Sermon for October 12, 2008
Sermon
Faith Lutheran Church – October 12, 2008
22nd Sunday after Pentecost – Lectionary 28 – Year A
Primary Text: Isaiah 25:1-9
It seems like everyday when I read the news I find more and more things that are going wrong. This last week it was the economy that got most of my attention. With stocks falling due to concerns about housing loans, credit problems and sub-prime mortgages, it appears as if it is just going to continue to get worse and worse. There has been talk that the bailout package, as they call it, will solve everything, but there is no way to know if this is true. No matter what we hear there seems to be lingering doubts that it will be effective. We see how the past has gone and we see only the points of failure. It seems like every commentator has been asking whether we are at the beginning of another great depression. The graphics accompanying every business article, instead of showing how the market often turns around, show the largest single day drops in history.
In our text from Isaiah we hear Isaiah’s hymn of praise, how God is worthy to be praised, because God has done wonderful things, God has protected Israel from their enemies, strong peoples will glorify God, and ruthless nations will fear. This continues, as praise for what God has done is given and what God will do is then told. What makes this passage exceptionally powerful in Isaiah is what comes before it. In chapter 24, we hear of the coming scattering of all the inhabitants of the earth. All peoples will be scattered, the priest, the slave, the master, the maid, the mistress, the buyer, the seller, the lender, the borrower, the creditor, the debtor. “The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers; the heavens languish together with the earth. 5 The earth lies polluted under its inhabitants; for they have transgressed laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant. 6Therefore a curse devours the earth, and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt; therefore the inhabitants of the earth dwindled, and few people are left.”
This warning of coming destruction does in fact occur. The people of Israel are sent into exile in Babylon, they are ripped from their homeland and their livelihood, families are separated, and everything seems to be getting worse everyday. The Temple is destroyed. The Temple, the center of not just their spiritual life, but social, economic, and political life, is destroyed, each stone thrown down. They have hit rock bottom, to use the phrase. It is here, in their moment of insecurity and fear, that Isaiah sings praise.
Not just any praise, Isaiah sings of what God has done for Israel in their times of trouble in the past. God has been a “refuge to the poor”. God has been a “refuge to the needy in their distress”. God has been a “shelter from the rainstorm and a shade from heat”. God protected them from economic causes, from natural causes. And when the “blast of the ruthless was like a winter rainstorm, the noise of aliens like heat in a dry place.” God “subdued the heat with the shade of clouds; the song of the ruthless was stilled.”
Then the truly wonderful, Isaiah does not stop with what God has done, but tells of what God will do. Isaiah reminds the people that God keeps God’s promises, and then gives the people more promises. When they are at their lowest, the people of God are reminded of what God has done for them and told what God will do for them. They are told that God will give them a feast beyond comprehension, rich foods, well-aged wine, not just any rich food, or wine, but the best food and wine. God will destroy the shroud and sheet cast and spread over the peoples and nations. And then finally God will wipe the tears from the people. The tears that are upon all of the people, all of their pain, suffering, hunger, distress, illness, and even death will be wiped away and swallowed by God. And because of this God is worthy of praise, As Isaiah says, “Lo, this is our God, we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
That is God’s promise to the people of Israel, and that is God’s promise to us. When we are poor, when we are needy and in distress, when we need shelter from rain and heat, when we are hungry and thirsty, when we feel a shroud over us, when we feel disgraced, and fear death, when tears are streaming down our face. God will take us, hold us, wipe the tears from our face and remind us of what God has done for us. God has sent us Christ. Through Christ, God has conquered death. Through Christ, we are given grace. The shroud covering us is destroyed by Christ’s light. God promises us richness in Christ, gives us comfort when needy and in distress. In Christ’s arms, we find shelter. And we are fed to bursting in Christ’s supper, never to be hungry or thirsty again.
In light of economic uncertainty, we need to dwell not on that uncertainty, but on the certainty of what God has done for us and what God will do for us. For we have been told of God’s love, given God’s promise of eternal life, and invited to Christ’s table.
Let us pray… God of richness and strength, give us hope in this time of trouble, protect us and keep us in your arms. We quake in fear but know that your hands hold us steady. Continue to invite us to the feast of our Lord, knowing that it is through his death and resurrection that we have truly been made rich.
Faith Lutheran Church – October 12, 2008
22nd Sunday after Pentecost – Lectionary 28 – Year A
Primary Text: Isaiah 25:1-9
It seems like everyday when I read the news I find more and more things that are going wrong. This last week it was the economy that got most of my attention. With stocks falling due to concerns about housing loans, credit problems and sub-prime mortgages, it appears as if it is just going to continue to get worse and worse. There has been talk that the bailout package, as they call it, will solve everything, but there is no way to know if this is true. No matter what we hear there seems to be lingering doubts that it will be effective. We see how the past has gone and we see only the points of failure. It seems like every commentator has been asking whether we are at the beginning of another great depression. The graphics accompanying every business article, instead of showing how the market often turns around, show the largest single day drops in history.
In our text from Isaiah we hear Isaiah’s hymn of praise, how God is worthy to be praised, because God has done wonderful things, God has protected Israel from their enemies, strong peoples will glorify God, and ruthless nations will fear. This continues, as praise for what God has done is given and what God will do is then told. What makes this passage exceptionally powerful in Isaiah is what comes before it. In chapter 24, we hear of the coming scattering of all the inhabitants of the earth. All peoples will be scattered, the priest, the slave, the master, the maid, the mistress, the buyer, the seller, the lender, the borrower, the creditor, the debtor. “The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers; the heavens languish together with the earth. 5 The earth lies polluted under its inhabitants; for they have transgressed laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant. 6Therefore a curse devours the earth, and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt; therefore the inhabitants of the earth dwindled, and few people are left.”
This warning of coming destruction does in fact occur. The people of Israel are sent into exile in Babylon, they are ripped from their homeland and their livelihood, families are separated, and everything seems to be getting worse everyday. The Temple is destroyed. The Temple, the center of not just their spiritual life, but social, economic, and political life, is destroyed, each stone thrown down. They have hit rock bottom, to use the phrase. It is here, in their moment of insecurity and fear, that Isaiah sings praise.
Not just any praise, Isaiah sings of what God has done for Israel in their times of trouble in the past. God has been a “refuge to the poor”. God has been a “refuge to the needy in their distress”. God has been a “shelter from the rainstorm and a shade from heat”. God protected them from economic causes, from natural causes. And when the “blast of the ruthless was like a winter rainstorm, the noise of aliens like heat in a dry place.” God “subdued the heat with the shade of clouds; the song of the ruthless was stilled.”
Then the truly wonderful, Isaiah does not stop with what God has done, but tells of what God will do. Isaiah reminds the people that God keeps God’s promises, and then gives the people more promises. When they are at their lowest, the people of God are reminded of what God has done for them and told what God will do for them. They are told that God will give them a feast beyond comprehension, rich foods, well-aged wine, not just any rich food, or wine, but the best food and wine. God will destroy the shroud and sheet cast and spread over the peoples and nations. And then finally God will wipe the tears from the people. The tears that are upon all of the people, all of their pain, suffering, hunger, distress, illness, and even death will be wiped away and swallowed by God. And because of this God is worthy of praise, As Isaiah says, “Lo, this is our God, we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
That is God’s promise to the people of Israel, and that is God’s promise to us. When we are poor, when we are needy and in distress, when we need shelter from rain and heat, when we are hungry and thirsty, when we feel a shroud over us, when we feel disgraced, and fear death, when tears are streaming down our face. God will take us, hold us, wipe the tears from our face and remind us of what God has done for us. God has sent us Christ. Through Christ, God has conquered death. Through Christ, we are given grace. The shroud covering us is destroyed by Christ’s light. God promises us richness in Christ, gives us comfort when needy and in distress. In Christ’s arms, we find shelter. And we are fed to bursting in Christ’s supper, never to be hungry or thirsty again.
In light of economic uncertainty, we need to dwell not on that uncertainty, but on the certainty of what God has done for us and what God will do for us. For we have been told of God’s love, given God’s promise of eternal life, and invited to Christ’s table.
Let us pray… God of richness and strength, give us hope in this time of trouble, protect us and keep us in your arms. We quake in fear but know that your hands hold us steady. Continue to invite us to the feast of our Lord, knowing that it is through his death and resurrection that we have truly been made rich.
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