"The Kingdom of Thanksgiving"

A sermon preached on The Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost, November 18 at Edgemont Chrsitian Church (Disciples of Christ), by the Rev. Christopher E. Yopp. The sermon is based on Isaiah 65:17-25.

Most of you probably know the story of Anne Frank, the young Jewish girl living in Amsterdam when the Nazis came to power. Perhaps, even some of you have read her diary. Not only does it capture her deepest thoughts and emotions of being in hiding - being totally disconnected from the society around her, but it also tells of the hope of freedom and liberation. In fact, she and her family were forced to hide from the Nazis in her neighbor’s apartment. Anne and her family lived under the constant threat of being discovered. One day she wrote in her diary these words; "I just heard the church bells ring. And I believe they are saying; ‘there are better days ahead.’"
That was the message Isaiah shared with the people of Israel. Isaiah writes this passage to a people in exile. For years they lived in Babylon. They remembered their city - Jerusalem in smoke, lying in ruins. They remembered how Nebuchadnezzar tore down the gates to the city, setting it on fire, putting young and old to death. Those who survived were forced to march to Babylon while foreigners lived in their homes, enjoyed the fruit of their vineyards. And it was in this light, that the prophet Isaiah brought a word of hope to a people who had experienced how hard and unfair life can be. Such a word is needed today. Perhaps you need such a word spoken to you.
In fact, I think we can all understand, to a certain degree, how the people of Israel must have felt. Life is not always fair. Life hasn’t always worked out the way we had planned or hoped, but Isaiah brings a word of hope today; "For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth."
Isaiah also reminds us that we can let go of the past. Too many of us live in the past. Sure, as Isaiah reminds us, we can learn from the past but we do not have to be imprisoned by it. "The former [things] shall not be remembered, nor come into mind," Isaiah writes.
Isaiah reminds his people that it is God who gives us a new day. The good news of Isaiah to the people of Israel will be the good news of Jesus to the world. Death and defeat are not the final words in our lives. Instead, God has the final word and it is grace. It is out of our darkest nights and most difficult days that God gives us opportunities for a new life.
We can be assured that God is creating a new creation. God is not waiting around to do it. God is in the process of doing it now - present tense. And, what's more, God invites us to join in. To take part and to celebrate in that new creation!
Sadly, one of the major problems of Christianity today is we view God in one of two lights. Either we see God as being a God of the past - a God of yesterday or, we see God as a God of the future, a God of tomorrow. Seldom do we view God as a God of today! Yes, while it is true that God is the God of yesterday and tomorrow - alpha and omega - first and last, beginning and end, but God is also the God of today! And I think Isaiah stresses that.
The New Revised Standard Version translates verse 17 of our Scripture Lesson this morning in this way; "I am about to create new heavens and a new earth." An alternate translation of the Hebrew verb tense is: "See, I AM creating a new heaven and a new earth." And, in verse 18, we can read; "Be glad and rejoice forever in what I AM creating." Notice the present tense. The difference is crucial for our faith, for it challenges us to see God in the present and such a vision gives us hope for today.
One continuous message found in the Book of the Prophet Isaiah is that God is heartsick at the bitter fortunes and wrong choices of God’s people. "Therefore," says the Lord, "I am turning my head away from your former ways and the tragic past. I am making something new. I am shaping a new Jerusalem which is much better; it gives me such delight that I want you to delight in it with me!"
Isaiah proclaims good news to be seen and experienced in the now. Before, there was war in which enemies trampled farms and occupied houses. Now, God is creating a new Jerusalem in which people live securely in their homes and enjoy the fruits of their labors. Before, mothers feared to give birth to their children in a dangerous world. Now, God is creating a world where parents anticipate the blessing of children and are confident of their futures. Before, the people wondered if God even heard their cries. Now, God is creating a relationship in which God will hear before they even speak. Before, conflict tore communities apart. Now, God is creating a peaceful reign where longtime enemies, even the wolf and the lamb will dwell together side by side. "Behold! See what God is creating!"
Do you see it here and now? Now, friends, don’t be confused, Isaiah is not pushing a "grin and bear it" attitude, nor is he stressing a "just get through it and move on" philosophy. Neither is Isaiah espousing a theology that says; "Never mind about all you have to suffer today. Just wait until you get to heaven, and then you can forget all your troubles and pains." Instead, Isaiah invites us to glimpse the new Jerusalem, to envision the new heaven and the new earth, to look for evidence of God’s presence among us. To look for ways in which God is involved in our world - bringing about healing, wholeness, peace and love. Sure, it takes a leap of faith to live in this present sense, especially in light of current global, national and personal circumstances. But when we live this way, when we live with the realization of God’s kingdom among us we begin to see what God is doing.
Author, Professor and Preacher, Tony Campolo said that he often asked his students at Eastern University, where he taught for a number of years; "Why did Jesus come into the world? Why did he leave the glories of heaven and break into history? What was he out to do? If he were to write out his mission statement, how would it read?" That’s a pretty good question, isn't it? I wonder how you would answer that. What would Jesus’ mission statement be? Campolo said that he would often get a lot of good answers. Some would say that Jesus came to bring a revelation of God. Others would say that he came to die for our sins and to give us joy. But he said that seldom would they come up with what Jesus really would have said. In fact, Campolo says; "I know what Jesus would have said and what he did say. The first thing that the gospels record out of Jesus’ mouth when he started is ministry was; "I have come to declare that the kingdom of God is at hand." Jesus came declaring the kingdom of God. In fact, all of his parables are about the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is like a man who does this or a woman who does that. When he told his disciples how to pray he said, "Pray for the kingdom. Pray: ‘thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven.’" Too often we mistake this kingdom as being something solely for the future. But Jesus was talking about a kingdom in this world. He came to change this world into the kind of world that it ought to be. That’s why Jesus came, to create transformed people who bring about transformation.
I want to close with the story that Philip Gulley and James Mulholland tells in the book they co-authored; If God Is Love. They write; "Several years ago, I read an article about Henri Nouwen, a Catholic monk and renowned writer. Toward the end of his life, Nouwen had become overwhelmed by a busy speaking and writing career. Trying to maintain his spiritual center, he served in a Canadian monastery that cared for severely handicapped people. A reporter went to interview Nouwen, he asked the receptionist at the monastery where he might find the famous man. He was directed down a hallway to the third door on the left. He expected the find Nouwen in an office piled high with books or gently ministering to the needs of some poor, afflicted soul. When he arrived at the third door on the left, he pushed it open to find himself in a public bathroom. Certain he’d misunderstood his directions, he asked the janitor, a little man who was whistling while he scrubbed toilets, if he could direct him to Henri Nouwen. The man looked up and said; ‘You’ve found him.’
Gulley and Moholland ask; "Do you want to make a difference in this world? Do you want the work of your hands to bring gladness, to have meaning and purpose? Do you want your gifts and efforts to meet the world’s deep hunger, for your work to be the cause of joy." Do you want to live in thanksgiving! I agree with Gulley and Molholland, I wish this was the altar call of the Church. I wish, rather than teaching people how to invite others to church or save them in four easy steps, we were encouraging men and women in every walk of life to see themselves as partners in God’s grand and gracious work in the world. Isaiah is reminding us that it is time that we become the salt and light of the world - to accept our responsibility to transform our world.
Jesus said in the 17th chapter of Luke’s gospel; "The Kingdom of God is within you..." and, my friends, God’s kingdom must be lived out in our lives. We must reflect the kingdom in all that we do and say. We must bring the kingdom to this earth. We must bring the kingdom to the people we meet day in and day out. We must be kingdom people - living and reflecting the kingdom until the kingdom is fully manifested on earth. That is what it means to truly live a life of thanksgiving.