Isaiah: Shoots of Hope from Dead Stumps
Isaiah 11:1-10 |
There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of its roots. And the Spirit of God shall rest upon this branch, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of God. And the delight of the one who comes shall be in the fear of God. That one shall not judge by what the eyes see, or decide by what the ears hear; but shall judge the poor with righteousness, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth, and smite the earth with words of judgment, and slay the wicked with sentences. Righteousness shall be the belt around that one's waist, and faithfulness the belt around their loins.
The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the snake, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea. On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of it, and it's dwelling shall be glorious. |
Romans 15:4-13For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope. May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Parent of our Lord Jesus Christ. Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in order that he might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for God's mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will confess you among the Gentiles, and sing praises to your name”; and again he says, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with God's people”; and again, “Praise God, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise God”; and again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse shall come, the one who rises to rule the Gentiles; in Christ the Gentiles shall hope.” May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. |
Isaiah is dreaming about new; the recurring theme that God will do a new thing, and bring about Shalom. His vision includes a new shoot growing from an old stump. Isaiah imagines that something seemingly dead and hopeless, ready to rot and disintegrate into the dust from whence it came, can, through the spirit of God, renew, grow, and blossom into something life giving.
The imagery is beautiful. I could use something new- or at least renewal. I feel a little bit (a lot!) like the dead stump these days, or at the very least like that becoming a dead stump is where I am heading, possibly after a quick stop to full insanity. Things don't seem to make sense anymore, and it's dark. I'm anything but comfortable, anything but stable, anything but hopeful. |
Where are you God? |
It's sometimes difficult to find hope... difficult to find God these days. I certainly don't feel like praising God or thanking God right now. It's difficult to address God in any capacity other than in prayer and supplication, and maybe anger. We cry: "Where are you, God? Don't you see us? Don't you see me suffering? My life has been cut off, dreams cut down. I am broken, and sad, and don't see the bright future I was counting on, or the one you promised. Oh yeah, I remember that promise you made. What happened to 'I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future'.* I remember... do you, God?
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Let me cut to the chase- God remembers. God also promised to be with us through all of our lives, no matter what, and that hasn't changed. But when pain runs deep, it's hard not to feel abandoned, or frankly, feel like shoots of hope are growing anywhere in our vicinity.
"Paula D’Arcy, is one of the top spiritual teachers of our time. Paula’s ministry grew from personal tragedy. In 1975, at age 27, she survived a head-on accident caused by a drunk driver swerving across the median. It took the lives of her husband, Roy, and twenty-one-month-old daughter, Sarah. Pregnant at the time, Paula survived the accident to give birth to a second daughter, Beth.
About a year-and-a-half later, a friend arranged a meeting with well-known preacher Norman Vincent Peale. He quietly spent a half hour listening to her story, after which he said quietly, “Young woman, you’ve got a huge challenge ahead of you.”
“Wow!” she thought. “No kidding. I came to hear you tell me that I have a huge task facing me? I think I know that.” But she simply asked, “What’s that?”
“Discovering the purpose of your life.”
Again, Paula felt the anger rise in her, her mind flooding with thoughts. But she simply said, “I lost the purpose of my life when my husband and daughter were killed.”
He brought his face closer to hers, with great love clearly filling his eyes, and said, “You lost the purpose you wanted. But there is another purpose in life for you. Life has a larger purpose.”
With those words, her life began to open up to new possibilities. Within several years, it was actually Norman Vincent Peele himself who asked her to speak with him to grieving people in need of healing. That’s how her life as a speaker and spiritual teacher began. Her life which had been like a stump cut-off by that drunk driver, now had a shoot of new life." **
That's a beautiful, hopeful story, isn't it? God truly brought about a miracle or healing and grew something brand new in Paula's life. And you might be thinking, that's great for her- but my situation isn't so clear cut. Look at what's coming- it's messy, and complicated, and besides, to build something new, or even see a new shoot is going to take time; it's going to be so much work, and I'm already feeling tired and beaten down. I don't know where to even begin. Too bad there isn't an instruction book, or a step by step manual to help us through to find encouragement and hope.
Wait a second... there is! It's called the Bible! The Apostle Paul tells us, For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.
I can already see eyes rolling. "Give me more than 'read the scriptures,' will ya?" Well, let me ask you, how much time during the day, or week, or year do you spend in the scriptures? For many of us, the Old and New Testament reading during worship are the only scriptures we hear or meditate on all week. But its amazing how much strength, courage and yes, hope we can draw from the scriptures. Written by ordinary people, some in the midst of great pain, undergoing far worse than you or i can imagine, the writers give us a glimpse into all aspects of the with-god life.
And now I can hear the argument. "The scripture is contradictory, it's exclusionary, it's historically inaccurate, and militaristic and patriarchal!" For sure all those things may be true. But what is also true are the stories of how communities saw and related to God, and how God interacted with God's people. They are stories of God's faithfulness, of God's protection, and provision. They are stories of having faith in the face of adversity, and courage under fire. They are stories of miracles and mysteries- praises and prayers. They are our stories- it is our story.
It is through reading, meditating, singing, praying and sharing our story (and I'm talking about the story of our faith illustrated through the scriptures), that we can begin to find encouragement and allow God to reveal the larger purpose for our lives. Because listen, what was true for Paula D'Acey is also true for each of us. We may have lost the purpose we wanted, but life, but there is another purpose for you- life has a larger purpose.
And sure, there are any number of verses in the Bible that, when taken out of context, are just plain messed up- again, when taken out of context... but that is another reason to really get to know the scriptures- inside and out.
I belonged to a church once where we were asked to memorize scripture in readiness for the day that our Bibles might be taken away, or banned, as they are in other countries. It was a fear tactic to be sure, but it worked. Because I had taken so much time memorizing, meditating, internalizing, when crisis comes, or my life felt like it was turned into a lifeless stump, there was an internal shoot of hope beginning to bud, even without me knowing it. I remembered the words of my faith, from Philippians, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" or from the Psalms, "God heals the brokenhearted and binds up our wounds," or from Joshua, "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous, do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for God is with you wherever you go," or from Deuteronomy, "Let all the world look to me for salvation! For I am God; there is no other."
Scripture has seen me through the darkest days of my life, and give me hope even now in our new reality- that God knows, God cares, God will heal.
And let me share with you one more benefit to getting to know the Bible as your/our story. Because reading it and praying it and living it also means we get to know how our story ends. That all of us, no matter how dark things may seem, or stump-like we might feel, are joined with God the creator in love, and mercy and peace, and joy- and that is a promise God made to us that is absolutely unbreakable. Talk about finding a shoot of hope!
Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in order that he might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for God's mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will confess you among the Gentiles, and sing praises to your name”; and again he says, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with God's people”; and again, “Praise God, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise God”; and again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse shall come, the one who rises to rule the Gentiles; in Christ the Gentiles shall hope.”
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in order that he might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for God's mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will confess you among the Gentiles, and sing praises to your name”; and again he says, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with God's people”; and again, “Praise God, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise God”; and again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse shall come, the one who rises to rule the Gentiles; in Christ the Gentiles shall hope.”
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.