Isaiah 58: 9b-14
August 25, 2019
Sermon by Rev. Caela Simmons Wood
First Congregational UCC of Manhattan, KS
Have you ever seen a levee fail? I’ve never seen it in person, but I remember seeing a video earlier this summer of a levee failure in Iowa. One moment there was a clear division between rising floodwaters and dry land. The next moment, chaos. Water came tumbling out of the river, people ran away and jumped in cars to escape. In a matter of minutes the previously-dry land was covered in at least five feet of water.
All it took was one weak spot in the levee for this to happen. One spot where the power of the waters had worn it down created a breach.
The Prophet Isaiah speaks to ancient ears and says that God will make the hearer “repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.” The image of people steadfastly working together to repair what is broken, to shore up structures built for the common good, is a powerful one. And it makes me think about all of breaches in our current world...all of the broken places that threaten to bring chaos and pain to so many.
Examine with me the image of a levee. Bravely and boldly holding back water that threatens to overwhelm. Standing nearby are two people….one looks at the waters and is filled with panic - climate change is a crisis, we have only moments to repair this levee or the entire planet is doomed. The other looks at the same levee and says, “Everything looks fine here. Calm down.”
How can these two people work together for the common good?
Later in the day two more people come along. This time, the waters lapping at the levee are the fear of gun violence. Bending down to examine the levee, one person says, “It’s simple. We need common sense restrictions on gun ownership.” The other person looks incredulous, “What are you talking about? It’s clear that what we need are more good guys with guns.”
How can these two people work together for the common good?
The sun begins to go down but two more people gather by the levee. As they look at the rising waters, talk turns to immigration. One person says, “Immigrants are the heart of this country and many of the people at our southern border are seeking asylum. It’s clear we should welcome them with open arms.” The other person looks disgusted and shakes their head saying, “Absolutely not. We need to build a wall and station troops at our border to secure it.”
How can these two people work together for the common good?
Every generation has their rising floodwaters to deal with. Every generation must find some way to come together, build and maintain structures that protect. Every generation must figure out what to do when the levees are breached, when chaos rushes in, when security seems like a dream, when repairs must be made.
Isaiah lived in a time of massive political unrest. Biblical scholar Brennan Breed makes it clear: “Among the many problems in [Judah] were widespread economic [plunder] and enslavement of the vulnerable by the wealthy elite, a deep-seated fear of foreigners and cultural change that fueled an obsession with ethnic...purity.” [1]
Hmmmm.
The people, standing at the edge of the floodwaters, begged God, “Why don’t you hear our prayers? Why don’t you come to save us? Can’t you see that we are about to drown here?”
And God spoke to the people through the Prophet Isaiah and said, your fasting and prayers - your religious rituals - mean nothing to me unless they are backed up with action. I think the people of Isaiah’s time were probably a lot like you and me….when things aren’t going well, we fall back on what we know. We slide into old routines that give us comfort. We tend to double-down on doing things the way they’ve always been done...just more of it, with extra fervor, because we’re not sure what else to do.
But Isaiah speaks to the people and says, God wants you to do a new thing. The fasting God wants is this: loose the bonds of injustice, undo the thongs of the yoke, let the oppressed go free. Share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless into your homes.
If you do these things, says Isaiah, you will live. You will call out for help and God will say “here I am.” If you remove oppression from your communities, if you stop pointing fingers, if you stop speaking evil, if you satisfy the needs of those who are afflicted, THEN God will guide you, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong. Your ancient ruins will be rebuilt. You shall raise up the foundations of many generations. You shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.
The fast Isaiah suggests is revolutionary because it refuses to be contained in one simple box. It’s a both-and. Isaiah tells the people they must commit to acts of charity AND acts of advocacy. Feed the hungry, he says. Invite the homeless into your homes. Fill up the Blessing Box, volunteer at Second Helping. Show up at the Pride Parade. Smile at a stranger. Stop and talk to a person who is asking for money, even if you don’t have any cash to share. Fill up Backpacks of Hope to give to a migrant arriving in Texas. Go for long walks in nature and appreciate the beauty of God’s creation. None of these things are going to save the world on their own...but neither are they insignificant.
And while we are doing these small, everyday tasks to alleviate pain, we are also called to loose the bonds of injustice. This means we are to work to change the very systems that create chaos. It’s not enough to sandbag when the water gets high, we also are supposed to go to city council meetings that last for hours. We are called to advocate for a living wage, call our legislators, give substantial amounts of time, money, and energy to organizations that are working to build just systems.
We can’t do all of this at once, obviously. And if we try, we are certain to burn out quickly. What I appreciate about Isaiah’s words...this call to BOTH help those who are hurting AND changing the world so that fewer people get hurt is this: we have options. There’s no one right way to do the work. And if I find myself weary of calling my legislators, well, perhaps it's time to focus on acts of everyday kindness and charity. Eventually, if I spent time among those who are hurting, I will discover new ideas for advocacy. It’s not one or the other. It’s both-and.
And in all of this work, all of this repairing, God says we do not do the work alone. Isaiah reminds us, “God will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong.” I don’t think Isaiah is talking about YOU as an individual. I absolutely think we each get tired as individuals...but the beauty of being called into community is that we are accompanied by others and by the Spirit. When we get tired, others step up. When they’re tired, we step up.
Throughout all of this work...all of this holy work of repair...we are called to follow in the Ways of Jesus. Thank God we have a model, right? Or else it would be so very easy to give up completely.
Jesus’s methods of repairing the breach are creative. He’s not afraid to bend or break the rules. He’s not afraid to ask hard questions. He understands that all of this is for love...and that love can be fierce, challenging, convicting.
In todays’ story from Luke’s gospel, Jesus chooses the way of Love as he heals a woman on the Sabbath day. One of the religious leaders gives him a hard time, saying, “Tsk, tsk. You’re not supposed to work on the Sabbath, you know,” but Jesus speaks plainly: it’s always the right time to choose love and compassion.
Jesus’s highest law is Love. In all he does, it’s Love. This is why he has no trouble identifying the greatest law...we are to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves. Full stop. Everything else flows from this. If we get this right, everything else ultimately falls into place. If we get this wrong, nothing else we do can really matter. Will we get it wrong? Absolutely. Are we forgiven and freed to try again and again? Absolutely. Dr. King called Love the “most durable power” [2] and that power includes the Love and grace of God to forgive us when we fail.
This highest law of Love is why some of our most revered repairers of the breach are so firmly committed to nonviolence. Nonviolence is not simply about refusing to bear arms and fight back. Nonviolence is a way of being, a commitment of the heart.
Walter Wink, writes about what he calls “The Third Way” of Jesus. Wink says “There are three general responses to evil: (1) passivity, (2) violent opposition, and (3) the third way of . . . nonviolence articulated by Jesus.” He continues: this Third Way, the Jesus Way, “bears at its heart love of enemies” and is “the absolute litmus test for Christianity.” [3]
Dr. King says it’s also the only practical way to make any real, lasting change. Writing in 1964, he said that choosing the path of Love is not utopian. Instead, it’s the only practical reality that makes sense in a world armed to the teeth. “All other methods” (except nonviolence) “have failed,” writes King. “Love is the absolute necessity for the survival of our civilization. To return hate for hate does nothing but intensify the existence of evil in the universe. Someone must have sense enough and religion enough to cut off the chain of hate and evil, and this can only be done through love.” [4]
With these words, Dr. King reminds us that we should never underestimate the power of even small, seemingly-private acts to change consciousness and culture. By choosing love, he says, “Those of us who believe in [nonviolence] can be voices of reason, sanity, and understanding amid the voices of violence, hatred, and emotion. We can very well set a mood of peace out of which a system can be built.” [5]
Sometimes we repair the breach by feeding the hungry. Sometimes we discover we are on our way to removing the yoke of oppression. Always, we choose love. Not the kind of love that says, “anything goes,” but the kind of love that calls even our enemy to be better. The kind of love that believes we are made to resist and transcend evil.
Across the centuries, Isaiah speaks to us today. He says: when you feel overwhelmed this week, do something different. If you usually spend all of your energy doing small things, try advocacy. If you get really wrapped up in advocacy, try doing one single concrete thing to help someone who is struggling.
In all things...try praying for your enemies.
I know, I know...that’s hard. But, I hate to tell you this: no one ever said following Jesus was easy. Will praying for our enemies change them? I honestly don’t know. But what I do know is this: praying for my enemies changes me...changes my heart. Thanks be to God.
NOTES:
[2] https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/liberation-curriculum/classroom-resources/king-quotes-war-and-peace
[4] https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/liberation-curriculum/classroom-resources/king-quotes-war-and-peace
[5] Ibid.
