Working with God for a new world

The people of Jerusalem had been in exile, when they returned to the devastated city, they set about cleaning up the rubble, and rebuilding. Imagine what is must have been like, you have seen images of war from the middle east, a few years ago it was eastern Europe, and before that Vietnam and Korea. We have seen devastation by earthquakes and cyclones, so imagining a ruined city is not all the difficult. But imagine this is your city, your street, your place of worship that has been destroyed. After years in exile you are excited about returning home, but what is it you return to? 

What do you build first?

The Temple. It isn’t as grand as Solomon’s Temple, and the rebuilding of other buildings is slow. Life is hard, food is not plentiful, the vegetable gardens were destroyed in the war, the vines, the fruit trees are gone. Life is hard.

Will things ever be the same?

Then Isaiah, the prophet, the man who speaks God’s word, says:

God is creating a new heaven and a new earth,
the past will not be remembered,
there will be rejoicing instead of distress;
every person will live a long and full life;
people will eat from the trees they plant;
people will live in the houses they build;
death and devastation will not be part of this new creation.
The new creation, the new thing God is creating will be so harmonious
that the lamb and the wolf will lay down together,
and neither will be in danger.

A beautiful image of the kingdom of God, the kingdom that God is creating. A word of hope for people who were struggling.

Sometimes life is a struggle.
It may be illness, grief or uncertainty about the future;
sometimes the struggle is about strained relationships, poor housing options or lack of work.

Life can be a struggle.

The message of Isaiah isn’t that everything will be perfect in an instant, but that God is creating a new heaven and a new earth.

God isn’t finished with us yet.

And God isn’t finished with the world yet.

As people who profess to follow the way of Jesus, what might this passage be saying to us today?

In a world in shock over the US election results
in a world where violence and war seem never-ending
in a world where poverty is real for too many people

What might this poem from Isaiah say to us?

God is creating something new
a world where everything is in harmony
where every creature is safe
where the environment is cherished
where people are treated with dignity
where life matters
      black lives and Asian lives and brown lives and white lives

God is creating something new, and as people of God we get to work alongside God. We are the people who see the promise of God at work.

We are called to live out God’s kingdom where we are.
To live as God’s people,
living in peace and justice,
living in harmony with all creation.
In our actions, our working, our speaking.

Sometimes that means we will be unpopular.

When the Uniting Church started up the Medically Supervised Injecting Centre in Kings Cross, there was vocal opposition from within the Uniting Church, from some other churches, and from many in the community. But the people who were given the task of getting it up and running persevered. Many lives have been saved, and many people have been referred to drug rehabilitation facilities.

Sometimes we can speak about our faith, but we need to always live our faith.

As we baptise Heath this morning, I wonder what kind of world he will grow up in. I wonder if he will glimpse the vision of the new heaven and new earth that God is creating.

I wonder in what way Heath will be working with God, and celebrating the work that God is doing
in his life,
in the lives of people around him and
in the world.

The Kingdom of God is a kingdom of peace and justice,
a kingdom where we know our brokenness,
where respect is offered to all people,
where God’s love is the standard we live.

We work with God in the coming kingdom.
A kingdom of peace and justice.
We live the kingdom;
we take risks;
we offer hope;
we trust in God.

It is time for us to listen for what God is saying to us today.