The Rev. Virginia W. Nagel
Ephphatha Parish of the Deaf
Episcopal Diocese of Central NY
The reading from Malachi sounds very much like our own times. We continually hear people commenting that God is a figment of our imagination, that we should live for the pl
Isaiah lived approximately 600 years before Christ. The prophecy from Isaiah that we read today has to be understood in context. The nation of Assyria, a strong nation with a huge army and a reputation for terrible cruelty, was threatening Judah, which is the southern part of the nation we call Israel today. Isaiah understood from the Lord that Assyria would be permitted to defeat Judah, and that this was punishment because the people of Judah had drifted away from observing God's law. Their religion was in name only; they went to Temple, made the required sacrifices, and then went about their business, neglecting to keep the Lord's Day or to live according to God's law. Isaiah's prophecy about this is covered in the first chapter of his book, and now, in the second chapter, God gives Judah hope.
Speaking through Isaiah, God says that although Jerusalem will be destroyed and many of the people will be driven into exile, someday in the future, God will restore Judah and Israel (the northern part of today's nation of Israel) and make them once again become a powerful nation, a nation to which other nations will come for business, for help in war, and especially to learn the ways of the Lord. In the midst of terrible times when people were preparing for battle and exile, there was hope, hope for a better and brighter future.
It is good for us to remember that, I think, today, when we seem to have one terrible event after another happening around the world...war, earthquakes, revolutions, fire storms, huge waves, and economic troubles. No matter what happens, no matter how terrible it seems, God always offers us hope. This hope can, if we accept it and believe in it, grow into faith, faith in God's plans for us and faith that God can and will act to make things right, no matter how terrible the times seem. This hope and this faith can bring us comfort and confidence as we live through the difficult times that appear during nearly every age.
There is another part to this prophecy. Isaiah says that God will eventually bring peace. He will settle the disputes between nations, and the people will beat their swords, tools of war, into plows, tools of peace.
This has a personal application for us, as well as the national application Isaiah spoke of. What are our own tools of warfare and destruction? Some of us ignore the needs and rights of others. Some of us like to pretend that we know everything, and speak authoritatively about matters that we really don't know much about. Some of us like to "put down" other people; some of us like to be sarcastic, or have the habit of being rude and
inconsiderate. How can we change these tools of warfare in our own personalities and turn them into tools of peace? It's a question worth thinking about, as we begin this new church year of Advent. Perhaps we can even make some "new church year" resolutions!
The Gospel for today has Jesus telling his disciples about the end times. Nobody knows when the end of the world will come, not even Jesus himself, who will be Judge and King. Only God knows! So all the energy that people have spent over the years, trying to figure out when the end of the world will come, is wasted. Instead, Jesus says, we should be watchful.
What does it mean to be watchful? Well, if you have seen movies or TV shows about the old-time navy, you know that they always had a man high up in the crow's nest, a little platform near the top of the mast, and that man had to look around all the time to see if the ship was getting into shallow water and might run aground, or might hit a rock, or might be getting close to an enemy ship. So we need to be aware of what is happening in the world and we also need to know what our Bible tells us about how to tell when the Last Day is getting near.
But this, too, has a personal application for our own lives. We need to learn to be watchful without being focused only on our own ideas and plans. For example, some people know what's happening in the world, but they say that this person built his new house next door to make the other person look cheap or poor....the new house is so much better than the old one. Or they might say that the saleswoman in the store suggested that dress because she thought the customer was too fat or too old to wear the newest style. Or they say that their friend went and got a better job to show off how much more money he is now making than the people he used to work with.
Other people look at what is happening in the world and see only what they can use for their own profit. The man who owns an oil refinery thinks his enemies made the price of oil go up, just to hurt his profits....so he charges extra to the gas station that buys his gasoline, to get his money back. Or a builder may decide to knock down an apartment house where many poor families live at low rent, with government support, because he wants to build a fancy hotel that he expects will make him lots of money. Or a waiter might serve a rich person better than a poor person, hoping for a big tip. These people are not really interested in the end times and what will happen to the world. They are self-centered, and only interested in themselves, having their own way and getting what they want.
But that is not what Jesus wants us to do about being watchful. There is an old question that is often asked in Sunday School classes, and this question sums up what Jesus recommends. The question is this: Can a person who does not know you well, understand that you believe in God and obey him, just by watching how you live and what you do? If they can, that means that while you know the things that are happening in the world, you still have the hope that God gives, the faith that gives us strength to cope with terrible things, and the knowledge of God's law and Jesus' teaching and example to show that you are truly a Christian. Another of the old Sunday School sayings is: You are the only Bible that many people will read! What will people learn about God from watching you?
These Bible lessons give us much to think about, this first day of the new church year. Amen.
