December 11, 2022

Indianola Presbyterian Church, Columbus

"Servants of God"     

Sermon by Rev. Trip Porch

December 11, 2022       Isaiah 42:1-9

It’s hard to read the scripture we just read and not think of a very particular someone, right?                                                   

I mean when you hear these words from the Bible, who do you think of?
                But here is my servant, the one I uphold;
                   my chosen, who brings me delight.
                I’ve put my spirit upon him;
                  he will bring justice to the nations.

We Christians hear this language, and our minds go immediately to Jesus. And, of course they do, we know Jesus to be everything this story says: a servant of God, called to bring justice, to be a light to the world, to open blind eyes, to lead the prisoners from prison, and bring those who sit in darkness out from their dungeon.

In hindsight, we see Jesus as the clear fulfillment of this prophecy. As the Servant called by God… as the Messiah whom God sent to save the world. 

But, as my seminary Hebrew professors would remind us almost every time we read from the old testament, it’s a mistake to read the Hebrew bible with your Jesus hat on. It’s a mistake to read a book that was written in an entirely different context, a different era, a different world and just quickly jump to the assumption that this was written to evoke the person we know as Jesus. It’s a mistake to think of it as though it’s some lesser fore-word to the new testament. Because, if you read these stories, and try to understand them in their own unique context, you see so much more.

This scripture was written some 500 years before Jesus came into the world, in a time that many of God’s people were held in captivity against their will in Babylon. They had lost a war, their kingdom was utterly destroyed, and they were brought back to Babylon as slaves.

You can imagine it’s a hard reality, a dark and desperate time. You can imagine what that does to a person, how, out of great difficulty people might become the worst version of themselves. How people might be wallowing and despairing in their grief or just as bad, feeling the need for retribution and revenge.

It is in this context of Exile and captivity that Isaiah writes, that Isaiah prophesies. And he does it in an attempt to help the people hold onto the deeper truths of who they are and what they believe. Truths that had been all but lost in this exile. To try and support God’s people so that they might hold on to hope, that they might trust in God and endure.

And so, Isaiah comes up with this image to offer the people of God… his version of the Michelle Obama Line: “We they go low, we go high.”

The servant of God. This unnamed person who is epitomizes what it means to follow God. This person who is the archetype, the model of how to reflect who God is… A person who is not just about justice for them but about something greater… justice for every nation. A person who doesn’t just do what is right but does it with gentleness humility and kindness.  In the face of oppression and despair Isaiah offers the humble servant.

 

“He won’t cry out or shout aloud or make his voice heard in public.                                                                                                                                        

He won’t break a bruised reed; he won’t extinguish a faint wick, but he will surely bring justice.”

These were people who felt like bruised reeds, and God is reminding them, they may be bruised, but they aren’t broken.

These were people who felt like they were in the darkest place, in a dungeon, and what faint light they had left was about to burn out. But God is reminding them that their lights can never be extinguished.

But here’s the harder part… And why it’s important for us not to jump to the easy, low-hanging fruit, the Sunday school answer that this is purely about Jesus. Because, what Isaiah was also reminding these people of God, is that they are these servants of God. That God has called them to be a covenant people, a light to the world no matter their circumstances, no matter how dimly that light within them glows, Isaiah is reminding them that God has called them to let it shine onto other’s lives, to take part in freeing those who are captive, to join in the liberation of God’s people, to open eyes, to share love, to restore hope. Isaiah is reminding them that God isn’t coming in some far of future but that God is at work with them now. 

It reminds me of what the Buddhist monk Tich Naht Hanh once said: 

                “What you are looking for is already in you...
                You already are everything you are seeking.”

There is a whole lot of despair in the world right now. We are in so many ways, a people in exile, a people who feel like the place we are living is not our home. And friends the church is no exception. We who have been called to be servants of God, to be a light for the world have experienced our fair share of darkness. 

In darkness, in exile it can be easy to feel as though we are helpless, as though all we can do is wallow away and cry out in grief.

And In the pure brilliant light that shines through Jesus, the light that is still surely coming, it can be easy to feel like the lights we hold within us are too dim to make a difference. But what the prophet Isaiah says to the people of God in exile and captivity, to the people of God who wait in darkness is… look within yourselves to see that though you are bruised you cannot be broken, though you are shining faintly… you cannot be extinguished. Servants of God, you are called to shine however much you can, to keep spreading that love, to keep sharing that light. Until at last, the whole world is a glow in love, in peace, and in hope.

May we who are in darkness help the world to recognize the light that is already here. 

 

Amen.

We welcome all who worship here this morning!

WE GATHER IN AWE AND PRAISE

PRELUDE                                                                                                                                    

WELCOME                                                                                              Rev. Trip Porch            

CANDLE LIGHTING                     Jessica VonZastro & Andrew  Sicker                  written by Roddy Hamilton                   

*HYMN No. 90                          “Wait for the Lord”                                          WAIT FOR THE LORD

                                                                        sung many times       

*PRAYER OF CONFESSION                                                                         Bob Concitis        

One: Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out. Who spread out

             the earth and what comes from it…

Many: We confess we have only paid attention to our corner of the house, of town, of the

                 church, of the world. We confess that we have over-consumed, living a life that uses

                 up resources for ourselves without considering the welfare of the whole.

One: I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations,  To open the eyes that

              are blind, To set prisoners free…

Many: We confess we have lived no differently from those who worship no God. We confess

                  that we have not pointed out injustice. We confess that we have not shared the good

                  news of your love and forgiveness, let alone believed it ourselves.

One: Forgive us our sin, our brokenness, and our failings, loving and powerful God.
All: We confess these to you now, in the silence…

*ASSURANCE OF PARDON

*RESPONSE OF PRAISE # 107        “Awake! Awake, and Greet the New Morn” (verse 4)

*PASSING OF THE PEACE                                       

         One:   The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all,

All:      And also with you.

WE LISTEN FOR GOD’S WORD                                                                                                                   

MUSICAL OFFERING                 “E’en So Lord Jesus, Quickly Come”              Paul Manz/arr. Phillip Brunelle

You are invited to meditate on the text during the instrumental offering.

         Peace be to you and grace from him

  Who freed us from our sins

Who loved us all and shed his blood

That we might saved be

Sing Holy, Holy to our Lord

The Lord, Almighty God

Who was, and is, and is to come

Sing Holy, Holy Lord

Rejoice in heaven, all ye that dwell within

Rejoice on earth, ye saints below

For Christ is coming, is coming soon

For Christ is coming soon

E'en so Lord Jesus, quickly come

And night shall be no more

They need no light nor lamp nor sun

For Christ will be their All!

    Text: from Revelation 22; adapted by Paul Manz 

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 42:1-9  CEB

CHILDREN’S MESSAGE                                                                                                     Annabelle Brown

SERMON                                                                                               Rev. TripPorch

HYMN NO. 94                     “Now the Heavens Start to Whisper”                                   JEFFERSON   

PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH  with The Lord’s Prayer using debts and debtors

CALL TO OFFERING

OFFERTORY                    “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”                                          arr. Dallas Blair                                          

*OFFERTORY RESPONSE #105             “People Look East!”    vs. 3                                                BESANCON

PRAYER OF DEDICATION

God of light, you sent a savior into the world to bring justice and release to all who are in bondage. Shine this light upon us and show us how to bring justice and peace to all who suffer that your light may shine through us. We pray these things in the name of the one who comes, Jesus the Christ. Amen.

*HYMN NO.765             “May the God of Hope Go With Us”                              ARGENTINA

TIME OF COMMUNITY SHARING    

CHARGE & BENEDICTION

BENEDICTION RESPONSE NO. 79    “Light Dawns on a Weary World” (vs. 1 & refrain only) TEMPLE OF PEACE

POSTLUDE 

                            

Acknowledgments: Unless otherwise indicated, all texts and music are printed and broadcast under OneLicense.net license #A-702452

  

WORSHIP LEADERS

Pastor – Rev. Trip Porch

Liturgist – Bob Concitis

Children’s Message – Annabelle Brown        

MUSIC LEADERS

Trumpet- McKenzie Shalosky

Organist – Orlay Alonso

Director of Music – Christopher Dent

Assoc. Director of Music – Ariel Alvarado

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