Isaiah 49:1-7 (first published 16 January 2005)
Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.Martin Luther King, whose birthday we celebrate this week, was a civil rights leader and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, but what many people forget was that he was also a modern-day prophet. He spoke the words of God to a white America that was unwilling to give up its privilege and prejudice, and he spoke to a black America that needed to hear that God cared about their plight. In the last speech of his life, delivered in Memphis on April 3, 1968, he hinted at his self-awareness that he was a prophet of God. As a prophet, he realized that his words would outlive him, because they were filled with power from a divine source. Despite his very human desire to see the end result of all his efforts, he recognized that, like other prophets before him, he might not. Nevertheless, he was committed to doing God's will, no matter the cost. We know very little about the prophet who speaks in Isaiah 49, often referred to as Second Isaiah or Isaiah of the Exile. What we do know is that he was aware of God's call as a prophet, and he was committed to get God's message to his people, regardless of the consequences. Today's reading from Isaiah is the second of four Servant Songs in the latter part of Isaiah. Christians have traditionally seen Jesus as the fulfillment of these prophecies, while Jews have traditionally regarded the people of Israel as the servant of these songs. (The word "Israel" in verse 3 is almost certainly a gloss that was added to the Hebrew text to emphasize this interpretation. The Septuagint adds "Jacob" and "Israel" to 42:1, the beginning of the first Servant Song, for the same reason.) These re-readings of scripture are an age-old way of making prophecies relevant to the current age, but it is equally appropriate to consider the context of the original prophet, who spoke to his people during the Babylonian exile. This prophet was aware that God had chosen him to speak words of encouragement to his people, but he felt like a failure because he didn't see results. "I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity." Yet he trusted that God would recompense him for his faithfulness: "Surely my cause is with the Lord, and my reward with my God." As a result of his faithfulness, he received a new message, a message that built on his previous word of liberation for his people. "It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth." God's message of liberation from oppression was a message that resonated with the whole world, not just with his fellow Jews in exile. The prophet realized that God was concerned about the whole world, not just the chosen people. All true prophecy contains a message for the world, not just a select group. Martin Luther King spoke primarily to audiences of African Americans, but his words were meant for all Americans, indeed for the whole world. Freedom, justice, racial equality, peace, and an end to poverty are issues that apply to all people, in our day as much as in 1968 or in 550 B.C.E. God has called some today to be prophets of the divine word as well. Much of the world languishes under oppression, sometimes by dictators and military regimes of their own people and sometimes by world empires and systems of global socioeconomic repression. Who are God's prophets today? They are ordinary people--maybe clergy, maybe laity--who see injustice in the world and believe that God wants them to speak out about it. They are people who are appalled at the poverty that haunts the globe, despite the vast riches of many. They are people who are tired of those who claim God's name but ignore Jesus' statement that God so loved the world. They are people like you and me.
When I was in third grade a new girl joined the class. She was
taller and lankier than any of the other kids, so she stood out right
away. Then she did something that really distinguished her from the
rest of the class. When it came time at the beginning of the school day
to stand and say the Pledge of Allegiance, she remained sitting in her
chair. The kids all wondered why she did it. Didn't she know the
Pledge? Didn't she know she was supposed to stand with the rest of us?
It turns out that she was a Jehovah's Witness, a group that believes
that pledging allegiance to a flag is a form of idolatry, false worship,
and God alone is worthy of worship. I've often thought over the years
about the courage it took for that girl to sit while everyone else
stood, and I've imagined that she must have been at least a little bit
scared. But as I've considered those days, I've become more and more
convinced that Jehovah's Witnesses have something to teach other people
of faith about the boundaries between church and state. Many
conservatives today say that the separation between church and state is
a figment of the liberal imagination that has no support in the U.S.
Constitution. I reject that argument, because I believe with Thomas
Jefferson (who after all did know a bit about the intentions of those
who wrote the Constitution) that the Constitution erects a wall of
separation between church and state for the benefit of both. But even
if the U.S. Constitution didn't support such a separation, I would
believe it on purely religious grounds. The separation of church and
state is an application of the more important underlying principle of
religious liberty. Religious liberty, in turn, is based on the notion
that people have the right and the responsibility to worship properly.
Among other things, that means that we should not worship people,
objects, or institutions that are unworthy of our veneration. The
psalmist said, "Happy are those who make the Lord their trust, who do
not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after false gods." One of
the most prevalent false gods of the age is the nation-state, and its
chief symbol is the flag. While there's nothing wrong with flying a
flag (I do it sometimes) or wearing a flag lapel pin, there is something
insidious about insisting that only those who do so are truly patriotic,
or worse, that only those whose political beliefs coincide with one's
own can properly claim to be good citizens. When Samuel Johnson said
that patriotism was the last refuge of scoundrels, he understood that
too often people claim to be patriots in order to excuse their sloppy
thinking, selfishness, or reprehensible choices. From a Christian
perspective, it is clearly idolatry to value political allegiance above
the bonds of faith. Some churches have members who are predominantly
conservative on most political issues, and other churches have members
who are mostly liberal, while still other churches are mixed. Yet they
are all churches, proclaiming one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. If
politics divides one from another in a way that prevents fellowship,
cooperation on common causes, and mutual respect, then the flag has
become an idol. The shooting in Phoenix last week and its aftermath
this week have highlighted some of the best instincts of U.S. citizens
as a people. Unfortunately, some have chosen to use the tragedy to
continue the cry of separation, to demonize their opponents or to
question their patriotism, which is essentially the same thing. As we
enter a new year, let us do our best to build bridges and not burn them
down, to reach for our adversary's hand rather than slap it away, and to
listen to those with different opinions instead of shouting them down at
every opportunity.
1 Corinthians 1:1-9 (first published 16 January 2005)
In his Second Inaugural Address, Abraham Lincoln spoke of the piety of
people on both sides of that great American conflict, the Civil War. He
acknowledged that people on both sides prayed to the same God, asking the
same God for victory, convinced that their cause was just and that God was
on their side. Although Lincoln himself was convinced of the justice of
his own position, he was humble enough to recognize that he did not have a
corner on the truth, much less a corner on God's wisdom and blessing. It
was inconceivable to Lincoln that people could "wring their bread from the
sweat of other men's faces" and feel good about it, but he knew that many
did exactly that and still had no compunction about praying for God's
blessing. They shared the same God, but their conceptions of God were
radically different. Lincoln's insight was that, though he believed his
concept of God to be closer to correct, he realized that his own idea of
God was deficient as well. Paul opens his letter to the Corinthian church
with a greeting "to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be
saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ, both their (Lord) and ours." Paul wrote to people who
shared a common faith in Jesus Christ, but what exactly did that faith
entail? As the letter of 1 Corinthians shows, members of the same church
had fairly radical differences of opinion on issues. How much greater
were the differences between the beliefs of the Corinthians and those of
people in other churches? Christians today face the same predicament.
We worship the same God, and we claim Christ as our Lord, but our concept
of God and our understanding of Christ's lordship in our lives differs
greatly, depending on which Christian is asked about these things.
Progressive Christians represent different denominations--Catholic,
Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Anglican, Methodist, and more--and we
have different beliefs on many issues among ourselves, but we share a set
of beliefs, or perhaps more accurately a set of values--that unites us and
distinguishes us from many of our more conservative (socially and
politically) brothers and sisters. Like Lincoln, progressive Christians
wonder how people who wring their bread from the sweat of other people's
faces can claim to be followers of a God who cares for the poor.
Wringing one's bread from the sweat of other people's faces not only
describes the type of chattel slavery practiced in the American South 150
years ago, it also describes global capitalism run amok in the early
twenty-first century. Huge corporations seek to maximize profits by
exploiting cheap labor and lax environmental standards in developing
countries. Is not making a huge profit from the barely remunerated labors
of others almost identical to the situation Lincoln described? Yet both
progressive Christians and Christians who support unbridled capitalism
claim to worship the same God. What's more, at least in the U.S. (and in
Australia and a few other places as well), those Christians with a warped
view of God (from our perspective) are the majority, albeit a fairly small
majority. In light of these facts, to borrow a phrase from one of the
spiritual gurus of the religious right, how shall we then live? First, we
should not give up our strongly held beliefs just because they may be
unpopular in certain powerful circles. Right and wrong have never been
determined by majority vote. Second, at the same time we must be ready to
modify our beliefs and our understanding of God as we continue seeking God
on our Christian journey. It is arrogant to assume that we have anything
close to a full or correct understanding of God. Third, we should respect
those with whom we disagree. It is pointless, counterproductive, and just
plain wrong to dismiss the sincerity of our opponents' faith in God,
regardless of their different understanding of God. One of the hallmarks
of fundamentalism is its intolerance of people with different beliefs.
Progressive Christians must avoid becoming fundamentalists of the left.
Paul knew when he wrote to the Corinthian church that he had opponents in
the church, and he attempted to use both rational and moral persuasion to
convince them of the correctness of his position. In the end, though,
regardless of whether he succeeded in persuading them, Paul acknowledged
that Jesus Christ was "both their Lord and ours." We must do the same.
John 1:29-42 (first published 16 January 2005)
The European space probe Huygens landed on Saturn's moon Titan on Friday and transmitted data back to earth for several hours before succumbing to the bitter cold (-180 degrees Celsius). Of all the data that was sent back, the most compelling for many people will be the digital images of the surface of Titan. The landscape reveals what looks like giant mudslides leading down to a seashore. Of course, liquid water at those temperatures is out of the question, so scientists have speculated that the liquid might be something akin to liquid "natural gas" (as it's called on earth). The images from Titan remind us of the truth of the adage, "A picture is worth a thousand words." After John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River, he urged his own disciples to follow Jesus, according to the Gospel of John. "The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, 'Behold the Lamb of God!'" (You just can't improve on that King James phrase!) When Jesus saw John's two disciples following him, he asked them what they were looking for. "Rabbi," they said, "Where are you staying?" "Come and see," Jesus replied, and after they came and saw and spent time with Jesus, they never again left. These disciples of John became followers of Jesus, all because they came and saw who Jesus was and what he was doing. I was raised in a Baptist church, and the primary type of evangelism I was exposed to as a young man was what might be called verbal evangelism. We were taught what were supposed to be convincing ways to "present the gospel" to people, even total strangers, so that they would decide to become Christians (i.e., to accept our version of Christianity). Sometimes it worked, but most of the time it didn't. Although we were told that God is the one who has to convince people, and I believe that's true, I also believe that people are more likely to respond to lives that they can see rather that mere words, especially from a stranger. I also no longer believe that having someone accept my version of Christianity is what evangelism is all about. Evangelism means proclaiming the good news, by word and deed. Jesus carried out his ministry--healing, teaching, and showing compassion--and many were attracted by his witness and chose to follow him. The Gospel of John selects seven miracles of Jesus and present them as "signs," examples of the divine glory of God breaking forth in the person of Jesus. In addition to these signs, the gospel describes the glory of God breaking forth in a more subtle way through Jesus' teaching. Whether through word or deed, though, it is the glory of God through Jesus that convinces people to follow Jesus. When we invite people to come and see what Jesus is doing in our lives today, do they see the glory of God breaking forth? When they visit our churches, do they see God at work? When we minister in our communities and go on mission trips to distant places, do the people we minister to see God at work through us? It is a constant struggle for us as Christians to show others the God we worship and not who we are ourselves. People around the world are desperate to hear the word of God, and they're even more desperate to see the work of God. They don't need to see us, no matter how good and well-meaning we might be. They don't need to hear our words, regardless of how brilliant or witty we are. People want to know what God is doing in today's world, and it's our job to find out, get involved, and invite others to "come and see."