Sermon Thanking God for the Nations Isaiah 42:5-8

 Sermon preached on July 4th, 2021 at Stockbridge Presbyterian Church 

As kids you all might have sung or sung to your kids “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands…” 

A song that is about creation and a God that loves and provides as God holds us close. 

There is something missing in the verses I ever used. It was all about the people that were around me, the ways in which I understood the world in neighbors and age groups. But if we proclaim “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands…” It means the WHOLE WORLD. All nations, colors, creeds, cultures, languages. 

Today we are looking at scripture in Isaiah. At that time the Israelites were living two realities. How to be a nation apart from all others as they followed God? 

And then How to allow God to be a God for all the nations.” 

We too have a calling to be both/and in life of faith. We are asking how to be separate from the culture, speak God’s truth into the world, and also allow space for God to be the sovereign ruler and judge. It is easy for us to think we have the standard of faith and life but God has created people in a variety of ways and their expression of faith is vital to their way of being. 

There are lots of pieces of scriptures that speak about the people of God, the nations, which in Hebrew meant Gentiles, those who were not part of the family line who were the people of God. But before Jesus said “Go out into all the nations” God was using the prophets to expand the notion that God isn’t just a God of one people but of all people, of all the earth. 

Isaiah uses creation language to remind us, as children of God, that God created all things and to be thankful for the variety of ways in which we are created.

Hear now Isaiah 42:5-8   New Revised Standard Version

5  Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people upon it  and spirit to those who walk in it:
6  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,
7  to open the eyes that are blind,  to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. 8 I am the Lord, that is my name;  my glory I give to no other,  nor my praise to idols.

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. 

Isaiah helps the people think about the relationship to others as one that is filled with positivity to be a light in the world. 

What does it mean to be a light to the nations?

When we have light, we shine through the gifts that we have and help others see the potential gifts they have as a positive impact on the community and world. Shining light pulls away the fear of the unknown. 

When I shine a light into a dark room, I’m illuminating the things already there so I can see what is already there. It is not a change to the physical space but a change on the outlook of the physical space. 

So if we are to be a light to the nations it means meeting people where they are with the unique creations that they are. Illuminating, not taking over, not changing for our sake but allowing for the nations to be uniquely them in the world. 

In the same token of a flashlight if the protective glass that allows the light to shine is dirty then the light has a hard time getting out. Or if I put something in front of the lens it changes the look. The same is for our interactions with others. If I try to be a light of God with my words but my actions speak of animosity, fear, or superiority than I’m not shining brightly and it’s giving a picture to others not of the God of scriptures and Jesus that we are called to worship, serve, and share but of our own way of creating how we see God and how exactly God is to be worshipped and served. 

“Are you reflecting the light and grace of God in your life?”

There is a moment in the movie Freedom Writers, where Miep Gies, the woman who hid Anne Frank for months in her attic, is addressing the students of Woodrow Wilson High. She rejects the idea that she was any kind of hero, saying, “I did what I had to do, because it was the right thing to do…We are all ordinary people… but even an ordinary [person], can in their own small way, turn on a small light in a dark room.” That resonates with the call of Isaiah 42. We are called to be a light to the nations. Just as Jesus is the light of the world, we are called to be the light of the world (Matthew 5:14-16).

Isaiah has a lot of thoughts about how God will address the nations as the later parts of Isaiah was written to a people coming out of yet another exile period where they were separated from the way in which they knew God and were trying to define themselves, yet again, as separate from those who worship other gods and ways of life. 

In Isaiah 52:25 it is written: 

But God will astonish many nations.

    Kings will be silenced because of God,

    because they will see what they haven’t seen before;

    what they haven’t heard before, they will ponder. 

This is a direct way of saying, God is different than anything else and someday it will all come together and either in a singular moment or as an a-ha moment there will be change. 

I think about Daniel and how his devotion to God changed the heart of the King. I think about how King Cyrus had his heart changed and set the people of Israel free to return home from exile. I think about Saul who felt strongly about anyone that was following this new Christian way of being until he became Paul.  I think about how there have been moments in history where people have been changed in mysterious ways because of the work of God and God alone in their lives (many times through the example of others). 

Richard Ward speaks about what Isaiah was doing in this passage.  Isaiah was given a calling to help the people understand the world in new terms.

: to restore a sense of a Center to a people demoralized by war, captivity, devastation, and exile and cut off from their sacred stories and traditions of faith. Their call to live as a family of faith within the family of nations was a distant echo. The covenant with Abram and Sarah seemed like a distant promise. 

Hope springs from a sense that a Center is present, but is hidden perhaps by difficult circumstances. For this prophet, the Center is a conviction about God’s character. (Richard F. Ward, fotw year a, vol 1 223)

Here we see God’s character as one that loves the nations and calls us as God’s people to love the nations to. It is not about separating out and pulling out who is the greatest among the nations but the reality is: GOD IS THE GREATEST. Full stop. God is the one that created us all, loves us all, calls us all by name, claims us, and desires a relationship with us. The people, which does not delineate anymore as to who is God’s people, who is in and who is out, who is more blessed and who is in despair but that God is in control. God is to be thanked and because of that we are to not only celebrate who we are but celebrate the beauty in who others are. 

We shall be astonished as we shine the light of God into the world that God is doing something beautiful in the places that we go, in the people that we meet. 

When I was in high school I had the opportunity to go on a mission trip to Fresno, California. Our group was meeting with the Fresno Interdenominational Refugee Ministries. This was a place where mostly southeast asian refugees resided. While we were there we got to see this mission live out there shining the light as they taught english, civics classes for citizenship, bible school, community meals, and so much more. There was advocacy for the people who didn’t know their rights against slumlords, there was help in providing land for cultivating and gleaning fruits and vegetables that were familiar to their eating habits. There was a sense of community in a new place that was celebrated as they learned about Jesus and the good news of the gospel while allowing them to continue to find ways for their culture to still live in them. 

The light of God shone into the nations as they found new homes away from devastation and destruction, from war and famine. There were people there to help them navigate the new world and share why they were doing this. They were the light of Christ shining the beauty of the people placed in a dark situation. 

Today is the 4th of July, a day that is celebrated as a nation of Independence from British rule. Songs of patriotism, displays of fireworks and flags are all great but what I think makes our nation so great is that it was and is an opportunity to shine a light, to be a beacon of light that there is possibility and freedom that there is a multitude of cultures and ways to celebrate. 

When I was in Fresno, the ladies shared with us food, dances, and songs from their culture as well as a praise song to God. I think about how wonderful it is to celebrate the nations coming together to celebrate our uniqueness as created and beloved children of God. I think about our duty as Christians to above all LOVE GOD  with all our hearts, soul, mind and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

In loving our neighbor we are shining the light of Christ and allowing the brightness of our own light to shine and the beauty of others to shine within them. 

Thank you God for the nations of this world. Thank you God for giving us words to remember we are the light of the world. 

As I close, I will finish the same way I started, with a children’s song. 

I want to share with you updated lyrics by a friend of mine to Jesus Loves the Little Children. He has several verses that are beautiful but I want to lift up just a few in regards to Thanking God for the Nations. 

First Verse (Race and Color)

“Jesus loves the little children, All the children of the world. Every color, every race, all are covered by God’s grace. Jesus loves the little children of the world."

Second Verse (Body Image)

“Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world. Every body shape and size, they are precious in God’s eyes. Jesus loves the little children of the world.”

Third Verse (Age)

“Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world. Young and old, at any age, Jesus wants us to engage. Jesus loves the little children of the world.”

Fourth Verse (Gender)

“Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world. Woman,  man, and girl and boy, Every Gender, All are joy. Jesus Loves the Little Children of the world.

Fifth Verse (Orientation)

“Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world. Every child gay or straight, Jesus triumphs over hate. Jesus loves the little children of the world.”

Sixth Verse (God’s Creation)

“Jesus loves all God’s Creation, every rock and hill and stream. Jesus tells us “plant a seed”, hungry people soon to feed. Jesus Loves all God’s Creation, yes indeed.”

Seventh Verse (Neighbors)

“Jesus loves the little children, All the children of the world. Stranger, friend, and neighbor too, God loves them as God loves you. Jesus loves the little children of the world.”

Amen. 

Sermon on Thanking God for Loving Us Through Our Mess 2 Samuel 11:1-15

Sermon Preached on July 25th, 2021 at Stockbridge Presbyterian Church

I once read the mark of a great friend is someone that will come over and sit on the kitchen floor with a cup of coffee. There is no pretension, no agenda, no need for you to worry about what they think of you. They are with you in the muck of things, that person will sit in the presence of the mess and just be there. 

Think about the time when you were feeling like everything was falling apart around you. 

What was happening?     Who was there?      How did it feel? How do you feel about it now? 

Scriptures don’t shy away from the mess that we humans get into. Somewhere in the mess of life, God still seems to “Work together all things for good.” and God loves us no matter how far we go. 

God had big plans for David since he was a boy. He was given the ability to speak up and use his strength to knock over Goliath. God chose this scrawny shepherd boy to be anointed as King, one after God’s own heart. 

David is attributed as the author of so many psalms because of his skill in poetry and music as a man who played the harp and lyre. 

Today’s story is one that is a mess. Up until chapter 11 David seemed to follow God’s heart and God’s will do the best of his ability. He took the Ark of the Covenant into battle, he resisted temptation to even kill his greatest enemy Saul because Saul was anointed by God. But then we reach today’s story. It is uncomfortable, it is messy, it is down right appalling the actions that David takes but it is important that the Word of God reaches through the mess. 

(Common English Bible- 2 Samuel 11:1-15)

11 In the spring, when kings  go off to war, David sent Joab, along with his servants and all the Israelites, and they destroyed the Ammonites, attacking the city of Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.

2 One evening, David got up from his couch and was pacing back and forth on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing; the woman was very beautiful.3 David sent someone and inquired about the woman. The report came back: “Isn’t this Eliam’s daughter Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” 4 So David sent messengers to take her. When she came to him, he had sex with her. (Now she had been purifying herself after her monthly period.) Then she returned home. 5 The woman conceived and sent word to David.

“I’m pregnant,” she said.

6 Then David sent a message to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent Uriah to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked about the welfare of Joab and the army and how the battle was going.8 Then David told Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.”

Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him.9 However, Uriah slept at the palace entrance with all his master’s servants. He didn’t go down to his own house. 10 David was told, “Uriah didn’t go down to his own house,” so David asked Uriah, “Haven’t you just returned from a journey? Why didn’t you go home?”

11 “The chest and Israel and Judah are all living in tents,” Uriah told David. “And my master Joab and my master’s troops are camping in the open field. How  could I go home and eat, drink, and have sex with my wife? I swear on your very life,  I will not do that!”

12 Then David told Uriah, “Stay here one more day. Tomorrow I’ll send you back.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day. The next day13 David called for him, and he ate and drank, and David got him drunk. In the evening Uriah went out to sleep in the same place, alongside his master’s servants, but he did not go down to his own home.

14 The next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah.15 He wrote in the letter, “Place Uriah at the front of the fiercest battle, and then pull back from him so that he will be struck down and die.” 

This too is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. 

Prayer--God as we have heard the words of your servant David who despite the mess he created may we hear what is is you are saying to us today about how you are with us in and through our mess in life. Amen. 

We are presented with a few characters that have lives that completely change in these moments in the story. 

David, an upstanding, great King did the right things but then stayed back from battle this one time and while at home he fell under temptation of lust. He then made several decisions that forced a mess upon his own life and in turn completely changed the life of Uriah and Bathsheba. 

Bathsheba doesn’t have much mention of her agency in the story, she was forced to the palace after being seen in the privacy of her own home bathing. She was forced by David and had no control over her situation. She became pregnant and had to live with what was to come next. Her mess was forced upon her, she probably felt helpless and hopeless through this story. Thankfully her story doesn’t end here. It doesn’t end in complete shame. 

Then Uriah, a man who was a warrior. Even under orders of the king He didn’t go to his wife because the law of God was to stay with his fellow soldiers who didn’t get a chance to be with their wives. Uriah was condemned to death on the battlefield simply because of the actions of another man in greater power. 

We are called to learn from not only the beautiful stories of scripture but the powerful ways in which sin drives our actions to not only hurt ourselves and relationship to God but our actions can hurt or destroy the lives of others. 

We may not have raped or murdered but we have certainly used others for our benefit at times in our lives. 

We may not have acted upon things but the lust in our heart and lives has caused strain on our relationship with God and others. 

We have all lived messy lives that are not perfect and have times where we are not proud. 

Here is the good news from this story. 

God works together all things for good for those who loves him… as Paul remarked. 

David had a prophet, mentor, friend in Nathan and if you keep reading Nathan rebukes the action of David by teaching in a parable. David opens his eyes to the mess he created and repents. 

David does not totally disregard Bathsheba, he takes her into the court and has other children with her and one of those children became the next king Solomon, the one who was wise and filled with heart. 

Author Susan McGeowan offers a study guide about Bathsheba, one that outlines the different interpretations of her character, but comes to the conclusion that “She must have been an amazing woman. Despite their inauspicious beginning, despite her being the focal point for a time in David’s life of his most horrible sin, she remained a powerful and favored influence over him through the remainder of his life - as evidence by their final recorded time together when she secures Solomon’s future as the next king of Israel.”

David takes a look at the mess of his life and tries to redeem himself through repentance  he wrote a Psalm that speaks to the depth of his repentant spirit in Psalm 51.

1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.

4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict  and justified when you judge.

5  Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

6  Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

7  Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

8  Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

11  Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you.

14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Savior, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.

15  Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise.

16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.

18 May it please you to prosper Zion, to build up the walls of Jerusalem.

19  Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous, in burnt offerings offered whole; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

David understood what he did not only to one but too many others from his position of power. 

Uriah doesn’t have much of a voice in this but he dies a hero's death and is blameless under God. 

God moved through the mess of each of their lives and loved them through it. God was persistent and patient. God was there allowing for each person to work through their mess and lean on the promises of God. 

There isn’t much redeemable qualities to a story of rape and murder but it isn’t the whole story and certainly isn’t the end of the story.

There are plenty of us who have grown up in the church that struggle with the notion that church is the place you go once you have figured out your mess. 

This is not true. 

Church is the place you go to help you through the mess of life. You are not perfect. I am not perfect. But here we are, coming together, doing the work, living out our messy lives. 

A question that came up in women’s bible study while reading the Book of Hosea was 

“Why do we have to hit rock bottom before we look up?” 

There are times in our lives we think we have it all together and many times we think we did it on our own. Or many times when the good happens it is certainly easy to thank God. 

But we are called to also thank God for loving us through our mess. 

That mess may be health problems, it may be addiction, it may be desire, it may be mental health. 

The good news is God is there, God is here, God is waiting for us to look up? To take a beat, to be thankful in the mess. 

To listen to people in our lives like Nathan who are rebuking our actions. 

To know that God does not desire our pain but guides us to find ways to glorify God through the pain that might be happening to us or around us. God does not desire for our harm but is holding us as harm is being done to us. 

God is a God who loves us no matter what. That is grace. Grace is hard to accept sometimes because in our mess the hardest person to forgive is many times ourselves. Grace is a gift and God has promised us that gift through the cross, through Jesus. 

Though there may be parts of our story and our lives that are in so much disarray that it feels irredeemable. God works with us and through others to guide us out of the mess and our story continues. You always have a chance to get out of the mess. To thank God for being there through that time or maybe even through the mess you are in right now.

God loves us no matter what we have done, what we are doing, and what we will do. It is our job to think on these scriptures and know that it is part of a larger story and good can come out of the horrible. Thank God for those times we see that good and thank God for the times good is happening that we can’t see. 

Thank you Lord for truly loving us through our mess; the mess we create, the mess that is around us, or the mess that is thrust upon us. 

Let us pray. 

Sing Thank You, Lord….

Sermon Thanking God in Exile 2 Corinthian 5:6-17

 THANKING GOD IN EXILE

As we continue our series on a summer of thankfulness I want to remind you last week we praised God for all things. We are reminded that God is in all things and promises to never leave or forsake us and there are times that life is beyond our understanding. We are faced with things that are painful; mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually. Today’s scripture is in part, Paul’s answer to the Corinthians about their feelings of exile. Paul had set up the church there. He loved them, he prayed for them and then in this second letter he wrote with heartbreak and defense of living into being followers of Christ because the people had turned on him and he had to defend himself and the faith. 

Much like the many forms of Christian expression the early church is full of separated communities and families. They are learning about being faithful to Christ and how to live into a new reality. 

For first century Christians they understood isolation, lack of information, death of loved ones they couldn’t connect with in time of need. I had the opportunity to stand in the places of the early Christians and saw how they created places of worship that allowed them to gather and praise God but as time went on they were put into isolation for safety. They needed assurance that Christ was there and that there was more beyond themselves as they knew there were groups elsewhere that believed but they weren’t sure how to live into their new reality. 

Paul and the apostles took every opportunity to share their faith and allow families to gather at home and share the story. Much like the Jewish people coming out of exile they are people called to remember in order to live into the day to day parts of life. 

COVID has created a type of exile that has never been seen before on a global scale. But what a wonder to be in a time where we can still be connected. I am able not only to write to people but create this video worship that is filled with voices, sounds, and visuals that connect us right now. 

Today’s scripture comes from 2 Corinthians 5:6-17 hear now God’s word through Paul to the people of Corinth. 

6 So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord— 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. 10 For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil.

11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade others; but we ourselves are well known to God, and I hope that we are also well known to your consciences. 12 We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast in outward appearance and not in the heart. 13 For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14 For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. 15 And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them.

16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view;[a] even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view,[b]we know him no longer in that way. 17 So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!

Paul mentions being “at home in the body” 

What does it mean to be at home in the body?

If you are anything like me, I like noise, presence of others, and definitely not self reflection and alone time. 

Through this time I have been far from isolated as I have two kids that I’m raising but I am fully aware of those that have been around themselves for far too long. The desire to be around others seems more and more imminent as time passes. 

Last Sunday I was able to see so many beautiful members of this community and be reached out to online from even more. The phrase that stuck with me from several voices was the phrase. 

WELCOME HOME

Home has been something that reminds us of the familiar. It reminds us that we are safe, we are loved, we can be vulnerable, we can be comfortable. Home is also where we need to keep up with a few things. We keep up with rest, we keep up with responsibilities to make it an environment that continues to foster those feelings of welcome of safety of love. 

What makes you feel at home? 

In your house, in your community, at church? 

For many I know walking into a sanctuary makes you feel at home in a way that is different than anywhere else when it comes to worship. When I walked into the sanctuary here I look at the pews, the choir loft the places where the people of God sit and feel at home in their community. 

I think about the exile you must have felt these past 15 months when you can’t go “home” in the ways that you desire. 

I sat in a pew, prayed, looked around, felt the great cloud of witnesses that have filled this building with love, support, gratitude, and grace. A place where the spirit of the living God rests at home in our hearts. The exile of being at home or other places where you desire to sit in the familiar. To feel the warmth of the windows and the stained glass shining. 

We are called to thank God in the exile. So as we have gathered outdoors and felt the muggy warmth of a late Georgian spring and felt the presence of one another you are called into a new way of being. I felt the “at home” and out of exile feeling that many had and the sigh of relief to have the opportunity to begin gathering in person. It has been a hard exile for so many of us. But we have adapted.

Paul in these verses talks about our bodies and being at home in that body. I pray you have continued to feel at home with the body of Christ as we are spread out to our homes. I pray that as we begin to gather again we remember our body of Christ and the vulnerability of the things we cannot see or understand. That we respect and honor each other's bodies and willingness to be close. I pray that we be patient with one another and witness to these verses that remind us of the importance of how we honor one another as we all have the spirit of God and we are all children of God. 

In order to come out of exile it is easy to think of just returning to in person worship but it is more than that. It is about a commitment to Christ and to walk into faith into this new thing we are doing together not just as the body of Christ at Stockbridge but the body of Christ across the world as we reach others in new ways, as we care for one another in prayer and in physical need. As we learn about our friends and neighbors and see one another for the beauty of how they are created and living into their own walk of life. 

One pastor spoke of this scripture as Paul saying to the church: 

Convicted of this truth, we can no longer regard anyone “from a human point of view.” What is a human point of view? We see disabilities where God sees possibilities. We see differences as flaws; God sees our individuality as beauty.

We are called out of exile from not only isolation and pandemic but out of exile from our own habits and ways of this is how we have always done it. Friends, as we engage with the world around us we are encouraged to see the possibilities of this new day, of this new opportunity to gather and serve. 

Friends we look to this passage in 2 Corinthians as one that reminds us of our thankfulness of Christ with us through times of isolation and exile. Scripture is filled with stories of the people of God feeling aimless and wondering when things will come together as hoped. 

We look to how we can live into a new way of being the body of Christ and being a welcoming home of worship and service to this community. 

We look at how we can see with the eyes of Christ and the possibilities of loving those we know and understand and especially those we do not know or understand. 

I urge you this week to think about How you feel welcome and at home and how we can come together to be that for others as we pray for gathering in person again soon.