Sermons from Mission Hills UCC San Diego, California Rev. Dr. David Bahr [email protected] January 9, 2021 “Waiting with God” Isaiah 43: 1-7 But now thus says the Lord, The One who created you, O Jacob, who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. 3 For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you. 4 Because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you, I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life. 5 Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you; 6 I will say to the north, “Give them up,” and to the south, “Do not withhold; bring my sons from far away and my daughters from the end of the earth-- 7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” Would you like to hear a baptism joke? A little five-year-old was being baptized. Midway through, he broke down in tears. His mother looked down and asked what was the matter. He cried, “The minister said I would be raised in a Christian home, but I want to live with you!” Maybe that’s kind of mean. Here’s something better: A little girl was standing on her tippy toes to see her baby sister get baptized. She watched intently as the minister sprinkled water onto the baby’s face three times. The girl, who dearly loved her new sister, was delighted and said, “Give her some more!” Give her some more. Did she understand the abundant possibilities in that water? Did she know that, as Isaiah said, God promised, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you.” Why? “You are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you.” Yeah, give her some more! We could all use some more, right?! Isaiah’s words are beautiful and hopeful. Without context, though, they’re just beautiful and hopeful words. Lovely, soothing. But for the people for whom this message was first meant, maybe, maybe not. Maybe those words felt empty. Instead of hopeful, they might have felt angry. So yeah, God, tell me, if we’re so precious in your sight, why were we captured and driven from our homeland in the first place? Why didn’t you stop our enemies from kidnapping us, destroying our homes, and our Temple… What good is your love and ‘honor’ when everything we loved was ripped away?” They might have felt about as comforted as when someone says to you, “Well, I guess it was his time.” Or, “She lived a full life.” Or, “At least he’s not suffering anymore.” Such words are not wrong. It’s hard to know what to say. And those words truly attempt to show sincere support and love. It’s just that, often times, those words don’t have a comforting effect, except for the one saying it. How would the exiles in Babylon have felt? For example, I’ll never forget what Kate Bowlin said. (Everything Happens for a Reason and Other Lies I've Been Told) She was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. A neighbor stopped by with a casserole. Her husband opened the door and as the neighbor offered her gift, she said, “Everything happens for a reason.” Her husband replied, “OK, what is it?” The neighbor sheepishly stepped back and left. One of my nephews shared a post one time that said: • Moses could have walked from Egypt to the Promised Land in less than 40 days but God made him wait for 40 years. • God could have given a child to Abraham and Sarah at any time, but waited until they were nearly 100 years old. • Jesus could have healed Lazarus before he died, but waited until after he was dead. According to this author, God made them, makes us, wait. Why? • To build you up • To strengthen your faith • To develop your trust • To make you appreciate it when what you’ve been waiting for happens. God bless him, my nephew loved it. I read it and it made me cringe. It sounded a little too much like “You’re suffering because God thinks it’ll be good for you.” How do you suppose poor Lazarus felt? “Gee, thanks…? I could have used you about 4 days ago.” How about when what you were waiting for doesn’t happen? Faith is a confusing dual at times. Because there are times we can appreciate Paul’s words in Romans chapter 5: “We boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us.” I love that scripture. It’s been true in my life. But, sometimes suffering doesn’t produce endurance, character or hope. Sometimes suffering kills. Sometimes suffering is simply the hatred and violence of racists, xenophobes and demagogues. Or the greed of those who take more than their fair share. Would you say to someone who is hungry, “Just think how much better your life will be now?” To be clear: God isn’t saying, “Let me make you suffer so you’ll grow from it. Build you up, strengthen your faith… You’ll be grateful later.” Although, maybe you will. After all, we believe in a God who can redeem anything. Pastor Juanita Rasmus was diagnosed with kidney cancer in 2009, but, she said, she wasn’t afraid. Instead she waited to see what lesson the disease would bring. During her battle, Juanita rediscovered her love and identity as an artist. So, in August 2010, she launched The Art Project Houston. She wanted to share with others how art became such a vital part of her healing journey. The Art Project is a therapeutic art program for the poorest and sometimes homeless citizens of Houston. Her hope and desire for the project is to help people express their creativity and thus empowering them through artistic endeavors. Maybe that kind of thing has happened for you too. It’s beautiful. The fault is in the idea that God causes suffering and “makes” people wait because it’s good for them. The promise of Isaiah, and throughout scripture, is that God waits with us. Once you get through a marathon of suffering, endurance, and character building, God is not waiting at the end to hand out a prize. God promises to be with us. “When you walk through fire. When you pass through the waters, I’ll be with you.” All the way from the water of our mother’s womb to the waters of baptism to all that threatens to pull us down in the undertow or push us back by the waves. All because, as Isaiah speaks for God, “You are precious in my sight, you are honored, and I love you.” Just to be clear, • God doesn’t “make us” alcoholics to prove we can get through it. God is with us when we hit bottom. And at the AA meeting. In our sponsor. At the Alanon meeting. • God doesn’t “give us” Covid to make us better persons. God is with us in our caregivers. God is with us in the science that develops medicines and vaccines. • God doesn’t “take away” our job so we could become more trusting in God. God is with us in the unemployment line. • God doesn’t cause our spouse to stop loving us, or us to fall out of love with them, so that we could love God more. God is with us in both marriage and in divorce. • God doesn’t cause someone’s life to end so we could better appreciate the value of life. God is with us at the bedside when our loved one takes their last breath. Even though, ironically, we can get through it and become stronger.
But not because God forced these things upon us. God doesn’t make us wait. God waits with us. Alongside us. And through us with others. Ah, that’s key, isn’t it. God works through us. And if we’re open and receptive, we do become more kind and compassionate people.
All of which is infinitely more possible when we are not afraid. When we know deep within that we are not alone. Thus, says the Lord, “Do not fear. I am with you.” That was the message to Jesus too. At his baptism, a voice from heaven proclaimed – “you are my child, my beloved, and with you, I am well pleased.” Today is the Baptism of Christ Sunday, one of my favorite annual traditions on the liturgical calendar. It is often the custom to remember our baptism, especially the vows made either by ourselves or by our parents, and recommit to them. And so today, we will. And, if you’ve never been baptized, you might begin to consider whether this is a path you would like to explore.
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