SUNDAY. DATE 8 th January 2017 (Year A) Isaiah 42: 1-9

Transcription

1 SUNDAY 2 nd Sunday after Epiphany Baptism of Christ DATE 8 th January 2017 (Year A) PREACHER The Revd s Gill Rookyard Isaiah 42: 1-9 Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his teaching. Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it: I am the LORD, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. I am the LORD, that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to idols. See, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth, I tell you of them. Acts Then Peter began to speak to them: I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ he is Lord of all. That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.

2 Matthew Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me? But Jesus answered him, Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfil all righteousness. Then he consented. And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased. Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; These are the opening words of the first Servant Song that shines out of Isaiah; the same song we heard Bruce read for us this morning. It has striking resonances with the declaration from heaven that is heard after Jesus is baptised - This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased. While readers of Matthew s Gospel know exactly who the Beloved Son is with whom God is well pleased, the identity of the servant in the Isaiah passage is a little more ominous. Let me explain That reading from Isaiah - albeit a beautiful passage - it s not one that has escaped a fair amount of controversy. From earliest musings right through to contemporary biblical scholarship, the single most discussed aspect of this text is the same question that may be on our minds today Who exactly is the servant? ; Who is this servant of God about whom so much is expected? Much of the dispute has sought to determine whether the Servant represents a single person, or a group, and a great deal of scholarly energy has gone into figuring out whom Isaiah intended by this enigmatic title.

3 Some have theorised that Isaiah had a particular person in mind, a historical figure, perhaps Cyrus, the Persian king. Other readers have understood Isaiah to refer to Israel itself, that collectively chosen people of God. And the author of Matthew s Gospel found in this passage a prophesy about the life and ministry of Jesus (Matt ). After all, when Jesus came to the synagogue in Nazareth, he chose to read a very similar passage to articulate the vision of his own ministry, and as we plough the Gospel we discover Jesus living out the virtues and values and calling that this passages so beautifully espouses. But there is still another perspective beyond the Servant being a person, a community, or even Jesus - that is well worth considering Why confine the reach of this Song to one individual or even one Servant community? Instead, could it be that the Servant s identity is intentionally unclear, and that attention should be directed to the nature of the Servant s work, rather than the Servant s identity? This perspective is echoed by biblical scholar Paul Hanson. I find his take on the whole thing particularly beautiful, and it s the angle I m hoping we might explore today. He doesn t find in this passage a reference to a historical figure or community, but rather describes it as - a catalyst for reflection on the nature of the response demanded of those who have received a call from God. That s a big quote let s hear it again: The passage is a catalyst for reflection on the nature of the response demanded of those who have received a call from God. If that s the case, then the passage is a catalyst for reflection on the response demanded from all of US who have received a call from God; and ALL of us refers not only to those of us who wear funny black n whites, but ALL of us you and me as baptised believers. The passage calls ALL of us to the work of reconciliation and justice.

4 It describes what God is asking of us very clearly: to be a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeons, and from the prison those who sit in darkness. It s a big ask. Here is my Servant, God says at the beginning of this passage. Then half way through: I have called you. We might wonder if we re worthy of such a Godly call, but by God s grace we are! For as Luke writes in the Acts of the Apostles God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. None of us are being let off the hook lightly today! And neither is Isla! By the baptism she is about to receive, she is being called to model this way of living for her generation, just as we are for ours. It s an impossible calling and yet - empowered by the Holy Spirit received at our baptism, and encouraged and nurtured by our faith community we can all follow in the footsteps of the one who first lived this way. At his baptism, which we are remembering today, Jesus received the same empowering by the Spirit that we do at ours to enable his ministry. So perhaps we should try to hear the words of Isaiah 42 as Jesus heard them, since he took the shape of his ministry from the images, symbols, hopes and visions of Scripture. Jesus received the words of his calling as powerfully as it is possible to receive them! He sought to mark each moment of his ministry with the vision they expressed. The practices that the prophet Isaiah called the people to cherish captured Jesus imagination and ought to capture ours as well. And while the vision of this Servant Song is sweeping in its scope, it is specific in the practices it commends: It is particularly concerned with the suffering of prisoners, because it twice repeats the call to release them and bring them out of darkness into the light.

5 It s worth mentioning I think that while these prisoners may indeed refer to those incarcerated for criminal offences, I believe it also refers to those imprisoned by poverty, by mental illness, by abusive relationships, by sickness, by loneliness there are many kinds of dark prisons that hold people captive and prevent them from living the abundant life that Jesus came to bring. That s why his ministry took care with the bruised reed; and why he cupped his hands around the dimmest wicks until they began to shine. And it s why ours should too. We should strive in each encounter we share, and in each moment of our life and ministry to respond as intentionally and compassionately as Jesus did. When Jesus rises up, newly baptised, from the waters of the Jordan, he enters into a ministry saturated with the vision Isaiah bequeathed to him and to us, a vision for leadership guided by mercy and a hunger for justice. Jesus whole life was a passionate response to God s call for this new way of living. May Isla, and each of us, hear this text as Jesus did, with our whole hearts, and respond as he did, with our whole lives. If you ve heard this call again today, and are up for the challenge it sets before us, I invite you to join me in a declaration based on the same text from Isaiah, roughly edited to make it clear that it s not only about the Servant Christ, but also about ourselves as individuals in this servant community who by our baptism have received the same calling to live our lives in righteousness and for justice Please stand - We are the Lord s servants, his chosen ones, in whom he delights;

6 His spirit has been put upon us; we will bring forth justice to the nations. We will not break a bruised reed, nor quench a dimly burning wick; we will faithfully bring forth justice. We will not grow faint or be crushed until we have established justice in the earth; the coastlands wait for our teaching. God, the Lord, created the heavens and stretched them out, he spread out the earth and what comes from it, he gives breath to us, his people, and his spirit to those who walk in it: He is the Lord, and he has called us in righteousness, He has taken us by the hand and kept us; He has given us as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. He is the Lord, that is his name; his glory he gives to no other, nor his praise to idols. See, the former things have come to pass, and new things he now declares;

7 before they spring forth, he will tell us of them. We are the Lord s servants, his chosen ones; may his spirit enliven and empower us, and may we live out his calling, day by day. Amen. We remain standing as we now invite Isla to do the same as we sing Father welcomes all his children