The Right Side

The Right Side

Presented at County Line Brethren Church on January 17, 2010.
Year C, Second Sunday after the Epiphany
Scripture passages: Isaiah 62:1-5; Psalm 36:5-10; 1 Corinthians 12:1-11; John 2:1-11

When we read Psalm 36, we often find great comfort. It speaks of the “steadfast love” of God as well as God's faithfulness, righteousness and justice. We need to hear about these things – often. God is ever present with us. This phrase, “steadfast love”, is a translation of the Hebrew word, “chesed” or “hesed”. It is sometimes translated “lovingkindness” which was probably utilized in one of your translations as Mark read it for our call to worship. I believe I have talked about chesed previously. It is based on a covenantal relationship between God and his people. It goes back to when Abraham walked “between the pieces” in the establishment of the covenant. It is different from a contract in that a contract is between two parties, both of whom are reasonably empowered and expected to perform their part of the bargain. In the covenant relationship between God and man, God expects us to be unable to fulfill our part of the bargain. I hasten to add that this does not mean that we are being encouraged to live unbridled lives. However, as we have discussed recently, God's love for us is unfettered and without end – particularly in the light of our frailty. The steadfast love of God is sweeter with every tear that is brushed gently from our cheek. His steadfast love deepens our love for him as he carefully tends to our scuffed knees every time our pride gets the best of us. Did you notice the words and phrases used to describe these wonderful attributes of our heavenly Father?
His steadfast love extends to the heavens.
His faithfulness extends to the clouds.
His righteousness is like the mighty mountains.
His judgments are like the great deep.

Allow me to point out to you that we continue to be baffled by the heavens. There are more stars now than we ever thought possible when I was a kid in science class. It seems that there just may be enough stars to fulfill God's promise to Abraham that his decendents will be like the stars. His steadfast love extends to the heavens.
We still have difficulty making accurate weather forecasts (sometimes for the very next day). Although I don't watch Fox28 news, I have noticed with great interest that there are days when they are not able to get it within 5 degrees (which is actually a 11 degree spread). We joke a lot about how the weather changes daily in Indiana and that TV weather persons are not expected to get it right every day. His faithfulness extends to the clouds.
We still don't fully understand the mountains. We are not sure if Yellowstone will explode in the next 100 years, 1,000 years or ever. It sure shows the signs of instability, but we have no idea. We don't see real mountains here in Indiana, but the Rocky Mountains in the west, the Alps in Europe, the Andes in South America and the Himalaya's in Asia define those continents and are a symbol of strength and power. His righteousness is like the mighty mountains.
Some marine biologists and others scientists who study the oceans assert that we know less about the depths of the sea than we do about the skies and the stars. It seems like I regularly hear about some new discovery of a species or phenomenon at the bottom of the ocean. His judgments are like the great deep.

There is great mystery, great depth, unfathomable breadth to the steadfast love, faithfulness and justice of God. Indeed, it is no wonder that we are incapable of fulfilling our part of the bargain in the covenant.

The Psalmist goes on to say that all people may take refuge in the shadow of God's steadfast love. We are told that his steadfast love flows like a river. The metaphors are quite powerful here. There seems to be no end to his steadfast love. There appears to be a qualification in verse 10, “O continue your steadfast love to those who know you, and your salvation to the upright of heart!” This prayer would seem to ask for God's blessing upon those who know God and have clean hearts. Nevertheless, the overriding theme of this Psalm is on the abundance of God's lovingkindness.

We're going to look at the Old Testament passage in a minute, but I would like to point out something peculiar in the Gospel passage.

Changing the water into wine at the wedding feast at Cana is one of the most familiar stories in the Bible. Jesus is apparently attending the wedding and his mother is there also. We may easily presume that the principle parties are known to both Jesus and Mary, but we really know little else. Even the disciples are there. So, the party proceeds. I won't go into a description of the wedding of that day or even of the wine – suffice it to say that the celebration lasted quite awhile. And then a shocking thing happens which threatens to shut down the celebration – they run out of wine! Furthermore, it is an embarrassment to the hosts. Mary takes the initiative and volunteers Jesus to solve this problem. Now, this in itself is surprising, that Mary would prod Jesus to intervene in this manner – and prior to any recording of other miracles. There may have been others, but they were not recorded for our benefit. Whether or not this is Jesus' first public miracle, we do not know. What is perhaps more surprising is Jesus' response. Jesus says, "Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come." What we find here is restraint. It is remarkable that there is a limit placed on the utilization of Jesus' abilities – even in the course of helping and being of service to others. It's like Jesus was saying, “the timing isn't right.” We've previously made reference to the Jim Carrey movie, Bruce Almighty. Pertaining to our present discussion, one of the things that Bruce tried to do upon being granted 'godly' powers was that of answering everyone's prayers. Pretty soon, chaos erupts as many people won the lottery, etc.

One of the things that this part of the movie points out is that there are often many conflicting prayers that are offered to God. Restraint of God's power and even goodness, therefore, is critical as we recognize that however God responds, will have ripple effects throughout the community, the nation and even the world. As it is said, “the rain falls on the just and the unjust.” The opposite is also true. Disaster befalls both the just and the unjust.

We find this true in our passage from Isaiah. In every judgment God administers to the nation, it seems important to note that there were also righteous people who suffered because of the judgment. The judgment was not limited to the unrighteous. It is also clear in the New Testament that disasters also occur which have nothing to do with judgment. Jesus certainly seems to imply that the 18 people who died when the tower at Siloam fell were no worse (or for that matter better) than anyone else in Jerusalem (Luke 13:1-5). As a result, I respectfully and vehemently disagree with Pat Robertson that the earthquake in Haiti was brought upon by some pact with the devil many years ago. Even if that pact is found to have been a historical fact, the premise by which the assessment is made is faulty. There is no evidence in scripture that natural disasters are automatically God's judgment. I could stand before you today silent on this matter, but silence implies consent or approval. It seems quite presumptuous, rash and irresponsible to cast the blame for this disaster upon the people directly, and upon God indirectly for meting out this punishment (as Robertson says). Let us remember that there are many Christians and churches in Haiti.

There are some who errantly suggest that this is further evidence that there is no God – or that God is inept – or that God does not care. In response to this, we assert that God's steadfast love remains unfathomable and mysterious. God's faithfulness is beyond our imagination. God chooses to love us. Nevertheless, there is a restraint to the expression of God's love, his faithfulness, and his justice.

Again, we find this to be true in our passage in Isaiah. The people were indeed in the midst of being judged by God for their mistreatment of the poor, the disadvantaged, the marginalized, the voiceless and the foreigners – as well as for their abandonment of true worship and obedience. As a result, the people had been oppressed for years. They were relocated to different countries and made to be slaves in various capacities. Nevertheless, God's steadfast love remained. God never abandoned them, despite their rejection of the Lord their God.

And so we find in our passage today, that God was on their side. Despite his judgment, despite their waywardness, God would indeed bring his people out of their oppression and their suffering. This theme continually resurfaces throughout scripture: that God is always on the side of the oppressed and those who are suffering.

Unfortunately, throughout the history of God's people, believers have a propensity for being on the wrong side of the oppressed. It seems fitting that I share just one example of this from “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King, Jr., whose birthday we celebrate tomorrow across this land.

(“The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.” edited by Clayborne Carson, p. 199)

Fortunately, throughout the history of the church, there have been those who have stood up on the side of the oppressed. Religious orders have risen up to take care of the poor and the sick, establishing hospitals, homeless missions, and food banks.

And this week, we have seen an outpouring to those who are suffering in Haiti. Much of this disaster response has been from organizations who are overtly Christian or were begun by Christians – and may I say with some pride, many of them were citizens of the USA. Clara Barton's father charged her upon his deathbed, "As a patriot, he had me serve my country with all I had, even with my life if need be; as the daughter of an accepted Mason, he had me seek and comfort the afflicted everywhere, and as a Christian he charged me to honor God and love mankind." Clara Barton treated many wounded soldiers in the civil war and
Barton then achieved widespread recognition by delivering lectures around the country about her war experiences. She met Susan B. Anthony and began a long association with the suffrage movement. She also became acquainted with Frederick Douglass and became an activist for black civil rights, or an abolitionist.

The years of toil during the Civil War and her dedicated work searching for missing soldiers debilitated Barton's health. In 1868, her doctors recommended a restful trip to Europe. In 1870, while she was overseas, she became involved with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and its humanitarian work during the Franco-Prussian War. Created in 1864, the ICRC had been chartered to provide humane services to all victims of war under a flag of neutrality.

When Clara Barton returned to the United States, she inaugurated a movement to gain recognition for the International Committee of the Red Cross by the United States government. When she began work on this project in 1873, most Americans thought the U.S. would never again face a calamity like the Civil War, but Barton finally succeeded during the administration of President James Garfield, using the argument that the new American Red Cross could respond to crises other than war. As Barton expanded the original concept of the Red Cross to include assisting in any great national disaster, this service brought the United States the "Good Samaritan of Nations" label. (Wikipedia)

Habitat for Humanity is an ecumenical, Christian organization devoted to providing low-cost housing for low-income families.

Interestingly enough, both the Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity are involved in the disaster response in Haiti.

In 1961, Peter Benenson started Amnesty International. Benenson was a Roman Catholic. He is said to have collaborated with Eric Baker, who was a Quaker. Amnesty International has drawn attention to forgotten political prisoners throughout the world. Benenson and Baker were British.

This sermon feels a bit disjointed, so let me summarize the key points.
While God’s steadfast love and faithfulness are beyond our comprehension, God voluntarily, and in accordance with his ‘Larger Plan’, limits and restrains the expression of that love and faithfulness. Sometimes this is an act of judgment (as with the Israelites in Isaiah’s time). Sometimes this is evident in the face of natural disasters as evidenced by the earthquake in Haiti this week. And sometimes this occurs in the face of cruel oppression such as slavery. And yet God’s love continues. Indeed, he seems to always place himself on the side of the oppressed and those who are suffering.

So, in order to align ourselves alongside our heavenly Father, we would do more. We would do more than simply donate from our abundance. We would do more to stand up for the human rights of women oppressed around the world. We would do more to stand up for the human rights of children. We would do more to stand up for the human rights of workers oppressed in sweat shops throughout the world. We would do more.

If you want to join God in his efforts in this world, look no further than those who are oppressed.