Isaiah 43.16-21
God’s love creates us; god’s love inspires us; god’s love moves us!
The way it – usually – works is that I read the passage for the morning. In this case, Isaiah, chapter forty-three, verses sixteen to twenty-one. And the first thing that catches my attention, the first thing that sparks my imagination, becomes the seed for the sermon. More often than not, that happens in the first verse or two. Of course, there are exceptions to the rule. When I read through the entire passage and nothing jumps out at me. Fortunately, it doesn’t happen often. But when it does, I’ve learned simply to shift my focus to something else. The prayer of the day. A bit of the liturgy. A piece of a song. All that matters is that the gospel’s preached purely. The Confession doesn’t say anything about where it comes from.
Well, the way this week began, I was afraid it was going to be one of “those” sermons. I read the first verse … nothing. I read the second verse… still nothing. I read the third and fourth and fifth verses … nothing, nothing, and nothing. Fortunately, as I read the last verse, there it was!
“… the people whom I formed for myself so that they might declare my praise.”
Not an entire sentence, just part of one. But it was enough …
“… the people whom I formed for myself so that they might declare my praise.”
The prophet, naturally, was talking about Israel. God’s oldTestament people. But he could’ve been talking about us. About the church. Seven-point-eight billion people on the planet. And it’s the church that god has made … well, has made for god! True, god created everyone. Everything. “All things bright and beautiful! All things great and small! All things wonderful and wise!” But the church is in a class of its own! We’re special! Unique! There’s no one, nothing, like us! Not because we’re better behaved! Or more spiritual! We’re not new. Improved. Just ordinary. Run-on-the-mill. But we’re the one – the only – created … shaped … formed … by god for god!
For Isaiah, that difference had to do with worship. We were formed to sing songs! We were formed to say prayers! To offer the sacrifices no one else made! “The people whom I formed for myself so that they might declare my praise!” Israel alone existed to stand in the temple … on top of mtZion … in the middle of Jerusalem … and do what Israel had done from the start! Praise god! Worship the lord!
For us, for the church, that means an hour-or-so, every Sunday morning. It means gatherings a lot like this. “The people whom I formed for myself so that they might declare my praise.” This is who we are! This is why we’re here! Without this – all this – we can’t begin to imagine church! Sure, there’s the whole life-after-death, going-to-heaven-and-living-forever thing. But it’s worship, it’s praise, that swirl through our thoughts as we hear the words.
However, our purpose is a lot simpler than that! Our purpose as church! Our purpose as god’s newTestament people! Our tradition, our habits, our ritual, isn’t nearly so complex. In fact, as a people formed by god for god, the “so that” can be summed up with one word … Grace! Charity! Love! You see, god doesn’t need to be sweet-talked and flattered! God’s favor doesn’t need curried! God’s good side doesn’t need to be gotten on! God doesn’t want that! God doesn’t need that! What god does want and does need is for us to love! To love just like god! “The people whom I formed for myself so that they might declare my praise.” That’s how we understand those last half dozen words! Declaring god’s praise means, for us, loving! Loving just like god!
Love’s why we’re here! Love’s what we are! Like Thomas Merton says! Thomas Merton the American! Thomas Merton the monk! Thomas Merton the writer, the theologian, the mystic, the poet, the socialActivist, the scholar! “Love is our true destiny!” Love’s our future! Our fate! If we haven’t noticed by now, we don’t need colored windows to be church! We don’t need pulpit or pews! We don’t need a steeple or doors!! All we need is god … and others! All we need is god to love us … and others for us to love … love just like god!
Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying what you’ve, no doubt, seen on LED signs in front of churches all across the city … Love god; love others! I’m not saying that! God doesn’t need our love! But our neighbors do! What I’m saying is that it all starts with god! God loves! God loves us! The church! And that love changes us! It makes us different! Special! Unique! That love inspires us! Moves us! And we, too – because of it – go and do the same! Remember Newton’s first law? An object at rest stays at rest? Unless acted upon – until acted upon – by a force! Well, that object is us! And that force is god’s love! God’s charity! God’s grace! And the second part? About an object in motion staying in motion? That’s us, as well! But in the case of god’s love, there are no unlesses, no untils! No force that is equal and opposite that love! We love, simply, because god first loved us! Because Jesus loved us – because Jesus loves us – we love just like him! Love’s our destiny! Love’s the beginning and love’s the end! The start and finish! Love’s every step along the way! We are a people formed by god’s love to love! To love! Just! Like! God!
There’s no address! No coördinates! No day and hour! No windows or doors! There’s only love! Only god! Only god’s people! And, of course, the rest of the world! The rest of creation! Love, for us, isn’t a commandment to be obeyed! Love isn’t an example to follow! Love, for us, isn’t a moral or an ethic or a principle! Love for us is Jesus! Not Jesus-loving-the-Father, but Jesus-so-loving-the-world! Jesus-so-loving-the-world, on the Father’s behalf! And love is us! Love is us doing the same! Not loving the Father, but soLoving the world! So loving the world just like the Son! SoLoving the world because the Son loves us! Loves us to the end! Loves us to the end and beyond!
The people whom I formed for myself so that they might declare my praise.” We are that people, you and I! We’re church! Formed by god … for god! By love! For love! In that, my friends, god is worshiped! In that, god is praised!