Isaiah 43:1-7
In 2002, the newly formed Department of
Homeland Security created a tool that they hoped would warn people of potential
terrorist threats. It was color coded
with 5 levels. At the top was red, which
meant there was a severe risk. At the
bottom was green which indicated a low risk.
I remember seeing these color coded messages mostly in airports,
occasionally on highway signs and really any form of public
transportation. In the 9 years it was in use, I don’t ever
remember seeing anything below orange, which means there was always a high risk. Every time I saw it, I felt as though I had
walked into some dystopian world. I knew
orange was bad, but that was all I knew.
One of the primary things this color
coded reminder of potential doom accomplished was making people more anxious
and afraid. It seemed I was not the only
one who was dubious of the system. It
was highly criticized until 2011, when they created a new system based on
bulletins. (I only know that because I
looked it up when thinking about this sermon. I didn’t even know the color
coded system was no longer in use.) One
of the criticisms was that the color coded warnings didn’t provide any helpful
information…it just put people on edge.
While we no longer have that color
coded system, that culture of fear is still present, perhaps even more so. There is good reason for this. We can find reasons to be afraid every time
we watch or read the news. Fear is
everywhere. While it seems more acute
now than it has at any other point in my lifetime, I know this culture of fear
is not a new thing. Even back when the
Book of Isaiah was written (about 2500 years ago), fear was a very real part of
life. The people of Israel lived in
constant fear. Our reading for today
comes after the Babylonian exile. The
entire Israelite community had been exiled in a foreign land for over 50 years.
The prophets had warned them that this would happen if they did not change
their ways. But they preferred to ignore
those warnings as they were not convenient for their lifestyle. But then the worst happened. Their homes and temple were destroyed. Their lives were uprooted. They were driven from their home and became
slaves for their enemy. When Isaiah spoke the words that we heard in the first
reading, that memory was fresh in their minds. They were still picking up the
pieces of their pillaged land. They knew fear, much better than most of us
do.
So I wonder how they heard these
words from Isaiah: “But now, thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have
called you by name and you are mine.”
Were those words a comfort or were they easily dismissed because they
were so hard to accept? Keep in mind
that this is Isaiah speaking. This was
the same prophet who had warned them all about the horrible things that were going
to happen….the horrible things that happened.
He had been with them through the difficult times. He had seen them turn away from God and had
experienced the exile with them. He was never one to sugar coat things. While they might not have always enjoyed what
he said, they knew that he could be trusted. Perhaps those words were a comfort.
In this text Isaiah is speaking for
God. In other parts of the Book of Isaiah, he relays what God has said, he even
talks to God. But here, he speaks for
God. There is an intimacy in this. It is as though God knew that they would need
to hear from him…they would need a new relationship with God if they were ever
going to find peace.
It is not just the words, “Do not
fear” that provided comfort, it was the motive behind those words. “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have
called you by name; you are mine.” This
was the assurance that grace had triumphed.
While there had been some troubling times and distance between God and
his people, grace and love had the final word.
God had the power to redeem them and he did. That is why there was no reason to fear. It was not because there was no longer a
threat. The people of Israel were still
very vulnerable to attack; but they knew that God had claimed them as his
own. He had renewed a promise that he
made so very long ago.
Some variation of the words, “Do not
fear” occur in the Bible hundreds of time, but God said something else in this
reading that was unique. He said,
“Because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you.” This is the only place in the Bible where God
directly says to his people, “I love you.”
There are other places where God indicates his love. But this is the place where he says, “I love
you.” And we all know how precious those
words are. It reminds me of those
stories where one person says “I love you” for the first time and the other
person responds, “And I love being with you.”
The words “I love you” are irreplaceable and these are the words that
God shared with his people then and now. That is why we read the Bible, so we
can hear these words whenever we want.
Hearing those words from God and
believing them is an important thing. This
is not some kind of hallmark emotion that God throws out to people to keep them
happy. If you read the chapter right
before this one, you will hear God refer to the people as deaf and blind. It’s pretty harsh. But in the end, God’s grace always overcomes
the judgment. That doesn’t mean we can skip judgement, but we can rest assured
that God’s judgment has a purpose and as long as we do all we can to love God
in return and love God’s people, God’s grace will triumph.
Our world is a complicated place
right now, but it’s nothing that God has not handled before. The important thing is that we, the children
of God, cannot let fear control us in our day to day lives. There is only one power that truly matters…God’s
power, the power to love a people who are hard to love. The power of an omnipotent God to tell his
undisciplined children that he loves them.
So instead of letting fear control us, perhaps we can channel the
emotion behind that fear into something sacred and holy. Let’s look at the worst case scenario…the
world will end tomorrow. If that is the
case, then we better get busy today. Today is the time to show our love for one
another. Tell people you love them. Tell people you don’t normally tell. Don’t stop there. Because even though God is all powerful, he
still likes to hear from us. Tell God in
prayer, in song, in art, in mumbling….whatever, that him that you love
him. Then listen and wait. I can guarantee that he is saying it to you
as well. “Because you are precious in my
sight, and honored, and I love you.”
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