Trinity Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Sermons 

This week, again we have

more of Isaiah’s lovely, visionary poetry.

But perhaps not as challenging or threatening

to our current way of living and thinking

as last week’s verses.

Those suggested a time of judgment on all nations,

particularly those that have more often

resorted to the sword than to the plowshare,

or the spear than the pruning hook.

So it’s perhaps a time we might want to avoid,

or at least, to postpone for as long as possible!

A lot of this week’s vision we would welcome,

right here and now.

Wouldn’t it save us all kinds of grief,

if wolves and lambs would dwell together peacefully?

If the neighbor’s dog and your cat

suddenly agreed to feed together,

instead of on each other?

If you could take your child or grandchild or niece or nephew

to the nature preserve, or out to the lake, perhaps,

and let them run loose, knowing there was nothing to fear

from rattlesnakes, or copperheads, or water moccasins?

Sure, some days might lack a little excitement …

but overall, doesn’t it sound better?

The leopard shall lie down with the kid …

the lion shall eat straw like the ox …

a child can put her hand in the adder’s den.

The vision of the "peaceable kingdom"

which so many painters have tried to capture.

It holds our imagination.

It seems like a vast improvement over

"nature, red in tooth and claw."

Go ahead, God, we want to say.

Make it happen.

No problem, says God.

But first, you’d better look again

at the rest of what you just read.

You don’t just get to pick and choose the parts that sound good to you

and pretend that the rest isn’t there.

Well, okay, let’s do that.

"A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse,

and a branch shall grow out of his roots.

The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,

the spirit of wisdom and understanding,

the spirit of counsel and might,

the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord."

- We’re reading, God.

Give us a hint what we’re looking for.

- Well, says God, that bit you just read:

who is that about?

- We believe it’s about Jesus.

That’s why we read it just before Christmas.

Come on, God, you know that!

There’s the hint of a smile in God’s voice now.

- You’re right, I already know that.

But tell me, has Jesus come,

or are you still waiting for him?

- Ooh, a trick question … that’s very clever, God!

We are waiting for him to come again,

but yes, we believe he’s already been here.

- Okay, says God. Stay with me now.

Why is it that you can say

the things in verses 1-3 have already happened,

but those other things haven’t?

Isaiah didn’t separate them like that.

Why do you?

- Good point, God. But look at the world.

The meek haven’t received equity

or the poor, righteousness.

The wicked haven’t been killed.

Wolves have not signed a truce with lambs,

and snakes are still biting children.

What are you getting at?

How can you suggest it has happened?

- Ah, you are observant, says God approvingly.

I can agree with you at the very least,

all those promised things

appear not to have happened.

- You’re going to leave us with that, aren’t you, God?

- Yes, with one hint.

Sending the messiah was up to me,

and I did it.

Is it possible that some of the rest of it

is up to you?

What an odd thought.

Seems kind of silly if we’re too literal about it.

Right … Invite the wolves into the sheepfold

and say, "Now play nicely together, children."

Put a lion in with your cattle

and offer it hay.

Bring home a rattlesnake for a pet.

Who wants to go first?

We can’t be quite so literal;

it’s a bigger question than just that.

It’s not just that animals don’t get along with each other;

it’s that something is amiss in creation itself.

And God has acted, does act, will act, in Christ,

to repair that breach,

but it can’t be healed from one side only.

Something has to happen on our side as well,

if Isaiah’s beautiful dream is ever to become real.

John the Baptist tells us what that is.

We see him in Matthew’s gospel, already an adult,

baptizing the people who come to him

and criticizing those who

"think they have it all together" when it comes to religion.

And the core of his message is,

"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."

And that’s the part we would so like to forget,

or at least to gloss over quickly.

"Repent" seems such an ugly word.

It may make us think of Bible-thumpers

who want to consign us to the flames of hell.

It may remind us of folks we’ve known

who thought everyone but them was a sinner.

It’s a good word that has been misused

to judge people and put them down.

"Repent," means simply, "to turn."

We turn away from what was,

and toward what should be.

We turn away from self, toward God.

Now a whole lot of other things may happen

in connection with, or as a result of,

our turning …

But to "repent" is only that, to turn.

"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near,"

could be said like this:

"God’s kingdom is drawing near;

turn your full attention to it and it alone."

And if that means turning away from some other things …

well, so be it.

Now we could probably all make a long list

of things that would change in our own lives

if we 100% repented …

if we turned our full attention and commitment to God.

And some of those changes seem real good,

and others seem real scary,

which is probably why we haven’t done them yet.

But if Isaiah’s vision is to be believed,

there’s more to it even than that.

God’s actions toward us,

and ours toward God,

have a wider influence than we might imagine.

All creation may feel the effect

if we ever once get

ourselves and God in harmony with one another.

Imagine that … it’s not easy.

Imagine that our repentance could lead to

justice and righteousness for people we’ve never met.

Imagine that our turning to God

could make peace in the non-human parts of creation.

It doesn’t follow logically.

Without God in the equation,

the whole idea would be ludicrous.

It’s kind of crazy even if we do include God!

But that’s what the promise says.

The vision is ready to be fulfilled.

We make ourselves ready by repenting,

and standing by to see what God will do in our midst.

Christ is coming!

Thanks be to God.

Amen.

© 2007 Julie Adkins (e-mail: DrJAdkins@trinitypresdallas.org)