Introduction
This is the Pastor’s Blog for the Service on Sunday Nov 9th at 10:45AM. Included here is the primary Scripture of this message and the Pastor’s notes. Prior to the service it will include an excerpt of the Pastor’s notes and following the service the complete notes will be added. Also following the service a link will be provided a the bottom to Replay this service. We hope you will join us in Worship on Sunday.
Scripture : Isaiah 43:1-7
But now, this is what the Lord says—
he who created you, Jacob,
he who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
3 For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypt for your ransom,
Cush[a] and Seba in your stead.
4 Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
and because I love you,
I will give people in exchange for you,
nations in exchange for your life.
5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
I will bring your children from the east
and gather you from the west.
6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring my sons from afar
and my daughters from the ends of the earth—
7 everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.”
Pastor’s message
There are many ways to read scripture. Encountering scripture can involve a deep dive into word studies, scholarly historical criticism, map studies. Other times we go to scripture to seek guidance for some dilemma or decision. We can ask ourselves “does Jesus say anything about this? What would Jesus do in such a situation?” When we’re engaged in a debate about meaning, we can slip into using scripture as a proof-text, which often doesn’t improve our relationships or strengthen communities.
Today is one of those days when those different ways of approaching scripture aren’t enough. Today is a day we want to wrap ourselves in scripture, and to let words of God’s love and grace sink in and lead us into peace and comfort, however long that takes.
This has been a hard week for our community. We’ve lost a member suddenly and traumatically. To be able to come together and express our pain through music, prayer, and scripture – to engage in the rituals the church provides – is a gift.
One of the values we hold as United Methodists is connection. We’ve woven connection into our denominational fabric. When one suffers, we join together in support and prayer for the one who suffers. Our congregations, conferences and agencies are connected together in supportive community. We have people here with us this morning from across the connection who are here to pray with us, listen to us, and help us carry the burden of grief and loss. [I’ll indicate who these persons are.] Thank you so much for being here in the New World community this morning, and for bearing witness to our connection in the Body of Christ. Thank you for entering into our grief with us.
This chapter in Isaiah is one of those that is good to hear in times like these. It can assure us of hope, let us know we’re not alone and that we are loved.
In the verses we just heard, we hear lots of “water” words: the sea, mighty waters, rivers. The prophet is calling the listener’s attention back to foundational stories of Israel – the parting of the Red Sea, and Moses striking a rock with his staff so that clear water issues forth, and a thirsty people might drink in a parched landscape.
But this isn’t just a retelling of an old story. The prophet is pulling this old story into Israel’s reality during Isaiah’s time, a reality marked by suffering and pining for home and for what was, because the people have been ripped from their homes and sent into exile, their homeland destroyed. The “before” of their lives and the “after” is stark and devastating, disorienting and tragic. The question “where is hope now?” must have been a question they asked daily.
Just as the stories of old became stories of the present for a people in exile, so, too, can these stories of old enter into our reality right now.
Our story right now contains the sadness of losing Dan Steerman suddenly and traumatically. Many of us talked to him just last Sunday as he sat at the security desk in the Narthex, monitoring our security cameras and making sure everyone on the premises is safe.
His absence is sharp and fresh. Many of us are struggling to understand and process Dan’s death.
Something that I’ve noticed about grief and loss over the years is that each loss tends to hook into all of our other losses. It’s like a chain with beads. Each time a new bead of loss is added, it knocks on the other beads, and then all of the beads start clicking against each other and grief emerges again, sharp and fresh.
Here is where scripture can help, providing a healing balm if we are ready to receive it.
I offer a simple spiritual practice. Let’s read the first few verses of chapter 43. Where we see the word “Jacob” or “Israel,” let’s place your own name in the blank and see how that speaks to your soul:
But now, thus says the Lord, he who created you, O ___________;
He who formed you, O _______________.
I have called you by name, you are mine.
[Pause]
You are mine, says God. Each one of us is created, formed, and loved by the Holy One. God knows us by name.
There is no exception to this. There is no other creator forming other beings. There is no other lord who offers grace, mercy and compassion in abundance.
Now, let’s take another step. Let us place Dan’s name in the blank.
[Pause]
Dan Steerman, a beloved soul in this community, is also still a beloved child of God. There is nothing that has separated him from God’s love and embrace. There is nothing that can change who we are: beloved children of God. There is nothing that can change whose we are: we belong to the one God who created us and has claimed us, now and forever.
Let us pray:
We know, O God,
that wherever we travel,
you are with us.
There is no place we can go,
no situation we can face
which is outside your love and strength;
and so we commit ourselves into your care and keeping
on this journey,
knowing that all times
we are in your hands. Amen.
