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December 9, 2007
Scripture: Isaiah 11: 1-10
Title: “Standing as a signal”

It is that time again. We can’t turn it off. It is everywhere we go and everywhere we look: TV, newspaper, magazines, and internet blogs. Yes, it is that time again.

Time for us to begin the process of choosing a new leader for our country. Surprised? Did you expect me to say something else?

Even as I say this, I must tell you that I am a firm believer in the separation of church and state. However, as I lived with this scripture this week, this text would not let me stay within my comfort zone of neatly drawn lines that divide two very passionate issues: religion and politics.
Religion and Politic: two worlds we would all like to keep apart because they are such personal issues for people. And they are two worlds that we straddle as people of faith. We would like to keep each one of these worlds in neat round circles but for us as people of faith, these worlds overlap and we find ourselves in the gray middle.

I realized as I began to write this sermon that once again the worlds of faith and politics have collided and we find ourselves in that gray middle once again. In the church, we are celebrating Advent, where we await our Savior King, where we await the Christ child, where we await the coming of God’s kingdom, where we await the infant who will usher in a new era of peace, justice, and love. And at the same time, we find ourselves in an Advent of sorts for our nation. We are waiting. We are hoping. We pray that our next leader will govern with fairness, will hear the please of this nation for justice for all, and will understand the people of this nation.

While we are celebrating and expecting our Savior King to bring about the kingdom of God, we are awaiting and expecting our next political leader to begin planting the seeds for world peace for our world and to listen to the cries of the people of this nation.

In this season of Advent, we as people of faith are straddling the lines of religion and politics. We are standing in that gray area. And we wait and we hope.

We are awaiting the birth of a King. We are awaiting our next very human political leader. We are straddling the lines. We are living a double life as people of faith and as people of this world. An interesting and sometimes difficult dichotomy.

As I lived with this text, I found Isaiah putting into words the dichotomy that we as people of faith live each and every day of our lives. We live in a secular world with very human leaders, very fallible leaders while proclaiming a faith that visions and hopes for a world that is at peace and where God is in control. We as Christians are called to live out our faith in a very secular world. An interesting and sometimes a difficult dichotomy.

Not unlike the situation that Isaiah finds himself in during our Scriptures. Isaiah knows that he is living in a corrupt time and he knows that God will not let it continue. The nation of Israel has been ruled by king after kings who have disregarded the word of the Lord, have forgotten to take care of the orphans, the widows, the poor. King after King who have embraced the gods of other countries. King after king who have broken their relationship with God and with God’s people.

And God has said enough.

Invaders have come and almost destroyed Israelite nation. A once strong and powerful nation, a once tall tree of life has now been cut down. And all that is left are stumps, dotting the landscape. All that is left is darkness and chaos.

And the people wonder who will lead them. Who will come and restore their nation? Who will step up to the plate and help them to become once again a powerhouse on the world’s stage of politics.

Isaiah brings Good News!! A leader will come. But this leader will be different. This leader will be a leader blessed with the Spirit of the Lord and will rule with justice and fairness. This leader will be like any other leader that the nation of Israel has ever had. Isaiah tells the people that this leader will come from the lineage of David. But Isaiah says this new leader will be even better than David who is held as the ultimate king and someone who personifies faith in the Lord.

Isaiah wants the people of Israel to know that this world does not have the last world. God does. God is working. Isaiah tells the people that where you see death and destruction, where you see lifeless stumps, God sees new beginnings. God will once again move across the Chaos and bring new life, just like in the beginning. God moved across the dark water and chaos and said let there be light.”

Isaiah wants the people to see that there is a new creation coming and it will all begin with a new leader. And this new leader will exceed all of their expectations. This leader will embody the Spirit of the Lord and will wear the clothes of justice and righteousness. This leader will issue in a new era, an era where the poor and the lost will be given justice, where the world will be at peace.
And this peace will have ripple effects not just among the nation of Israel. The effects of this new creation will be change the dynamics of creation. Lion will lay down with the lamb. Wolf will lay down with the calf. There will be no need to devour the helpless anymore. There will not be a need for the strong to abuse the weak anymore. There will be no need to devour anymore. There will be peace. It is a new beginning. It is a return to God’s intended purpose for creation. We will return to beginning. We will return to the peace and harmony that was found in the Garden of Eden.

And a young child will lead them. God will do the unexpected once again. God will raise up a leader from the same stock that brought forth a young shepherd boy who ruled a nation. God will do the unexpected once again. And there will be peace.

Isaiah’s Good news to the people of Israel is that yes, they will become a powerhouse on the world’s stage, not because they have a great and powerful leader. They will become a powerhouse to the rest of the world because their leader will be a signal to the world on how to live in peace and in harmony. Their leader will be the guiding light to a world that is crying out for justice and fairness. Their leader will be a signal for all the world that God is working in the world and that a new beginning is here.

Their leader will stand as a signal of hope and peace. Their leader will stand as a signal that this world does not have the last word. God does.

And that is also Isaiah’s word to us this morning. This world does not have the last word. God does. Yes, our leaders are human. Yes, our leaders are fallible. We live as Christians in a very secular world. We live out an interesting and sometimes difficult dichotomy as people of faith. And we are given a word of hope. The world does not have the last word. God does.

And we are called to stand as a signal of hope and peace to a world that is filled with death and destruction, that is filled with lifeless stumps that dot the landscape. Our God promises a new leader and this new leader will be different. This leader will surpass all of our expectations. This leader will issue in a new era of peace for all of God’s creation.

This world does not have the last word. God does.

Our God will bring forth new life. Our God will bring peace to God’s creation and a little child will lead us. As we await this new Godly leader that will bring in the Kingdom of God, we are called to stand as a signal to ‘the world. We are called to say No, you don’t need to devour each other. You don’t have to let the strong abuse the weak.”

We are called to stand as a signal of peace and hope. We are to wrap ourselves with the clothes of justice and righteousness and to do our part in bringing forth a new creation of peace.
We are called to live out our faith as Christians as a signal to a world that is hurting. Stand as a signal. Drive away the darkness. Shine the light of God for all of the world to see.

Stand as a signal that yes, we can live in peace. Stand as a signal that yes, we can live in harmony because our God will rise up a new leader from the stumps that dot our landscape and bring about a new beginning. God has promised us a new leader. God has promised us a new beginning.

And in the meantime while we wait, stand as a signal of light, of hope, of peace. Drive the darkness away. Share the Good News! As we wait, let us live out our faith as beacons of light for our world that is overtaken by the darkness. We have been given a calling to be people of faith in a secular world. Stand as a signal of what God can do and will do.

This world does not have the last word. God does.

May we find the strength to live out this interesting and difficult dichotomy of living out our faith in a secular world. Amen.

Rev. Heather McColl
Midway Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

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