2020.12.20 | Give Us a Sign
“Give Us a Sign”
Rev. Dr. Arlene K. Nehring
Eden United Church of Christ
Hayward, California
Fourth Sunday in Advent
Dec. 20, 2020
Isaiah 7:10-16 | [Español]
The prophet Isaiah lived 800 years before the birth of Christ. The passage that Jessie just read was essentially a baby announcement from the 8th century BC. It was an announcement about a child who would be born to “a woman of marriageable age.” And the prophet explained that before the child was weaned, the two kings that Judah dreaded the most (the King of Assyria and the King of Babylon) would be defeated. The prophet also explained that the baby’s name would be “Immanuel,” which means “God with us.”
A baby announcement. How exciting. Everyone was thrilled. Right? Well, perhaps everyone except the Assyrian and Babylonian kings and courtiers. And, well, when you know more about the context, you have to wonder if the Israelites would have been as excited about this baby announcement as some others. Because, the overthrow of both bad kings didn’t happen for another 200 years, and the baby that was announced didn’t arrive for another 600 years.
Any hope of progress must have seemed like a pipe dream to Isaiah’s audience, and yet, he had the audacity to proclaim that a new king would come who would reunite Israel and Judah, and restore peace and justice in the land by eliminating the root causes of violence by fulfilling people’s basic human needs.
Isaiah’s prophetic vision seems utopian, and yet through it, we gain a glimpse of that vision that God had for the whole world, and we are reminded that God’s big plan for fulfilling it was all wrapped up in a person--in the little baby Jesus.
II
There’s nothing quite like the COVID-19 pandemic to underscore for us the importance of a person and personal touch, literally and figuratively. While I think that we would all be having a rougher time during this pandemic if it weren’t for technology, the truth be told, technology is no panacea.
I don’t know about you, but I have a love-hate relationship with technology. I generally enjoy learning new things, and I love technology--when it works. But when it doesn’t, I’m inclined to commit all kinds of environmental sins by throwing my cell phone, iPad, and laptop in the Bay.
I have similar thoughts about voice mail systems when I call a vendor whose voice mail options do not adequately address my concern. I appreciate the fact that a business offers a 24/7 point of contact to its customers, but sometimes I just hang up in disgust, and turn to Stephanie and say, “I just want a person! Why can’t there be a person on the other end of the line—or why can’t there at least be a menu option of talking to a person!”
Perhaps you have had days like me, when you just craved a “high touch” approach rather than “high tech.” I have had A LOT of days like that, especially lately.
My mother and some other loved ones have been through some bumpy patches with their health the past few weeks, and it’s been harder than ever to live thousands of miles away from them.
The logistics of trying to provide for their needs has been challenging enough, but then there’s the super sad fact that we just can’t be together because of the pandemic, and the need to keep everyone safe and healthy.
I know I’m not the only one who’s struggling with these challenges. The pandemic has been especially unkind to all of our seniors, and in some ways, it doesn’t matter if a person lives across the street from their elderly parent or on the other coast, when we’re all supposed to be sheltering in place. Ugh!
This is one of the reasons that front-line essential workers are so important, now more than ever! Now more than ever we are being reminded of how critical their presence--not just their skills and knowledge are. It takes a person--several persons--to get a patient like my mother to the emergency room for an exam and treatment. It takes a person to help her stay safe for her morning toilet. No robot can do that. It takes a person to make sure that her medications that arrive in the post mail get carried to her room, correctly counted and placed in her pill box, and taken at the right time. It takes a person who cares and who is attentive to details to keep vulnerable people safe and healthy.
III
One doesn’t have to be a senior in quarantine or a person living gutting out this pandemic to know the value of personal touch--but these experiences are significant reminders of these truths that we already know, but sometimes take for granted.
Twentieth Century family therapist Virginia Satir who wrote for and spoke to popular audiences frequently noted that human beings need at least 12 healthy hugs a day in order to thrive. Twelve healthy hugs. Think about that fact. There are a lot of people who living with far fewer than 12 healthy hugs through this pandemic.
And, yet, these privations aren’t just artifacts of the pandemic. The irony of our lives in the 21st Century lives is that we have more technology, more ways of communicating with each other than ever, and yet this technology doesn’t afford us the same semblance of connectivity that is possible through in-person gatherings and personal touch.
This is why, I think, God sent a person and not an email into the world. This is why God sent Immanuel and not an IM. This is why God sent the little baby Jesus, and not a tablet of stone. God sent a person, because God knew that there was no suitable substitute to remind us that we are loved beyond our wildest imaginations. Now let that Good News seep into your soul. Merry almost Christmas! Amen.