, weather shaken by global warming and a confusing religious landscape. The world today is radically different from yesterday. We cannot even imagine what it will be like tomorrow with the increase of state and private surveillance, terrorism and mass destruction of civilian populations by chemical, biological and nuclear weapons.

As we face the obstacles of today we feel our fragility. The text describes humanity as "dry grass" and "falling flowers". Who are we to be able to withstand the blows to our very existence? Who are we to face the devastating currents that are dragging down the little stability that we knew! Until now we always have had openings of ways for us to escape.

Isaiah painted hope as: "The word of our God endures forever." The Word is not something written in some old scripture, but the principal of renewal we find in the natural order. The old dies and the new replaces it. The action of nature can open new ways, using the elements of destruction to bring renewal. For Isaiah, Cyrus, a pagan normally despised by the Jews, was an instrument of the Word to free the Jewish people from exile. For early Christians, Jesus who was rejected by officialdom became the Word capable of transforming disgrace into grace. By following the way of Jesus the Word built and transformed lives.

We may be withering grass and falling flowers in a withering and falling world, but we can have hope that ultimate reality is more than that and ally ourselves to that which renews and goes beyond withering and falling. Grass returns and fallen flowers leave fruit. By allying ourselves with principles of life we can move toward renewal and the birth of the new.

ISAIAH 40:1-20 – NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV)

Comfort, comfort my people,

    says your God.

Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,

    and proclaim to her

that her hard service has been completed,

    that her sin has been paid for,

that she has received from the Lord’s hand

    double for all her sins.

A voice of one calling:

“In the wilderness prepare

    the way for the Lord;

make straight in the desert

    a highway for our God.

Every valley shall be raised up,

    every mountain and hill made low;

the rough ground shall become level,

    the rugged places a plain.

And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,

    and all people will see it together.

For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

A voice says, “Cry out.”

    And I said, “What shall I cry?”

“All people are like grass,

    and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.

The grass withers and the flowers fall,

    because the breath of the Lord blows on them.

    Surely the people are grass.

The grass withers and the flowers fall,

    but the word of our God endures forever.”

You who bring good news to Zion,

    go up on a high mountain.

You who bring good news to Jerusalem,

    lift up your voice with a shout,

lift it up, do not be afraid;

    say to the towns of Judah,

    “Here is your God!”

See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power,

    and he rules with a mighty arm.

See, his reward is with him,

    and his recompense accompanies him.

He tends his flock like a shepherd:

    He gathers the lambs in his arms

and carries them close to his heart;

    he gently leads those that have young.

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,

    or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?

Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,

    or weighed the mountains on the scales

    and the hills in a balance?

Who can fathom the Spirit of the Lord,

    or instruct the Lord as his counselor?

Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him,

    and who taught him the right way?

Who was it that taught him knowledge,

    or showed him the path of understanding?

Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;

    they are regarded as dust on the scales;

    he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.

Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires,

    nor its animals enough for burnt offerings.

Before him all the nations are as nothing;

    they are regarded by him as worthless

    and less than nothing.

With whom, then, will you compare God?

    To what image will you liken him?

As for an idol, a metalworker casts it,

    and a goldsmith overlays it with gold

    and fashions silver chains for it.

A person too poor to present such an offering

    selects wood that will not rot;

they look for a skilled worker

    to set up an idol that will not topple.