"Quality Assurance" - Isaiah 43:1-7 - January 11, 2004

Recently the country of Iran suffered from a tragic earthquake. About 30,000 people lost their lives. The city of Bam lost over one-half of it’s residents. Virtually every building was destroyed or damaged. One could only imagine the suffering, grief and sense of total hopelessness as the Iranian people struggle to rebuild their lives. Surely they must be asking, "Where is God?"

The Israelites were asking that same question. They were forced from their homeland. Their nation was broken and the people were scattered. They were anxious and in dire need of comfort. Thus, the prophet, Isaiah, emerged and proclaimed a word of hope by reminding them that their God had not abandoned them. He said, "Do not fear."

When we say those words in our time people respond by saying, "Yeh, right." They don’t really believe that God is with them. Many seem to believe that God is not even relevant. People in our society may not be suffering from a major earthquake but they are still struggling. There are some who are depressed or disillusioned. Others have conflicted relationships, financial worries or illnesses to contend with. So how do you assure people that God cares? How to you give hope to people who are traveling through troubled waters and blazing fires?

Isaiah did more that just say, "Do not fear." He first changed the focus from the Israelites’ losses to the creativity of God. Just as God created them in the first place, God will continue to create again. God is able to create something out of nothing. God is able to make peace from violence. God is able to bring good from evil. God is able to bring life from death. Tragedies, sufferings and struggles to not smother the creativity of God. God formed us in the beginning and God will form us again.

I believe we have become a nation that wants to protect and enable rather than embrace suffering, pain and tragedy. How can people appreciate the creative power of God in their midst when they are unaware of how difficult things really are? Do parents share their burdens with their children? Do our neighbors know our struggles, those things we are anxious about? I think not. We give the impression to others that everything is "fine" although we really feel like we are on a sinking ship.

We also don’t give God the credit for the ways in which we are transformed. We are more apt to attribute newness and creativity to hard work, knowledge or even science. The folks at NASA should thank God that after several failures including the loss of astronauts, that the "Spirit" has successfully landed on Mars. Isn’t it ironic that a spiritual name has been given to a technological wonder.

This time of the year I always lament at the loss of faithful saints in the past year. Its easy to become discouraged as I wonder how the church will survive when the numbers of the faithful have been diminished. That is precisely when I hear the words of the prophet, "Fear not, God will rebuild." Newness and hope are just around the corner.

I was having a conversation with an elderly couple who live only a few blocks from the new middle school that has just opened in Sidney. We have just completed a 20 million dollar facility and the old school will soon be torn down. But, these folks have not noticed the new construction although it happened a few blocks from their front door. When I called their attention to it they seemed bewildered. Perhaps we are not calling attention to what is being created in our midst. Perhaps we should be giving more credit and acknowledge that the hand of God is truly upon us and helping us more than we realize.

Isaiah also reminded the Israelties that they have been redeemed. Had they forgotten that God rescued them and delivered them from their oppressors? Do people truly know they are saved by the blood of Christ? Has forgiveness been erased from our belief system? Unfortunately we live in a time where forgiveness is replaced with retribution. We are more apt to strike back or retaliate than live with a forgiving spirit. In the Mideast, suicide bombings are being answered with missile strikes and car bombs are responded with neighborhood raids. So much for redemption. Perhaps our children are being taught that retribution is the norm rather than redemption. It is my theological opinion that God has not gotten out of the redemption process.

Isaiah told his people that God was still creating in their midst. He also reminded them of their redemption. Isaiah also made one additional point; They were called. "I have called you by name, you are mine."

When we are called we turn away from self and trust in God to lead us. It means making sacrifices. It means going where we might not ordinarily go. It means letting God be in control.

Tony Campolo tells a story about a friend of his who had to take a bus trip across central India. He was in one of those old-model buses that should have been retired a decade ago; it was seemingly held together with string and glue. As is often the case with buses in Third World countries, this bus was packed, not only with people, but with packages, furniture, and just about every kind of domesticated animal.

Sitting across the aisle from Tony's friend was a very tired man whose neatly wrapped package sat on the luggage rack over his head. The old man wanted to yield to the sleepiness that was threatening to overtake him, but he couldn't for fear that while he was asleep, someone might take his package. As he rode along, the old man would doze off from time to time. Each time that happened, he would wake with a sense of terror that his package might be stolen. He would quickly jerk his head sideways so he might check things out and make sure the package was still there.

That went on for hours. Then as the man snapped out of one of his tense and momentary catnaps, he looked up to find that his precious package was gone. Momentary panic crossed the old man's face as he realized he had been robbed. Then he smiled to himself, leaned back in his seat, totally relaxed, and fell into a prolonged and delicious sleep. Being relieved of the thing that had caused him constant nervousness, he had enough sense to enjoy being unencumbered. (from Ben Manning, Heritage Christian Center)

Just as the Israelites had to do some letting go of the way things used to be, we have to do some letting go also. I don’t man letting go of stuff, I mean letting go of how we perceive things should be and letting the spirit of God be in control instead of ourselves. God can’t call us unless we relinquish control and live with the assurance that God will be with us and lead us.

God has created us and although we will face crises in the future, God will continue to create newness out of the ashes. God has redeemed us. We are forgiven and God wants us to be in the business of forgiving others. God has called us. We are called to remain connected to God as we become living witnesses to God in our midst.

A young man who grew up in a small town a half hour from Fort Wayne was visiting a co-worker in his new city. A neighbor from across the hall stopped by, and it turned out that she also was originally from his hometown. The neighbor, recognizing the young man's last name, asked who his grandparents were. Then she, who moments before was a total stranger, replied, "Your grandmother saved my life, and doesn't even know it. When I was young, I lived across the street from her. I noticed that every day, at 6 a.m., even on the coldest days in the darkest winter, she left the house and went to church. Many years later, I was going through a crisis. Everything in my life was mixed up, nothing made sense, and I had nothing to hold on to. When I was at the point of despair I remembered the image of your grandmother leaving for church every morning. I thought, there must have been something be very valuable at that church to motivate someone to make the sacrifices she did to be there. So I decided to check it out. As I learned faith, my life started to make sense again and I was able to put the pieces back together. That was more than twenty years ago. I owe who I am today to her." (from Matt Scheiber, "What is it Worth?," March 19, 2000)

Called, redeemed, created…."Do not fear."

Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio