The
passage we just heard is from the book of Isaiah. While it is one book, it is
generally thought that it written in three different sections. First Isaiah
finishes at the end of chapter 39, and deals mainly with God's judgement of the
people of Israel, and warning the people of what is about to happen.
Second
Isaiah, which starts with chapter 40, is a hope filled section, a time of
coming back to Israel and to God. It speaks of a future for Israel that those
in exile would find difficult to imagine.
The
third section of Isaiah starts at chapter 56, at this point in time people were
again living in a restored Jerusalem and here there are reminders for the
people to be a community that is inclusive, just, caring for the socially
marginalised – that is the homeless and poor.
So
this reading today it's in this section where the people in exile are being
told that there is a future back home, that they can go back to Jerusalem and build a
nation built on God's call.
This
chapter is part of the so-called suffering servant readings from Isaiah, and as
such we often read it in the context of the servant being Jesus. There are
different opinions among scholars, it could be that the servant is in fact the
people of Israel. It earlier parts of the Old Testament Israel is called to be
different to the other nations, Israel has been blessed by God to be a blessing
(Exodus 12) we are also told that Israel has been chosen to be a priestly
nation (Deuteronomy 19). This kind of prophetic literature can easily have two
or more ways of being read. The servant called in fact be the nation of Israel,
and still point to Jesus.
God
continually calls the nation of Israel to account, for not living up to their
high calling as the people of God, a covenant nation. We too are called by God
to give an account of how we live out gods call in our lives.
The
word that is translated into English as justice, can also be translated as
judgement or right order. Often when we think of justice we think of retribution,
or revenge; the idea of getting even or giving back the harm that we believe
has been done to us.
But
that is not the image we see here in Isaiah. The message of Isaiah reminds the
people that all of the world, and all of the people in the world, are part of
God's good creation. The nation of Israel is to continue to be different, the
nation of Israel is to continue to be a beacon of light, a beacon of hope, a
place of justice and inclusion.
Israel
never managed to live up to its high calling, I can't imagine any nation ever
will, as I said this was spoken to the people of Israel and refers to the
nation of Israel as a servant of God; it also refers to Jesus in whose life we
see these values of justice and inclusion and compassion.
The
gods of empires in the days of Isaiah were aligned with the powerful and the
mighty [i].
The God of Israel was not a God for the powerful and mighty, but God of all
people and God for the outcast and the marginalised. I wonder how we would hear
these words of Isaiah if we were living in a homeless shelter;
if
we were struggling to feed our family;
if
we were living in an aboriginal homeland;
I
wonder how we would hear these words of Isaiah if we were a small Pacific
nation;
or
a person trafficked into slavery;
a
family fleeing from war.
I
wonder what these words would mean to us?
I
wonder what it means for us to read of the one who will not bruise the crushed
reed or blow out the dimly burning wick.
who
are the fragile, the desperate in our nation and the world?
do
we trample over them, or do we treat them gently?
One
of the articles I read this week is called ‘You don't want to be a prophet, but
be one anyway‘ [ii].
Prophets are people of vision, people who can imagine a different world to the one
we currently live in, who sees signs of the kingdom of God amidst everyday life.
This article commented that our society is capable of implementing almost
anything, but not visioning. There is a reason that totalitarian regimes are
scared of artists, musicians, playwrights, people who deal in imagination,
because imagination, visioning, is uncontrollable by state or royalty. ‘It is
the vocation of the prophet to keep alive the ministry of imagination, to keep
on conjuring and proposing futures alternative to the single one the king wants
to urge as the only thinkable one.’
The
reason you don't want to be a Prophet, is because it is an uncomfortable place
to be, you can get arrested, imprisoned, killed.
These
words of Isaiah were written about 2 1/2 thousand years ago to a community
coming out of exile, reminding them that God has called them to be different :
“
I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand
and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the
nations, to open the eyes that are
blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who
sit in darkness.” [Isaiah 42:6 – 7]
We
believe that God has also called us to live in righteousness,
that
God takes us by the hand and leads us,
we
are called to live in covenant relationship with God and all of God's creation,
to
be a light to the nations,
to
open the eyes that are blind,
and
offer freedom for those who live in darkness.
This
is the third Sunday in advent, a time where we usually think of joy, yet today
we hear of justice and transformation – and I wonder if transformation and justice
lived out might bring joy to ourselves, to the community around us, and to God.
As
we move towards the coming of the Christ
child, to celebrate yet again the birth of God made flesh, are we prepared to
walk with God into the dark places of our world who need the light, the hope,
and the joy that comes when we live as God's transformed people, when we live
out the justice of God, Justice that is inclusive and compassionate and all-encompassing.
other
resources:
working preacher webpage and podcast
Spill
the Beans
