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.
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