"Thus Says the Lord" - Isaiah 43: 1 - 7

A Sermon by Alex W. Evans, Pastor

Second Presbyterian Church, Richmond, VA

Sunday, January 9, 2022

Text: Isaiah 43:1-7 - “Thus Says the Lord”

            Friends, there are so many things, in these days, that fill us with fear. 

            We keep dealing with the haunting, ever-stalking, COVID virus and its variants. I cannot even count the number of people - family members, friends, church members, others who have recently been diagnosed with this virus. And this happens lately after we have worked so hard, been so careful and cautious - the virus keeps creeping in, making us sick, causing mayhem in our society, and even death around us. This certainly generates fear among us.

            There is also, just a few days after the anniversary of the attack on the Capitol, genuine fear about our democracy in peril. On Wednesday of this past week, Jimmy Carter, our nation’s 39th President, wrote a piece for the NY Times, entitled, “I Fear for Our Democracy.” 

            This is what Carter writes: I now fear that what we have fought so hard to achieve globally — the right to free, fair elections, unhindered by strongman politicians who seek nothing more than to grow their own power — has become dangerously fragile at home. And he concludes, following appeals to common principles and reforming policies, with this: Our great nation now teeters on the brink of a widening abyss. Without immediate action, we are at genuine risk of civil conflict and losing our precious democracy. Americans must set aside differences and work together before it is too late. (NY Times, January 5, 2022)

            There are other things that generate fear, too. 

            Some of us have recently heard the word, CANCER, about our lives, . . . .  or something equally dis-concerting, like “increasing dementia.” Others of us battle fears from being immune compromised. Others face persistent fears because or addiction, . . . or depression,  . . . or fears about children and grand-children. 

            Fears surround us. Fears can debilitate us. Fears can paralyze us. 

            Fears often bring out the worst in us.

            Our lives, as God’s people, are related to the trials and tribulations of God’s people that we read about in Holy Scripture. The people and the stories of Holy Scripture are sacred and important because they can form our lives - with the promises and presence of God. The people, the stories of Scripture, intend to encourage us - not in fear, but in faith - not in paralysis but action and devotion as God’s people. 

            We have a story today that I would label as one of my top five passages in all Holy Scripture: Isaiah 43. Before I get to the words, it is important to know more about the context, the situation for the people in this story.

            By the time we get to Isaiah 43, God has been on a long journey with God’s people. There have been lots of ups and downs, challenges and uncertainties. God’s people have evolved over many centuries, from a small family, to a large clan of slaves in Egypt. They have emerged from slavery to wandering in the wilderness to settling in a land. They have faced threats and battled enemies. They have grown and become unified - with a king and a temple. 

            All of that happens before Isaiah 43. Then by the time of this passage, there has been another major turmoil, one of the most tumultuous events in the whole story of the Bible. By the time we get to Isaiah 43, around 540BC, there is no more king, no more temple, and the land promised by God has been overrun by a stronger kingdom, the Babylonians. So, imagine the scene: the king has been sacked. The temple - a sign of God’s presence and care - has been destroyed. The people have no sense of what the future holds because everything they hoped for and depended on was gone. Worse than that, many of the people - God’s beloved people - have been carried away to Babylon - captives to a conquering power, exiled away from everything they thought was solid and sacred. Psalm 137, another passage from this same era, gives a glimpse of God’s people in this very day when we jump into the story. How are they doing? This is what Psalm 137 says: they “sat by the rivers of Babylon and wept.”

            We may be dealing with lots of fears - COVID, democracy in crisis, personal situations that are complex and overwhelming, climate change, and more. But for God’s people, this is not unfamiliar territory. As some might say, we have been in far worse situations . . . . and . . . . we know the way out.

            So, we turn again to Isaiah 43, aware of the dire straits in which these words were uttered by the prophet - people in crisis, with declining hope, with lots discouragement. Listen, or read along silently in the bulletin:

            But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 2When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. 3For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you. 4Because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you, I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life. 5Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you; 6I will say to the north, “Give them up,” and to the south, “Do not withhold; bring my sons from far away and my daughters from the end of the earth— 7everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”

            This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

            This passage remains among my very favorite because - it begins “thus says the Lord.” Whenever we hear that, we should pay attention: and then twice in these short verses we have that all important imperative: “Do not fear.” 

            Lots of times in Scripture, or as I have said before, 365 times in the Bible (one for every day of the year), we get this imperative - “do not fear.”  In many of those scenarios, the word comes to . . . an individual. You may recall in the recent weeks we heard this phrase. “Do not fear!” That was the message to Zechariah, the priest, whose wife Elizabeth was barren, but she would have a child, John, Jesus’ cousin. It was the message to young maiden, Mary, when she learned she was with child, the Messiah. It was the message to Joseph - “do not fear” - in a dream - that his wife would bear a son. It was what the angel told the shepherds in the field, when they heard the news of great joy and did not know what to make of it. Those are beautiful and important messages - but they are specific words to specific situations.

            This message - spoken by the prophet Isaiah - is not to a person but to a people! A people in crisis! It is an over-arching message that intends to comfort and encourage a people in very dire straits.

            Isn’t that where we are - what we need to hear - with all we are facing?

            Imperatives - like “Do not fear!” - only make sense if there is some grounding for those words. Imperatives only make sense if they are backed with reasoning, sustenance, foundation. If we are going to let go of our fear, we have to have something else to know, something to lean into, something to depend on. If we are going to move away from fear, and have faith and hope, there has to be something else going on, something else to be true, something else to shape our lives. And the prophet Isaiah has been dishing out this news for several chapters now, pouring new truths on God’s people to change their frame of mind, to increase hope, to give light. The prophet - ever since chapter 40 - keeps speaking about God and what is true for God’s people because God is always at work.

            Here is the groundwork for the imperative not to fear. Here is the foundation, the reason for the people not to be overwhelmed, no matter what life looks like. Isaiah says, “thus says the Lord - do not fear, I have redeemed you.”

            “Redeemed” is an interesting verb; to be redeemed is to be recovered or rescued by settling an obligation. It is to be set free. An intervention takes place to assure the wellbeing of another. This is God’s promise: I have redeemed you.

            Then God says, “I have called you by name, you are mine.” Again, this is to the people - all of us - and it still applies. Known, loved, held by God.

            And the images just keep echoing this promising message of hope and life to the people in crisis. “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you.” This is a familiar image for God’s people who quickly recall God’s saving acts. We did not drown in the sea when the Egyptians were chasing; we did not get swallowed up in the floods; we did not die in the wilderness. “When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned, . . . I am the Lord your God your Savior.”

            All of this is groundwork for the imperative - “do not fear.” Why be fearful when you have all this experience that God will never leave you? Why be fearful, why even cry tears by the river Babylon, when you recall God’s amazing ways? God rescues. God makes a way when it looks like there is no way. 

            And the affirmations continue - “because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you, . . .do not fear, I am with you.” . . . “Thus says the Lord.”

            In recent days, the whole world has been saddened by the death of Archbishop Desmond Tutu from South Africa. Here is another one of God’s beloved servants whose life was full of turmoil and challenge, and extreme difficulty. Most of his life he lived under apartheid rule in his homeland. Then he showed the world there is “no future without forgiveness” as he led the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for his country and the world. Then he became a world leader for faith, and for peace; and he faced cancer and personal challenge. Yet Tutu’s legacy is one of love and commitment. He knew to Whom he belonged. He knew how to prioritize his life - with joy and delight in the face of despair and darkness, with fortitude and focus in the face of hatred and heartache. 

            Some of you have seen this wonderful picture - a tribute to Archbishop Tutu, jumping, dancing on a stage in his full, purple bishop regalia. And it is accompanied by this poem - which applies so well to this faithful servant, Desmond Tutu - but applies to all of us:

            I sometimes forget/ that I was created for Joy.

            My mind is too busy. / My Heart is too heavy

            for me to remember / that I have been called to dance 

            the Sacred dance of life. / I was created to smile

            To Love / To be lifted up / And to lift others up.

            O’ Sacred One / Untangle my feet from all that ensnares.

            Free my soul. / That we might /Dance

            and that our dancing / might be contagious.             ~Hafiz

            Fears may surround us. However, “Thus says the Lord” - “Do not fear - I have redeemed you; you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you.”

            Thus says the Lord. So we keep on - seeking to trust God and serve God, even in the face of challenge and uncertainty, doing our best, doing justice, loving kindness, walking humbly with God. Thus says the Lord. 

            Friends, God frees us from fear and keeps calling us to important work to bring about peace and hope, joy and justice for all people everywhere. We keep on. AMEN. 

Prayer of Commitment: Holy God, move in our midst in new and powerful ways. Cover us with your love and promises. Strengthen us to live and serve with joy and justice following Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Alex Evans, Pastor, Second Presbyterian Church, Richmond, VA preached this sermon during Sunday morning worship in the Sanctuary on January 9, 2022. This is a rough manuscript.