December 4, 2005 Sermon by Rev. Nancy Cushman

Many scholars believe that the part of Isaiah that we are about to read was written while the people of Judah were in exile in Babylon. The exile began several decades before this time period when Babylon attacked the nation of Judah and devastated it. They destroyed the Temple, the seat of God and the center of their religion. They carried off most of the population back to Babylon into exile. This all happened after generations of rebellion against God and idolatry by the Hebrew people. In exile, God promises had come to naught the land was lost, the people were scattered, the covenant with God was broken, and the kingdom of David was cut off. ^[i] Isaiah’s prophecy comes to this people in exile.

Today we lit the candle of Peace. As we have said before the biblical understanding of peace goes beyond just the absence of violence, it is God’s vision of shalom. Shalom includes the biblical vision of one community embracing all of creation; this community is characterized by harmony and wellbeing at all different levels: material, physical, historical and spiritual. God’s vision of shalom is seen in the creation story before the Fall. Out of chaos and disorder God creates life and harmony. Shalom is a consequence of justice and righteousness, of living God’s will and emulating God’s character.^[ii] Shalom is not peace as an abstract “pie in the sky” concept but it exists in the very presence of threats, of forces that oppose it. It is this definition of peace that I wish to lift up today. It is God’s vision for God’s creation.

However that vision must have seemed beyond reach for the folk who first heard Isaiah’s words. Stripped of their land, their identity, the heart of their worship the promises of shalom must have seemed hopeless. Many generations later after the exiles had returned home and rebuilt their nation; the people of Judah found themselves occupied by another foreign power, Rome. As they sought shalom in their own time of threat, they looked back at Isaiah’s prophecy and heard the message afresh for their time and place. As we look at our world today, where lives are torn apart by addictions (our newspaper has had articles all week on the destruction caused by methamphetamine use), are torn apart by domestic violence and infidelity, where communities are torn apart by economic inequalities, unfair laws, corrupt leaders, war and fanatics bound to force their will upon all people, shalom seems a distant hope out of reach for our time. Yet in the midst of all these forces the Word of God comes in the midst of chaos. “In the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”

When the folk Isaiah spoke to heard these words, I wonder if they thought of a physical road that would lead them from their exile through the desert home, home to where they would experience shalom in their lives. Perhaps for them or for those later these words had a broader meaning; the One was coming who would lead them from the destructive aftermath of their rebellion in whatever form it took through that wilderness home toward shalom. One was coming who would lead them from chaos to harmony, from death to life. We heard Janis Barton’s powerful testimony on Wednesday of how God did just that in her own life.

How does one prepare for such a coming? Isaiah indicates that it means cataclysmic change, valleys are lifted up, and mountains are mowed down. How does one prepare for such a thing especially if one has wandered or been pulled far from home, far from shalom, caught in the grip of destructive chaos? Another prophet of another generation answers that question; “repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near!” John the Baptist, our reading from the Gospel of Mark, tells us proclaimed a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Let’s break that down a little bit because it has a lot of church words in it. Repentance means to have a change of heart and a change of direction. It means taking a new path to use Isaiah’s metaphor. The Good News of Jesus Christ begins with this call to change. And it makes sense, doesn’t it? My husband, George, is always saying “the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result.” If we are caught in chaos we have to change before it will get any different. If we want to live God’s vision for us and for our world, we have to desire and determine that we are going to change to follow God’s will. This baptism of repentance that John is offering is with water; it is an outward sign that proclaims the willingness and determination to have a change of direction God-ward. This baptism of repentance prepares us for One who is coming, Jesus, who will change us from the inside out, the One who will touch us with the Holy Spirit. Jesus in his life of healing, forgiveness, and restoration reestablished God’s will for shalom in the midst of the chaos of the world as it was. Even his executioners could not stop him and his power to bring shalom. This is the One we are preparing for once again.

Let us prepare today for this coming by answering John’s call for repentance. Let us recall the places where we have separated ourselves from God, where we have opposed God’s will for peace or shalom, by our unfaithfulness, our indifference, our rebellion, “by what we have done and by what we have left undone”^[iii] this last year. We will have the opportunity in a moment to confess those sins as we prepare to meet Christ in our Holy Communion. Then let us repent of those sins, let us determine to have a change of direction and a change of heart asking for the life-giving help of the One who will lead you home, the One who will lead you and all of creation to shalom. Behold he comes, get ready! Amen.

[i] Elizabeth Achtemeier, Preaching and Reading the Old Testament Lessons: With an Eye to the New Cycle B, (Lima Ohio: CSS Publishing, 2001), p. 16.

[ii] For an in-depth discussion of shalom see Walter Brueggemann, Peace, (St Louis: Chalice Press, 2001), Chapter 1.

[iii] This is part of a confession of sin that we pray. The full confession is “Merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart and mind and strength; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. In your mercy forgive what we have been, help us amend what we are, and direct what we shall be, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy name. Amen.”