Recorded Sermon

Isaiah 49:1-7

49 Listen to me, O coastlands, pay attention, you peoples from far away! The LORD called me before I was born, while I was in my mother's womb he named me. 2 He made my mouth like a sharp sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me away. 3 And he said to me, "You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified." 4 But I said, "I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my cause is with the LORD, and my reward with my God." 5 And now the LORD says, who formed me in the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him, for I am honored in the sight of the LORD, and my God has become my strength-- 6 he says, "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." 7 Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nations, the slave of rulers, "Kings shall see and stand up, princes, and they shall prostrate themselves, because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you."

*****

According to the prophet, the Lord says to the servant: "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..."

It is too light a thing that God's servant raise up the tribes of Jacob, the people of Israel, God's chosen people, the people with whom God entered into covenant? It is too light a thing that God's servant restores the survivors of the exile? It is too light a thing that God's servant gathers up the Israelites who have been exiled from their land and their homes and restore them to community? It is too light a thing?

These are good, even wonderful, things for the servant of God to do: Raising up the tribes of Jacob, gathering in the people of Israel from exile. These are important things for God to do through the servant. Things we expect God to make happen because God has made a covenant with the people of Israel. You see, Jerusalem has been overtaken, the Temple destroyed. The people of God have been scattered. They live in captivity in Babylon and are finally free to return home. God promised to be the God of the people Israel and so we would hope that God would raise up God's people and gather them back from fear and isolation of exile, gather them back into their homes, back into their community. We trust God would do this because God is faithful to God's promises. Of course God will raise up the tribes of Jacob.

And yet the Lord says, "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." The Lord says this mission is too light. And so the Lord goes on, "I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth."

Through the servant the Lord has restored the people Israel. Now, no longer is the Lord concerned only with the Israel. Now God is sending the servant to reach out to the end of the earth. To bring salvation to the end of the earth. God doesn't stop with God's chosen people. God pushes on to redeem all the nations. All the nations. That means the Babylonian captors, the Gentiles, the lepers, the blind, the unbelievers…the end of the earth. Otherwise it would be too light a thing.

I don't imagine that goes over well. It doesn't, apparently. The servant says woefully, "I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity." The servant restores Israel—the servant has carried out the mission he was sent to do and now the Lord says it is too light a thing.

I've had that kind of experience, haven't you? --when I did all I was asked and then the end point changes. I remember doing chores as a child. We did them as a family on Saturday mornings. We'd clean the kitchen and then mom would say, "great! now that we've done this we can move on to the bathroom." My sister and I would groan, "Haven't we done enough? We did what you asked." Mom's vision had gotten bigger. The end point changed. It was too light a thing only to clean the kitchen.

The Lord says to the servant, "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."

The servant's mission expands from the people Israel to the end of the earth. That's a bit more daunting than cleaning the bathroom!

****

A prophet in our own time, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity."

Our individualistic concerns are all too real, aren't they? Our lives are consumed by our own concerns. Our jobs, our families, our kids, our mortgage payments, our grades, our church budget. We slog through trying to earn that raise, trying to be all things for our families and kids, trying to buy a bigger, nicer house, trying to make straight As, trying to balance our church budget.

Dr. King reminds us that by focusing on these individual concerns we can become consumed by them. We can become focused on them as our end goal. And then we brush up against God's command to bring salvation to the end of the earth, to be concerned about all of humanity. We are quick to complain, like the servant, "has all our labor been in vain?" All this I'm trying to do—to work hard to contribute to my workplace and bring in money to feed my family, to be a good parent, daughter, son, mother, father, friend, to care for my house, to pay attention in school, to be a faithful church member—do all these things have been done in vain?

The Lord responds, "It is too light a thing." I don't think this is God saying that our labor has no value. God values Israel—they are God's chosen. God values their ability to live in community, to be restored as a people. In the same way, I think God recognizes that all of our individualistic concerns have merit. But, God also reminds us, as does Dr. King, that these concerns are too light a thing when we lose perspective on the broader concerns of all humanity.

I think it truly is a loss of perspective. Because, really, we're concerned with our jobs because we know we have God-given gifts to use in the world. Really, we're concerned with our families because we are made to be in relationship with one another and we honor that love is one of the most basic human needs. Really, we're concerned with our kids because we want them to grow into healthy, happy, and confident adults. Really, we're concerned with our mortgage payments because we know that to grow and thrive we all need a warm, safe place to call home. Really, we're concerned with our grades because we know what a gift it is to receive an education and we want to expand ourselves through it. Really, we're concerned with our church budget because we believe that the church supports God's purpose in the world.

And really, when it comes down to it, we want all of these things for all people. We want everyone to experience the joy of vocation, regardless of their skin color or education level. We want everyone to experience the love of family and for children to grow up proud, regardless of their country of origin. We want everyone to have a safe place to live and a good education, regardless of what neighborhood they live in or how much money they have. We give to the church because we believe that church shapes us in a way that we become Christ's hands and feet in the world. Really, we are concerned with the broader concerns of humanity. We just so easily loose perspective.

"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 concern broadened from the people of Israel to the end of the earth. God goes beyond all confines of individuals, of peoples, of tradition. God says of the servant: "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 sends a corrective for our loss of perspective. God sends a servant to be a light to the nations, that salvation may reach the end of the earth.

It's not just that God broadens the mission of the servant. Even the content of what God sends, salvation, is about broadening. Salvation isn't just about spiritual things…about life after death and the forgiveness of sins. Salvation is about community life. But, not just any life, a life of recovered spaciousness and well-being, where the people of God prosper. There are many examples of salvation in the Hebrew scriptures: Abraham and Sarah, for example, to whom God gave land and offspring. A place for their descendents to live and multiply. And life to a barren womb so that the people of God could grow. Or Moses, who God charged with leading the people out of slavery to the promised land, a homeland where the community could recover its identity and flourish after years of oppression. Or, the Temple in Jerusalem. A place for the people to worship and dwell with God. Or the Jewish people in exile. To them salvation means returning them to Jerusalem, their homeland, and to their communal life in obedience to God. In all of these instances, salvation means recovery to a place, a place of well-being, a place where God is also.

The Hebrew word for salvation is yeshua. Sound familiar? It's where we get the names Joshua and Jesus. The root of yeshua, of salvation, literally means "to broaden" or "enlarge." Salvation means the creation of space in the community for life. In the Hebrew scriptures salvation means God rescuing people from oppression and peril and restoring them to life. When God sends salvation to the end of the earth, God's mission broadens beyond Israel. But what God sends is also broadening. Salvation means broadening, creating space for life, for flourishing.

Some of you know that I practice yoga. Part of what I like about it is the first few minutes of yoga practice. During that time you sit still and breathe. And slowly you deepen your breath, feeling your stomach expand, and then your ribs, and then your shoulders. Using your breath, you open space in your body that had been cramped by stress and tension. You broaden your breath, you open space for healing breath to enter in the spaces of tightness and loosen them up. You create space in your body for flourishing. Salvation means broadening, creating space for life, for flourishing.

Opportunities for salvation don't only happen to us individually, they happen to us in community. We broaden our community and in so doing, create space for life, for flourishing. We tear down walls that we put up between ourselves. I think of the Berlin wall coming down, restoring Germany to one country, reuniting families, opening all the people of Germany to freedom. Creating space for life and flourishing.

That's what Henry is calling us to in the meeting ground. Creating a place where the community gathers, where our understanding of who we are is broadened and as that happens, we flourish. Instead of focusing on the walls of difference between us…our race, our class, our gender, our political affiliation, we find the broader concerns of all humanity, the spaciousness of common ground, where we all can flourish. That is salvation.

The Lord says, "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 desire for salvation for God's creation, for broadening the community, for life to prosper, extends to the end of the earth. Aren't we glad our God has a big vision? Breathe it in, claim it and be part of it. Anything less would be too light a thing.

Amen and amen.