“Think Big—Real BIG” (Isaiah 49:1-7)

Sometimes we underestimate ourselves.

I jumped into sports during eighth grade.  My mother was encouraging me to get out of the house and “do something”.  She heard that there were sign-ups for the track team, and she encouraged me to go and sign up as the team manager . . . and so that is what I did.  I marched right up to the track coach taking names and told him I wanted to be the team manager.  He stared me in the eyes and said, “Surely you can do more than that.”  As I stood there floored at his response to my desire to be team manager there came a moment of truth. 

 

As uncomfortable as it was standing there, I bent down and put my name on the list to join the track team.  Under “events” I put down the mile—nothing else.  I figured that was the longest event and that no one in their right mind would sign up for it.  Turns out I was right because at that point the longest event they ran for eighth graders was the half-mile.  Begrudgingly I joined the track team and thus began my career in track and cross country for seven years until my junior year in college.

 

And guess what?  I did do well.  I won a lot of races over those years.  Our team won state my sophomore year in Nebraska.  I lettered at two different high schools and in college.  It turns out that my eighth-grade track coach knew more about me and my potential than I believed that I had.  I had underestimated myself.

 

Just as we underestimate ourselves, we sometimes underestimate God.

 

As we continue with the prophet Isaiah this morning, we remember that Israel has been conquered by the Babylonians.  They have been removed from their country . . . from their homes . . . and from everything that was familiar to them—including their relationship with God.  As they are exiled in Babylon, longing to return home . . . longing to be a nation again . . . longing to be God’s people once again—the prophet Isaiah shows up to bring God’s words of hope.

 

Remember last week that Isaiah’s message was broader than the people were expecting.  Not only was God going to send a savior to rescue them, but to rescue all of humanity . . . to rescue all of God’s kingdom through God’s creation.  This morning the prophet continues along those lines while explaining the task.  Yes, the savior is going to come and rescue the people, restore them to their homeland, restore the kingdom . . . but that is not all!  No, this is too small of a task for the savior and for those who follow this savior.  God tells them that they need to dream big . . . real BIG!

 

God tells them: “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept.  I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”

 

God believes in us and wants us to dream big.  God has big dreams . . . and so should we if we believe in God.  At least that was the message God was attempting to convey to Israel in their Babylonian captivity.  Yet it is hard to believe in oneself and one’s God when you have been completely reduced to nothing as Israel had been.  They had been defeated in battle . . . their communities and nation laid to waste.  Their temple was razed and torn down.  They had been removed from their homeland and homes.  Everything that they knew and understood was taken away.  They were a shell of their old self.  Reduced to nothing . . . nothing to believe in including their God who seems to have abandoned them.  It was hard to dream when one could barely believe.

 

They’d be happy if they could just get out of captivity and maybe go home.

 

God looks at the savior who would do exactly that . . . looks at the people who would be rescued and says, “Surely you can do more than that.”

 

I think that we can all identify with the people of Israel because we have all had those moments and times in our lives when we have felt that we have been beaten down, that no one believed in us, and we couldn’t believe in ourselves.  That there was no hope . . . that there was no God.  We have all had those experiences of darkness and depression . . . of hopelessness . . . of despair.  Moments when it took everything we have just to get out of bed and face another day.  It is hard to dream big when one can barely think straight.  When stuck in a hole.  In such times we become little, and God appears small and at times completely gone.

 

The prophet’s words ring . . . believe!

 

Believe in yourself . . . believe in God.  God believes in you and the great things you can achieve.  Don’t limit God and God won’t limit you.  Believe!

 

God does.

 

The chain of grace begins with us.  God love us . . . desires us . . . wants a relationship with us . . . and showers us with love and grace.  In return we must learn to love ourselves as God love us . . . to shower ourselves with love and grace.  To embrace who God created us to be and in whom God believes.  Out of that love of God and self, spins the love and the grace for others.  Jesus tells us that we are to “love others as we love ourselves.”  In such love and grace, we entertain the world and desire the best for it and all of its inhabitant.  In such a way the kingdom is realized . . . the kingdom is built.  It is a big task, but God believes in us, and we should believe in God.  God wants us to dream big and so we should.

 

Jesus shows us the way.  The way to love.  The way to live.  The way to relate.  The way to want the very best for ourselves and others.  In the words that he spoke, in the actions that he took . . . Jesus thought big.  So big that even now—today—we still have a difficult time embracing and believing in what he wanted.  What he wanted for all of us in God’s creation.  He wanted the kingdom.

 

We know that the journey of life is difficult . . . yet, God believes in us.  With God all things are possible—isn’t that what we say?  Then if God believes in us then let us believe in ourselves.  We are the children of God . . . we have been chosen.  Let us think big . . . really BIG.  It begins with believing . . . believing in God . . . believing in yourself.  You—who God has created.  You—who God loves.  You—who God has chosen.  God says to think Big—real BIG—and believe.  It makes all the difference.  With God all things are possible.  Amen.

 

“Infinity and Beyond” (Isaiah 42:1-9)

Many of us, if not most of us, probably do not know the story of Israel.  In its simplest form it is a story if deliverance, covenant, monarchy, exile, and return.

 As the story goes, God delivered the people from bondage in Egypt, made a covenant with them, brought them through the wilderness and delivered them into the land Canaan.  There they became a nation and built a temple to the Lord.  As a nation they saw great military victories and defeats under kings and generals.  They strayed from their covenant with God, but the prophets called them back.  Then, in the sixth century BCE, the unthinkable happened.

 

The Babylonians defeated Israel.  They ransacked and pillaged . . . they destroyed the temple, stole Israel’s treasure and livelihoods, put them into bondage, and then marched them back to the gates of Babylon in chains.  It was devastating and the victory was absolute.  It was complete devastation of the political, social, economic, and religious life that the Israelites had known for centuries.  It was all gone.

 

Fortunately for us, none of us have ever experienced such defeat in our lives . . . and in particular, we have never experienced anything like that on our own soil.  For us it is difficult to imagine how devastating it must have been for God’s chosen people to be handed over to enemies.  They were defeated . . . destroyed . . . humiliated as they were taken into bondage.  Then to top it all off . . . God did nothing to intervene.

 

As difficult as it is to imagine what the Israelites must have felt . . . try.  How could God abandon them?  Removed from all they knew and understood—the temple and the land—were they still God’s people?  Was God still God?  Like all good humans, they imagined the worse . . . God had withdrawn favor and allowed them to be punished for their sins and disobedience at the hands of the Babylonians.

 

Into this crisis of identity steps, the prophet Isaiah.  The prophet reminds the people who God is and how God works.  He draws them out of this moment of history towards the greater purposes of God.  One biblical commentator said it was like we are watching through a camera lens that is “zooming slowly out of a close-up shot to a wide-angle view, a cosmic view.”  In reminding the people of who God is, how God works, and what God is doing in sending a servant, the prophet expands the frame of reference.  They move from something “small” to something “big” . . . something cosmic and all encompassing.

 

God is not only the God of Israel but is the God of all creation.  God is not confined to a designated time or place, but dwells in a wide, open cosmic space that cannot be confined in the cramped space of exile.  God is not a God only for a designated people, but all people.  Though they are God’s people they are not the only people of God.

 

The one that God sends demonstrates the ways that God acts.  God sends a spirit-filled servant not a conqueror or tyrant.  This entity is a liberator who will bring justice, not domination.  This justice is for all . . .  everywhere.  And this is the expectation of those who follow this servant . . . that they live righteously as does the servant but that do not only do this for themselves but for all . . . for all the nations.  Through them this work shall bring blessing.

 

Isaiah presents to them a new view and understanding of God.  God is still God but so much more!  God is a God of all and because God is, the realm of God’s purpose and kingdom is larger than they ever imagined.  No longer is the possibility only what they see in front of themselves but stretches out beyond the horizon that seems to never end.  It is God declaring “new things” that “spring forth”.

 

Through servanthood there is hope . . . hope for today and tomorrow.

 

In Jesus this is manifest and proclaimed on this first Sunday of Epiphany.  This is the great “aha”.  Through Jesus, God again sends a servant who will bring justice, who God “anoints to bring good news to the poor . . . to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and declare the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19)

 

During Epiphany we recognize and receive Jesus, the servant of God for the whole world.  This is the one that the prophet Isaiah spoke of.  This is the one God sent.  Our God is a God that cannot be contained.  We are reminded once again that if God cannot be contained and reaches to infinity and beyond . . . well, then, neither should our faith.  We are called to see the world through the eyes of Jesus, and he sees everything.

 

Let us hear the words of the prophet once again:

 

“Here is my servant, whom I uphold,

    my chosen one in whom I delight;

I will put my Spirit on him,

    and he will bring justice to the nations.

This is what God the Lord says—

I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;

    I will take hold of your hand.

I will keep you and will make you

    to be a covenant for the people

    and a light for the Gentiles,

to open eyes that are blind,

    to free captives from prison

    and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.

“I am the Lord; that is my name!

    I will not yield my glory to another

    or my praise to idols.

See, the former things have taken place,

    and new things I declare;

before they spring into being

    I announce them to you.”

Amen!

 

“Collateral Damage” (Matthew 2:13-23)

“Collateral damage” is injury inflicted on something other than an intended target.  The term is typically used in war and military conflicts.  It refers to the civilian casualties of innocent people who get caught up in the crossfire of the conflict.  It has been said that this is the price of waging war . . . innocent lives ruined and killed.

One would not think that there would be “collateral damage” when it comes to the Christmas story.  Yet here we are on the eighth day of the church’s liturgical season of Christmas, and we are confronted with “collateral damage”.  This is not quite what one would expect about the Christmas story, but as we learned last week the Christmas story is more complicated and twisted than one would expect.  During the season of Christmas, you would think that the faithful would be reflecting upon the beauty and grandeur of it all.  After all, it is a beautiful story.  But then the writer of the Gospel of Matthew hits us with another twist in the story that complicates life for those involved and those who happened to be unaware of what is even going on.  The plot twists and turns away from the celebratory desires the faithful might have.

 

We learn of the “collateral damage”.

 

Nowhere else in the scriptures do we learn the details of this part of the Christmas story.  No, it is only found in Matthew’s gospel.  This morning the story picks up after the Magi have paid homage to the baby Jesus.  They have left to return to their own homelands and to get as far away from King Herod as possible.  Shortly after they have left Joseph is told by an angel to take his small family and hightail it to Egypt.  He is to do this because King Herod plans on killing the child.  Wasting no time Joseph, Mary, and Jesus immediately leave to take up residency in Egypt.

 

Of course, the writer tells us that this is done because it fulfills the prophecy: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, King Herod realizes that he has been tricked by the Magi . . . that they weren’t returning to share the location of the child.  Not knowing which child is the one the prophets spoke of Herod decided there is only one way to rid himself of this threat—kill them all.  Herod immediately issues a decree that all the male children two years and younger were to be killed.  Surely a clean sweep would produce the desired results.  Again, the writer tells us that this is as the prophets had said. 

 

Eventually Herod dies.  An angel again appears to Joseph and tells him it is safe to return home.  As they are journeying back to Israel, Joseph learns that Herod’s son, Archelaus, was now the new king.  Fearing him Joseph decides that it would be safer to take his family to Nazareth in Galilee and establish a home . . . of which the writer reminds us of is as the prophets spoke.  That the “chosen one” would be called a Nazarene.

 

Thus ends the Christmas story as the Gospel of Matthew shares it.  Its not quite the stuff of a Hallmark movie.  This is not what we really want to focus on as we celebrate the Christmas season . . . and yet, there it is in black and white.  There is no denying the mess and pain that take place.  The frustration of it all.  The “collateral damage”.

 

So many lives are touched and changed forever because of the jealousy and fear held by one person who believe he was losing everything—especially his power.  Herod sets off a series of events that touch the lives of many and changes them forever.

 

First, there is Joseph, Mary, and the child.  Instead of going home to be surrounded by family and friends . . . well, they become strangers in a strange land . . . people fleeing for refuge to live another day.  This must have been upsetting to them all.  Had to be frightening—it was scary.  Had to feel crazy.  But you do what you must do to keep your family safe, protected, and intact.  Egypt was the goal until that day it was safe to return.  These were the first victims of “collateral damage”.

 

Second, there were the innocent children . . . those boys who were two years old and under.  There were their mothers and fathers, the siblings, the communities . . . all who loved these children.  With Herod’s decree a generation of males was wiped out.  The pain of it all was unbearable.  There was nothing that would console the people of their loss.  As the prophet Jeremiah said:

 

“A voice is heard in Ramah,

    weeping and great mourning,

Rachel weeping for her children

    and refusing to be comforted,

    because they are no more.”

 

 

This too was “collateral damage”.

 

Then lastly, it is again the family of Jesus that is touched and uprooted once again.  They are called to leave the land of Egypt and return home.  But they cannot return home . . . it is not safe.  So once again they move to a place that is not familiar . . . not home . . . and take up residency.  They are called upon to start over one more time.  It is not the way they had imagined . . . not the way it should be, but the way that it was.  Again, it fulfills a prophecy.

 

There are lots of twists and turns to the Christmas story.  It is a darker story than we allow ourselves to observe and celebrate.  It is filled with pain and frustration . . . filled with broken dreams . . . broken hearts.  There does not seen to a whole lot of “good news” in this version of Christmas as served up by the writer of the Gospel of Matthew.  And yet, it is there for us in black and white . . . it has led us to where we are today . . . and, surprisingly, there is “good news”.

 

That “good news” is that despite it all . . . despite all the crud that happens . . . God is still there.  God is still there beside us no matter what is thrown our way.  And though it seems as if God is far off in those moments and times in life in which there seems to be no light . . . no hope . . . God is still with us.  Loving us.  Caring for us.

 

We all know that there is often more to a story than we are told or that we know.  We all know that we do not share all the gory details of our lives . . . especially when life is kicking us in the teeth and making it hard to even get out of bed in the morning.  We all know that all of us are good at putting our best sides out there for the public when inside . . . within our hearts . . . we are barely hanging on for dear life.  We all know the “collateral damage” that touches our lives.  None of us have been immune to “collateral damage” because we know that life happens . . . and life is not smooth sailing no matter how many times we have been sold that stuff.

 

Life is hard.  In the hardness of life, we have all wondered where God in all of this is.  Isn’t that what Joseph and Mary wondered as their lives were being turned upside down repeatedly?  Isn’t that what those parents, families, and communities were wondering when their sons were ripped from their arms and put to death?  Haven’t we all wondered?  And in the end that is probably more a question about ourselves than it is about God.

 

God is always with us . . . always.  We aren’t always with God.

 

The late Reverend William Sloane Coffin gave a eulogy for his son, Alex, who died tragically after a night on the town in which he accidentally drove his car off a darken road into the Boston Harbor.  As with any parent who lost a child to death there was the question of “why?”  Also, there were those who came with the “thoughts and prayers” . . . the pat answers when there really are no answers.  And there was the wonder of where God was in all of this.  Some told him that it was “God’s will”.

 

Reverend Coffin said that it wasn’t supposed to be that way.  No parent should outlive a child.  The future was lost.  The present seemed dark.  The grief unbearable.  He stated:

 

For some reason, nothing so infuriates me as the incapacity of seemingly intelligent people to get it through their heads that God doesn’t go around this world with his fingers on triggers, his fists around knives, his hands on steering wheels. God is dead set against all unnatural deaths. And Christ spent an inordinate amount of time delivering people from paralysis, insanity, leprosy, and muteness. Which is not to say that there are no nature-caused deaths — I can think of many right here in this parish in the five years I’ve been here — deaths that are untimely and slow and pain-ridden, which for that reason raise unanswerable questions . . . But violent deaths, such as the one Alex died — to understand those is a piece of cake. As his younger brother put it simply, standing at the head of the casket at the Boston funeral, “You blew it, buddy. You blew it.” The one thing that should never be said when someone dies is “It is the will of God.” Never do we know enough to say that. My own consolation lies in knowing that it was not the will of God that Alex die; that when the waves closed over the sinking car, God’s heart was the first of all our hearts to break.

 

We are the “collateral damage” that comes with living life.  Life is tough.  But we are not alone.  God is with us . . . each step of the way.  We are never alone.  God’s grace and love surround us.  It is what gets us through the night.  Amen.