Epiphany 5
February 8, 2015
Cross~Wind UMC
Title: Living Out
Loud in Weariness
Going deeper
Isaiah 40:21-31 (NRSV)
If you go back to verse 12, the theme of these verses is the Lord as creator and savior. It offers a vision of hope and renewal for a demoralized and war-weary people. This theological perspective may have arisen in response to and in reaction to a strain of wisdom-influenced theology that contrasted the apparent timelessness and changelessness of the natural world with the apparent randomness and purposelessness of individual and collective history (cf. much of the book of Ecclesiastes, which begins with saying that “all is vanity.”). One may see in II Isaiah a response to a kind of ancient deism, the idea that although God exists, God’s interactions with the world ceased after creation was launched. This passage seeks to counter that view by insisting that the Creator of the world remains very much concerned and involved with Israel’s ongoing struggles. The prophet has designed this lyrical poem to refute the charge of God's faithlessness, and to provide hope for Israel in its dismay.
21 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the
beginning?
Have you not understood from the
foundations of the earth?
[This part of Isaiah, addressed
to people wear of exile in Babylon, addresses the shaken faith of these people.
The problem is that
the defeat of Israel made some doubt the power of the Lord and wonder if Marduk
was stronger. The prophet wants to restore the ancient article of faith in God
as creator in order to strengthen their faith today. If God is creator of all
that is, then one can expect God to do a new saving act for the people of God
today and demonstrate afresh divine power over the course of history.[1] If God is the origin of all
life, then one can speak meaningfully of the unity of nature and importantly
the unity of humanity. For this reason, Christians have had a mission to all
people. For this reason, Christians fought and argued against slavery. It was
because of the arguments against slavery that some preachers in the south
developed arguments in its favor.[2]
22 It is he who sits above the circle of
the earth,[suggesting
distance]
and its inhabitants are like
grasshoppers;
who stretches out the heavens like a
curtain,
and spreads them like a tent to live in;
23 who brings princes to naught,
and makes the rulers of the earth as
nothing.
24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely
sown,
scarcely has their stem taken root in
the earth,
when he blows upon them, and they
wither,
and the tempest carries them off like
stubble.
[The creator is also the Lord of history. The point
is that Babylon is not an enduring reality. In fact, Babylon, which looked so
powerful, would be gone in a generation. The contrast is between the enduring
nature of God and the transitory nature of political realities.]
25 To whom then will you compare me,
or who is my equal? says the Holy One.
[Theologically, this suggests the
infinity and incomparability of God who becomes the guarantee of the hope of
redemption of the exiles.[3]]
26 Lift up your eyes on high and see:
Who created these?
He who brings out their host and numbers
them,
calling them all by name;
[The host in the Old Testament
might be neutral designation of nature under the command of God. It could refer
to the Lord God of hosts. Yet, prophets could also condemn them for worshipping
astral deities, as in Jeremiah 19:13 and Zephaniah 1:5. Isaiah 24:21 says God
punished the heavenly host. In this case, the Lord names them, which indicates
that the Lord has power over them.]
because he is great in strength,
mighty in power,
not one is missing.
[This implies a caring attitude
toward the heavenly host that we do not usually find in the Bible.]
27 Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my right is disregarded by my God”?
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord
is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
[Here is the answer the doubt of the people,
who cannot see the hand of the Lord in the world of history or experience. Pannenberg will discuss the notion of God as
everlasting under the theme of the infinity of God. The stress is on the
pre-temporality of God. We also find the thought that God is always the same.[4] The Lord is always active on
behalf of the believer, and they receive power for what they must do. Israel must face the future with confidence
in the promises of God. Barth will stress, in a discussion of respect for life,
that humanity has a will for life, and that God calls humanity to life, and
wills that humanity should not neglect this capacity, the power, strength, and
force that God has given humanity, but rather, affirm and accept it.[5]]
29 He gives power to the faint,
and strengthens the powerless.
30 Even youths will faint and be weary,
and the young will fall exhausted;
31 but those who wait [eagerly
for, not passive] for the Lord shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like
eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint.
[The answer, which exiled Israel ought to have known, is in
verses 28-31. God is tireless, never
faint or weak, never lacking in energy or vitality. The Lord is exactly what they need, for they
are weak, faint, and lacking in energy.
God can do for them what they cannot do for themselves. We have here a hyperbole for restoring
strength to the feeble when one greatly weakened runs, it is as if that person
sprouts wings.]
Introduction
In 1999, Kirk Johnson, a New York Times reporter, ran the nation's
toughest ultra-marathon, the Badwater. Badwater is the worst of the
ultra-marathons. It is run across Death Valley in -- get this -- July. The
footrace begins at Badwater, which at 282 feet below sea level is the lowest
and hottest spot in the Western Hemisphere. The race goes 135 miles from there
to the trailhead of Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the lower 48 states. The
trailhead is at 8,360 feet. Runners, who must have a support team accompanying
them, have to complete the race within 60 hours. They encounter temperatures of
120 degrees and higher, 40-mph headwinds and lightning storms.
Johnson was 41 years old and of average athletic ability when he
learned about the race from a woman who had done it. His decision to run it
himself came after his older brother, without warning or hint of trouble, and
without explanation, committed suicide. Struggling to comprehend his brother's
surrender of life, Johnson gradually determined to run the race.
That decision led to months of training, and during that period, many
of his coworkers at The New York Times questioned his plans. Johnson could give
no clear answer, but he acknowledged that something other than logic drove him,
something beyond himself.
The run proved to be every bit the grueling ordeal Johnson expected.
During the dark hours of the second night, he hallucinated from exhaustion.
Still, he finished. Forty-two runners started but nine dropped out, including
some younger than Johnson. He came in second to last, but, of course, speed was
never the issue.
Johnson ended with something far beyond an evening face, but Badwater
became the medium through which the inner struggle with his brother's suicide
resolved. He realized that for him, this race was about going on and never
giving up. Even at Death Valley and a race called Badwater, one needs to choose
life. His involvement in the race was not about getting closer to the brother
who had committed suicide, or to honor him, but to put distance between them.
Yes, life can be brutal, but as he put it, “I go on.”
Application
First, life can wear us down.
We will not get very far if we do
not just admit this. Life can be brutal. It takes courage to lead a human life.
We, of course, are not in the sandals of the exiles. However, we, too,
have a journey through life that can be exhausting and sapping, for there is no
shortage of things that wear us down.
We can come to the end of a day or week, and simply be weary.
The terror of the news can grip us. We confront Islamic terrorist
groups who seem to be competing with each other for doing the most horrifying
thing they can to shock the West. True, Christians did horrendous things during
the Crusades, but we forget that the Crusades were a response to Islamic
military advances into Europe and the oppression of Christians in the Middle
East and North Africa. Further, that was a thousand years ago. The religious
wars in Europe were 500 years ago. Just as radical changes have happened within
Christianity over those years, the world needs to start seeing such changes in
Islam.
We have problems at work, difficulties in our relationships, worries
about our children, unwelcome interruptions in our plans and unexpected health
difficulties.
Second, we need to learn to wait on the Lord.
But what does it mean to wait on the Lord?
It means spending some time with God. You may study and meditate upon
Scripture that then leads to developing your relationship with God.
You may be weary enough that you wrestle with the meaning of your life.
Wrestling with God’s Big Story in Scripture and how you fit into that story may
not provide easy answers right now. God has a reason for you to be here. At the
various stages of a human life, we wrestle with meaning and significance of our
lives in different ways. At various stages, we may not be the most energetic of
runners, but we go on.
If you are sick, you do not hesitate to go to the doctor. But if, after
examining you, the doctor says you have a terminal illness and have only a few
weeks to live, you can walk out of that office knowing that the ultimate answer
to your illness lies with God. That doesn't mean you are expecting a healing
miracle, but rather that because you wait on the Lord, no matter what happens,
your life is in his hands, and they are hands bearing great love.
Third, and still we rise.
they shall mount up with wings like
eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint.
(Isaiah 40:31)
“And still we rise” are the words of the African-American poet Maya
Angelou, offered at the Million Man March in 1995. Speaking to a huge crowd of
black men on the Mall in Washington, D.C., she reminded them of their difficult
and painful history, and then invited them to focus their lives on joy, courtesy,
gentleness and care.
She said,
The ancestors remind us, despite the history of pain,
We are a going-on people who will rise again.
Powerful words.
Hopeful words. Inspiring words. Words which culminate in Angelou’s closing
line, “And still we rise.”
And still we rise.
Although they are faint and weary, "those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength" (v.
31). The quote is great, but it is the source that is the most important part
of it.
Conclusion
February 12, 1909, was not an accidental birthday for this
organization. The date was picked because it was a centennial of its own — the
100th birthday of President Abraham Lincoln, who emancipated the slaves during
the Civil War. Just think about the progress made from 1809, when slavery was
legal … to 1909, when the NAACP was founded … to 2009, when we have witnessed
the presidential inauguration of Barack Obama.
And still we rise.
February 12, 1909, was not an accidental birthday for this
organization. The date was picked because it was a centennial of its own — the
100th birthday of President Abraham Lincoln, who emancipated the slaves during
the Civil War. Just think about the progress made from 1809, when slavery was
legal … to 1909, when the NAACP was founded … to 2009, when we have witnessed
the presidential inauguration of Barack Obama.
And still we rise.
James Weldon Johnson became field secretary of the NAACP in 1916, and
in 1921 he wrote the text to the hymn “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” which became
an anthem of the struggle for racial justice.
Lift every voice and sing till earth and heaven ring,
Ring with the harmonies of liberty.
Let our rejoicing rise high as the listening skies;
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
Once called “The Black National Anthem,” this song now appears in
hymnals throughout the Christian church. It goes on to say,
God of our weary years, God of our silent tears,
Thou who hast brought us thus far on the way;
Thou who hast by thy might led us into the light;
Keep us forever in the path, we pray.
These are not black words, nor are they white words. They are Christian
words — words of faith in a God who can guide us, protect us and lead us into
the bright light of freedom, equality and justice.
With the help of the Lord, still we rise.
No comments:
Post a Comment