“How Long . . .” (Isaiah 64:1-9)

 

There is a problem with pointing our finger at others . . . there are three fingers pointing back at us.  Such is the issue in our scripture reading this morning.  The people of God are pointing their fingers at God and asking, “How long are we supposed to wait for God to show God’s face around here again?”  You see the issue is that after the Babylonian king issued a decree ending the Babylonian Exile, there were a number of exiles who returned to Judah and Jerusalem to rebuild the crumbled kingdom.  Confronted with the difficulties of the return and the immense work necessary to rebuild, these exiles experience a noticeable shift from hopefulness to hopelessness.

What we are hearing in our reading this morning is a proclamation of hope tinged with a large dose of doubt and lament.  The people feel abandoned by God . . . that God has not shown God’s face as they struggle with the difficulties of rebuilding.  The prophet begins with God’s great deeds for the people, then moves into the question of where is God, before finishing up with a subdued acknowledgement of hope.  It seems that towards the end of his speech, Isaiah realizes that as the people are pointing their fingers in God’s direction that they are pointing three fingers at themselves.  Their questioning of God’s presence in their situation and lives comes glaring back at them as the question of where they are in the presence of God.  As the people are wondering when God is going to show up, God is wondering when the people are going to show up.

I don’t imagine it would take too much to add our own voices to the cries and laments of the people Isaiah is representing.  Life and the world around us are pretty much a mess.  This historical pandemic the world has been struggling with for nearly a year has made a disaster of the way that we once lived on a daily basis.  We have become stressed and anxious as we battle this COVID-19 virus . . . we have become separated and lonely . . . and the world we have always known seems to no longer exist.  It has changed the way that we live and the way that we see the world . . . and, it has not always been for the best as there is divisiveness that separates us from one another over the whole thing.  During a pandemic we struggle to find God’s presence in the midst of it all . . . we wonder when God is going to show God’s face.

Throw into that mix our nation . . . well, the whole world . . . and the politics that abound.  These have been some difficult times as we see a nation becoming more divided and divisive as we forget our “one nation under God” being replaced by partisan loyalties only looking out for the groups we belong to.  As the year 2020, an election year, has demonstrated we are living in a mess . . . and we are frustrated . . . we are angry . . . and, we are scared.  Through the turmoil we long for God and wonder when God is going to show God’s face.

We are living in messy times . . . more than one person has proclaimed that the end is near and that everything that is happening is pointing towards that end.  Maybe, maybe not . . . whatever the case, we can all agree that the world we live in, how it touches our lives, and how we respond is one great big mess.  So, why wouldn’t we long for God’s presence is such times?  Long to see the face of God?  Like those before us we look to the heavens and point our fingers in God’s direction wanting to know, “How long?”

Like those in our reading, we want God to come down here and clean up this mess.  That is what the prophet longs and asks for as he begins his words . . . God to come down and clean up the mess.  Yet, by the end, as the prophet realizes the implications of challenging God by pointing at God, the prophet begins to see the illogicalness of the whole thing.  The problem is not God, it is the people.

God is present.  In fact, God has always been present.  It is the people who have not been present to God . . . they have turned their eyes and ears away from God’s presence in the world.  God has always been with them though not in the way that they are demanding.  Instead of a vengeful interventionist, God is present like a parent or as the prophet says in verse nine . . . a potter.  Instead of a vengeful interventionist who smites the problems, God is a like a potter who molds and shapes the people through their experiences in life.  The prophet proclaims: “We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.”

Though the prophet does not fully embrace the realization of God’s presence already among the people, he does know that it is true.  Isaiah asks for God’s patience as he and the people struggle to fully embrace God’s presence.  “Do not be angry beyond measure, Lord; do not remember our sins forever.  Oh, look on us, we pray, for we are all your people.”  Luckily for Isaiah and the people . . . luckily for us . . . God is a patient and gracious God.

It seems that every year we begin the season of Advent pointing our fingers heavenward shouting the question of “how long do we have to wait for God to show God’s face” in the world we are living in.  Every Advent we seem to be pining for . . . longing for . . . God to show God’s face.  We want God to intervene into our world and lives to clean up all the messes we are dealing with.  Thus, we point our finger, only to realize that there are three more pointing back at us.  Then we realize that the problem is not God, the problem is us.

We are the ones who are separated from God.  We are the ones who need to open our eyes to see God’s presence . . . open our ears to hear God’s voice . . . and, open our hearts to embrace the intimate reality of God’s presence within us and around us.  God is here . . . are we?

Advent has always been a journey based upon the Christmas story of Jesus’ birth.  Throughout the story the people are journeying to Bethlehem and the infant Jesus . . . the shepherds, the wise guys, and all the other characters in the story. They are journeying towards God and that intimate relationship with God.  Journeying to receive the gift.  They are the ones making the effort . . . God is there.  God is waiting.

So, it is for us.

We begin the Advent season feeling separated . . . feeling lonely . . . feeling abandoned by the messiness of the world we are living our lives.  Out of the sheer madness and craziness of the world around us we wonder . . . we express, where is God?  We long to see the face of God.  We long for God’s intervention.  And, yet, like Isaiah and the people of his time, we know . . . we know that God is with us . . . always with us.  It is us who need to make the journey to acknowledge God’s presence in the world around us and in our lives.

And so, we begin.  We begin realizing the problem is not God, the problem is us . . . we have separated ourselves from God.  We begin one step at a time knowing that we are being shaped and molded as we experience life around us.  One step at a time realizing that it is not the end destination, but the journey that reveals God’s presence . . . reveals our relationship with the Holy . . . and, allows us to be who God created us to be.  Advent is the journey home . . . it begins one steps at time.  The question of Advent becomes: God is with us . . . are we willing to be with God?

Welcome to the season of Advent . . . let us find out.  Amen.

“A Simple Act: Thanksgiving” (Luke 17:11-19)

Though it is a quote about prayer made in the 13^th century by a German Dominican priest, theologian, philosopher and mystic, I find it to one of the most powerful statements about the root of faith no matter what generation hears it.  Meister Eckhart said: “If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.”  It is true that gratitude is the center of our life of prayer, but more importantly it is the foundational way that we relate to God.

Gratitude . . . thanksgiving . . . or giving thanks is to acknowledge and show appreciation for a blessing, gift or act of kindness that has been received from another.  As the faithful . . . as a follower of Jesus . . . this points us towards God who is the “giver of all good things,” a phrase that comes from the Book of James, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17, NIV)  Our whole lives are to be based on the simple act of giving thanks to God who is present in all things in our lives . . . we are to live lives of gratitude.  Something we should be doing from the moment we recognize God’s presence in our lives.

In the story from our reading this morning.  Jesus is on the road to Jerusalem on the border between Samaria and Galilee.  As he is approaching a village, he encounters ten men with leprosy.  As they are mandated to do, the ten stand at a distance from Jesus, crying out to him to have pity on them.  Seeing them he blesses them and tells them to go and show themselves to the priests.  Jesus has healed them of their leprosy.  No longer would they be outsiders.  No longer would they be ostracized from the community.  They have been given a place at the table.  They are included.

Now remember that there were ten.  In the story only one returns . . . in fact, he returns before the group even gets to the priests.  He returns, falls at the feet of Jesus, and gives thanks.  It is at this point that we learn that he is a Samaritan . . . a foreigner.  Even Jesus acknowledges this about the man.  Jesus affirms the man and his faith for his simple act of giving thanks.

In saying thank you, the one acknowledges God’s presence . . . acknowledges the blessing that has been received . . . gives praise to God.  Missing from the story at this point are the other nine but let us not go ballistic on them.  Though Jesus sees that they did not return to give thanks, they have done nothing wrong.  They have done exactly what they had been told and expected to do . . . they went to the priests to be confirmed in their healing.  Jesus does not condemn the nine, he only notes that only one . . . a foreigner—a Samaritan . . . returned to say, “thank you”.  He also acknowledges the Samaritan’s gratitude as the key to his healing . . . as the foundation of his faith.

Now we can look at the undercurrents of this story . . . the fact that Jesus welcomes those who are on the outside looking in . . . encountering the unwelcomed and welcoming them into the family.  We could look at the fact that of the ten only the one who was not of the same people . . . a Gentile, a foreigner, a dreaded Samaritan . . . is the only one who pauses to offer thanks for the blessing he has received.  We could note that Jesus makes a hero out of this despised person, more or less an untouchable political and religious enemy.  We could look at the irony of the whole story, but the point here is not any of that . . . the point is that the man recognized God’s presence in his life, recognized God’s role in his healing, and understood that he needed to say “thank you”.  He needed to acknowledge God’s presence in it.  Because he did it made him well.

Now “well” in this situation is not talking about his physical body.  Jesus had already taken care of that earlier.  No, what Jesus is referring to here is the man’s spiritual body.  Here Jesus affirms that the man’s gratitude and thanksgiving has made him “whole”.  He has entered into the realm of “wholeness” or “holiness” . . . his mind, body, and spirit are aligned and in relationship with God.  He has discovered “peace” . . . Shalom.

We begin to enter into this “wholeness” or “holiness” when we start to live our lives in such a way that it is based upon giving “thanks” . . . giving thanks for the blessing that God’s presence is in every aspect of our lives . . . good and bad.  God is there.  Acknowledging it is the key.  Acknowledging it in the words that we speak and the actions that we take.  It is embracing our relationship of love with God and others . . . all that they bring to the table of our lives . . . and, saying, “Thank you!”

Saying “thank you” is such a simple act.  We can all do it.  We can all say “thank you” to God . . . we can say “thank you” to others.  It is as simple as that.  As Meister Eckhart says, “. . . it will be enough.”  Enough to acknowledge our gratitude for our relationships with God and with others.

We are entering into the season we have set aside as a nation to “give thanks”.  This is a good and worthy holiday . . . to pause and give thanks.  It is also a good reminder of what we should be doing all the time . . . giving thanks.  Each and every day . . . every moment . . . it an opportunity to give thanks because God is all around us like the air that we breathe.  It is not about the turkey, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, and all the mythological symbols . . . it is not about the eating.  No, it is about pausing and giving thanks . . . thanks that there is food to eat, people to break bread with, and a God who is present through it all.  Giving thanks is what the holiday is about.  It is a reminder of what we are to do each and every day . . . to say, “Thank you.”

Giving “thanks” this year might be a little more difficult . . . a little more cumbersome . . . as we deal with the restrictions placed upon us due to the pandemic that is still raging across the world.  It is not the same song and dance as it has been in the past.  There won’t be the big gatherings of family and friends.  There won’t be the big parades taking place.  And, yet, the opportunity is there.

We can still acknowledge God’s presence because God is here with us . . . always with us.  God never abandons us.  Therein lies the blessing . . . the gift.  We can still acknowledge the presence of others in our lives whether they are in the same room with us or in a virtual room found on the Internet.  We can say “thank you” for God, others, and our lives.  Not only on Thanksgiving Day, but each and every day.  We can show gratitude. In our gratitude we find “wholeness” and “holiness” . . . we discover the foundation of our intimacy with God and others . . . we discover our faith.  Our faith will make even the darkest hours, the most divisive moments, and craziest times bearable . . . bearable because we realize the blessing in not being alone.  God is with us.  We are with one another.

As we are reminded in our moment of pausing this coming week, we are blessed.  What simpler or better way is there to express our gratitude than by simply saying, “Thank you!”  It is not just a beginning . . . it is enough.  Amen.