2020.12.06 | Good Tidings
“Good Tidings”
Rev. Pepper Swanson
An ancient people are defeated in war and then exiled to the victor’s country, a place geographically, culturally, and religiously remote from the life they led in Zion.
The years go by - generations really -- in captivity and in their effort to understand their trauma and their dislocation, they latch on to the idea that in their loss, they are being punished by God for their sins.
Then the time comes when the victors’ empire collapses and the people are free to return to their own country, to restore their destroyed Temple and to re-establish their lives in a place they’ve never known but which is sacred to their ancestors, their faith and their identity.
We don’t know how they felt but we can discern from today’s scripture reading that perhaps they weren’t eager to return, either because of the arduous journey, the anticipated work of restoring their Temple, or having to leave a place that had become home, a place where they had intermarried with locals, raised families, and adapted to this “other” culture. And one wonders if they were not also reluctant to return to a God capable of such punishment and destruction.
Cajoling a whole people to return from Exile to their homeland isn’t a task that comes up every day on the to-do list of a pastor or preacher. More often we work with those who have left or fled their homeland and arrived without resources in our culture in search of safety and economic opportunity. Because of this, it’s fascinating to look at today’s reading as a case study of what one man, one prophet, one religious leader often referred to by scholars as Second Isaiah thought would help his people pull themselves together and make the difficult journey home.
In poetry both grand and profound, Isaiah offers his people these ideas:
First, the people should be comforted and told that the time of God’s punishment is over, their term of service is complete, and they have paid in full for their sins. In the name of God, Isaiah offers forgiveness for what went before.
Second, they will not return to Zion alone but will be accompanied by the presence of God, who will march with them, making the long and difficult road ahead easier.
Third, they need not fear their captives or any other human who opposes their journey because all humans are like grass compared to the endurance of God, who stands forever. Those who oppose them will wither like grass.
And last but not least, Isaiah draws the image that the people’s herald, their own special emissary, is bringing good tidings from the frontlines of the battle for Zion that God comes to them, and with God comes the pastoral peace that a shepherd brings to his flocks, gently caring for all and carrying for those who are tender and young.
We do not know if Second Isaiah’s sermon was compelling to the Exiles but we know this is not the only sermon this Isaiah gave (see Isaiah 40-65 for his entire collection), and we know the people eventually were persuaded to return to Zion and begin again.
One aspect of today’s scripture that is as enchanting as its poetry and its rich natural imagery is something that wasn’t commonly known or accepted by Bible scholars until the mid-20th century: God speaks here to an angelic council, dispatching not just his human prophet to comfort and cajole the people, but also host of angels are called to speak tenderly to the people the good news that they are forgiven and to comfort them with the news that God endures and is with them.
Like army troops assembled for their orders, the angels answer God’s command to cry out the good tidings: What shall I cry? And the answer thunders back: cry out that God is with them and God endures and the Sovereign Lord protects.
As 2020 draws to a close with COVID-19 surging upon surge and cases, hospitalizations and deaths rising rapidly, as we face the possibility of a return to total lock down once again, the angelic question “What shall I cry?” resonates with each of us, but especially with preachers, parents, leaders, and teachers. People who are called to speak of hope and peace. What can we say that will comfort God’s people, who face such unknown? What good tidings do we bring today?
Our good tidings may appear simple and unrelated to our faith — they are certainly unexpected when we compare this Advent to last. Who would have thought in Dec of last year that the imminent arrival of a COVID-19 vaccine would be good tidings for this year. Who would have thought that a new administration and a national mask mandate for 100 days would be good tidings for 2021? And who would have ever imagined that Eden Church would be worshipping God online and that we would have a crew of own angels engaged in contact tracing and investigation, isolation and quarantine supports, and health education. A year ago, we didn’t know half of those words and now home-grown angels are crying out that our community can love and protect one another by getting tested and staying socially distant and we are providing the support so people can do what is difficult but necessary. At the end of this year’s completely unexpected disaster of epic proportions, these good tidings are proof that God is with us and is guiding us back to our “normal” lives, albeit making us stronger and giving us new skills and abilities along the way.
While it is not as poetic as today’s lengthy Bible reading, there is an old Chinese saying attributed to Laozi that the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Whether one is returning to one’s homeland like the ancients or venturing to a new land like our immigrant friends or simply getting on the road to recovery after a global pandemic, it all begins with believing that God is not against us, but with us and that we are guarded along the way by the forces and voices of all that is good and strong and peaceful.
My friends, comfort yourselves and one another with the promises of Isaiah: our hard service is almost complete, the way home is prepared, and the presence of God goes with us into the waning days of 2020 and into the adventure that will be 2021. The peace of Christ will be with us every step of the way. Amen.