A Message For Bad Times

Dr. James Mayfield
Tarrytown United Methodist Church

February 5, 2006

Text: Isaiah 40 (selected verses)

Jerusalem was in ruins. The temple, the only holy place to worship, had been totally destroyed. The leaders had been forced to march hundreds of miles to live as exiles in Babylon . They had lost everything: their homes, whatever wealth they had, their way of earning an income, any sense of influence or power; friends and family members had been killed. These were people who were not merely going through some bad times; these were people who were experiencing the worst of times. They believed there was a God, but they also believed God had abandoned them.

In this situation, God said to Isaiah, “Comfort my people.” God was saying something more than “Be kind and sympathetic.” The mission Isaiah was given was to comfort God's people. The Hebrew word we translate as “comfort” probably came from two earlier Semitic words. One has to do with the concept of strength and the other with the concept of power. So to be comforted is to be given the strength to face what must be faced and the power to move on. God told Isaiah: “Comfort my people.”

And the mission that was given to Isaiah is one of the missions that comes to each of us from time to time. From time to time, we find ourselves among those who are going through the worst of times -- people we know and care about: sometimes family, sometimes friends, sometimes colleagues. And God's instruction to Isaiah is the urging we also feel deep within: “Comfort, comfort my people. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem . Assure them I have not abandoned them.”

“But just what shall I say?” Isaiah asked God and that is our question also. When we look at all of chapter 40, Isaiah's message simply and profoundly reminds the people about what he and they already know in the depths of their being. I am convinced that when anyone we care about is going through the worst of times, all we really have to offer is what we know in the depth of our being about dealing with such times which is probably what they also know in the depths of their being. The message of comfort Isaiah had to offer contained no easy, simplistic explanations. There were no simple instructions about how to live happily ever after, being healthy, wealthy and popular. His message was not a saccharine popsicle response that contained no lasting nourishment and melts, even evaporates, in the heat. He offered nourishment that has staying power. He reminded them about who God is; he reminds them they were not God and only creatures of dust and he urged them to have faith, to trust God.

And his message to them is his message to us. God is God, and beyond our understanding. And when we question the ways of God we are confronted with questions something like what God asked Job. “Let's see you make a butterfly wing.” God is God and we are not, and the way to live is trusting God.

Those whose lives have only experienced setbacks but never devastating defeat are likely to say with disappointment: “What an anti-climax.” Those who look to political manipulations and human engineering to solve all social wrongs, are likely to proclaim with disgust and frustration: “This is why religion is called the opiate of the people,” Those who still believe the fantasy that human brain power can solve all problems and eventually deliver the human race to some sort of utopia are likely to sneer: “This is just so much religious hog-wash.”

But for those who have truly suffered defeat, who know what it is to have their Jerusalem destroyed, who know what it is to go to some sort of Golgatha, for those whose mourning over what has been completely lost has driven them to the darkest regions of grief, for them mere talk about self-help strategies and promises about political solutions are like offering a drowning man a piece of paper with the sketch of a boat on it. It simply will not float for long and certainly not support the weight of anyone who is drowning in despair.

The message of comfort Isaiah was given to share is first of all a reality check. “All flesh is grass that withers and fades.” As much as we may wish otherwise, each of us will someday die. Only the Word of the Lord will stand forever. 1. Compared to God, even powerful nations are insignificant and eventually are no more. Rulers and human strategies barely take root before they wither and are blown away. 2.  Our accomplishments, our human schemes and organizations have their place, to be sure, but that place is at best only temporary.

“Have you not known?” Isaiah asks. “Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. Our hope in life and our hope in death is our hope in God. Those who place their trust their confidence, their hope in God the Creator of all that is shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” Or to say all this in other words, they shall be comforted; they shall discover they have the strength to face what must be faced and the power to move on.

This was Isaiah's way of saying what Paul proclaimed in Romans 8. There is nothing, nothing in life and nothing in death that can separate us from the love of God.

We who have gathered at this table for this special communion feast have come in thanksgiving to celebrate that crucifixion is not the last word in life. Even after what is good and true and just, has been crucified, even then, God is not defeated and it is only a matter of time (a matter of God's time), until the mystery and miracle of Easter happens, and there is a resurrection --not merely the resuscitation of what was dead and buried. If it is truly is Easter and not some sort of charade, what is raised up is new life -- not the replaying of what was but new life that is a new beginning, a different beginning, a beginning consistent with God's will.

“Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” Or to say all this in other words, they shall be comforted; they shall discover they have the strength to face what must be faced and the power to move on.

God, as we receive this sacrament, renew our awareness of you and your grace, give us faith to trust you so that we may be comforted and able to offer your comfort to others. Amen.

Pastoral prayer:

God, when we realize that we all too often waste our days, like little children fussing over toys in a sandbox and seeing all that is wrong as “their fault not ours,” we are amazed and grateful for your merciful patience. How amazing is your steadfast love that refuses to give up on us and others, even when we have given up on ourselves or given up on others. Because of your tenacious love, there is hope. Thank you for the gift of hope -- hope for us and hope for this beautiful blue planet whirling through your marvel filled universe. As we come to receive this sacrament, make us aware of your love for us and for the whole world. Fill us with your grace and inspiration so that we will move on with our lives, living as your long for us to live. This we pray, in the name of the one who not only showed us who your are but also revealed who we are meant to be, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

1. Isaiah 40:8

2. Isaiah 40:24