Westwood Presbyterian Church, Winnipeg
Dec. 20, 2009
SERMON
(Isaiah 59:20-60:6, Psalm 27, John 8:27)
One of my favorite quotes is this, “The person who is out of step, may be marching to the beat
of a drum they alone can hear.” This is an invitation to stand out – to be different – to do things
that get you noticed as being different. It takes courage to do that – it costs to march to the beat
of a different drum.
Remember back to Junior High or High School – how desperately we worked to fit in. To be
like everyone else in our dress, in our speech, in the music we listened to. The people who were
different somehow – the ones who stood out in some way – they were the loners – the outsider –
and we did not want to be like them.
As adults we do the same thing – we don’t want to stick out too much – we don’t want to be
really different from everyone else. Yes, we want to be ourselves – but there are limits as to how
much of ourselves we will let people see. Because we are afraid if we show the real us – we will
be locked out.
“Keep your head down – so no one will notice you.” “Don’t draw attention to yourself.” “You
don’t want to be noticed.” These are the kinds of phrases that the people of Israel were used to
hearing as they lived in exile in Babylon. Strangers in a strange land – a place where they did not
belong – a place that was not theirs. As strangers, as people who did not know what to do – they
wanted to make sure that they did not stick out.
Yet the passage we read from Isaiah invites the people of Israel to march to the beat of a
different drum. To “Arise and Shine” the text says – to be bold and brave – to live courageously.
To not live as people who are held captive by a foreign power – to not live as people who are
hiding away trying to make sure that no one pays attention to them – to not live as a people who
have had the faith and hope drained out them. No, the people of Israel are to “Arise and Shine”
because their light has come. This light has shone upon them – it is not something that they are to
dream up in and of themselves – it is not something that they summon out of themselves. The
light that transforms the situation is from God – God whose light has shone upon them – God
who has sent a Redeemer to them.
This is very important to understand. God is not saying – “Oh get over it, things aren’t that
bad.” God is not singing that song, “Don’t worry, be happy.” This is not a bunch of self-help
stuff, this is not a self-esteem message. No, the people are not being asked to pick themselves up
and dust themselves off and keep on going in their own strength. No, the change comes from
outside – a game-changer has arrived on the scene. The story is completely different than it was
– reality has shifted – because God has acted.
God invites the people of Israel to a realistic assessment of their situation – and the situation
is depressing. Darkness covers the earth, and if you thought that was just a little darkness and so
you are going to minimize it – the next line drives home the point – “and thick darkness the
peoples.” This is a depressing situation – one which no amount of positive self-talk is going to
solve. Discouragement and depression are completely logical answers in the face of the darkness
– the thick darkness.
In the face of that realistic assessment God brings change – there is no chance of confusion
about who has brought the change – its source is clear – the glory of the Lord has risen upon the
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people – the glory of the Lord has brought the change. And in the glory of the Lord, in the fact
that he has brought this change, the people can lift up their heads – they can arise and shine. Not
in their strength, not because they are great – not because they have somehow worked hard to
achieve this reality – no, it is the gracious, amazing gift of God and of God alone. The glory of
the Lord has brought this change.
But this goes one step further – while there might have been signs of the glory of the Lord
breaking forth. It had not fully arrived – the people were still in exile. This was a future promise
– “the nations shall come” – “you shall see”. Future tense. But the command is to arise and shine
now – in the hope of what is coming. In the certainty that it is coming. To arise and shine for
what they alone know and hear to be reality.
It would be boring and tedious to replay once again the litany that indicates just how bad the
situation around us is. It is easy to agree with the hard, tough assessment that darkness covers the
earth – and thick darkness the peoples. On a worldwide basis that assessment seems true as wars
and rumours of wars continue, and environmental disaster threatens. On a national basis the
challenges are enormous, as they are within our city. In our personal lives there are places where
darkness seems to dominate.
Yes, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness the peoples.
Around us we hear the lines – “Don’t worry, be happy”; “Life is not that bad, cheer up”; “The
sun will come out tomorrow.” Or the lines that come from the self-help movement – “I’m okay,
you’re okay.” Or the lines from the perennial optimists – “If we all try a little harder; things will
get better.”
I’m sorry, none of that addresses the problems – none of that has any integrity in looking into
the heart of the issues – none of that deals honestly with the darkness – the thick darkness.
Because all of it is about us pulling ourselves up by our own bootstraps and never in the course
of human existence has anyone been able to do that.
It rained much of the time that the mega-rock concert in the 1960’s was taking place. And on
one of the live albums recorded at Woodstock – the lead singer for the band on stage invited
everyone in the audience to think hard – and if they all thought hard they could stop it from
raining. It did not work. Humans thinking smarter, working harder, being better will not address
the deep issues of our world.
Does that mean that we have to throw up our hands in despair and say there is no hope? The
answer to that is both yes and no. If by hope we mean something that we as human beings can do
– by thinking harder, working faster, building some new kind of technology, passing better laws
– and so on – if that is the source of our hope – then the answer to the question is “Yes, it is time
to throw up our hands and walk away. Because if it depends on us there is no hope.”
If by hope – we mean is there a game changer out there – someone who is ready to act – who
has acted – who will bring about the transformation of the world independent of human beings –
in fact, despite human beings. Then the answer to the question is “no” – it is not time to give up.
If we are looking for a game changer who has come to our world – who has come to transform
the world – who has looked into the heart of darkness and deals with that darks – that person has
come and is coming.
We can’t be this close to Christmas – and hear the words – “The glory of the Lord” – and not
think of the shepherds in the field – where the glory of the Lord shone. And the shepherds
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certainly arose and shone – they did not care that they stood out – they did not care that they
drew attention to themselves – they did not hide away – they arose and shone. Not because of
what they had done – not because if something in them – not because they were somehow
special – but simply because God the game changer had acted – had come in the person of a
baby in a manger in Bethlehem. The whole world had changed. The darkness – the thick
darkness had been pierced by the light of God – the light of the world – the light of Jesus. The
shepherds were invited to live in that light – to rejoice in that light – to point to the light.
The light has dawned on us – in our world – cutting through the darkness – the thick darkness.
It has come, not because we worked hard to make it come – not because we are special – not
because we all thought hard and it came into being. No, the light has come because God acted
and the glory of the Lord shone forth.
The light has come. And it is time for us to arise and shine. But we may say – the darkness is
still evident. But we hear the drum beat – we know what is coming – we hear it coming – it is on
its way – the glory of the Lord is coming. It will break into our world. It is coming. The time to
arise and shine is now – for the glory is coming. It is time to march to the beat of God’s drum – it
is time to be out of step – to act in ways that bring attention to ourselves – to be different.
Because the game changer has come and is coming again.
The glory did shine on the shepherds – but there is more glory to come. The glory could be
seen in the face of Jesus in the manger of Bethlehem – but we will see more clearly yet. We live
between his coming and his coming again – and we march to the beat of that drum. We are out of
step with the world around. And that is just fine. With courage we march to the beat of God’s
drum. We lift up our heads – we declare not that we are right – not that we are better – not that
we are specially favoured – no for none of that is true. Rather we simply say – “We hear it –
can’t you hear it. It is coming. And all flesh will see it together – the glory of the Lord.”
Notice in this text what happens when the people of Israel arise and shine – when they lift up
their heads. People are drawn to them – people from all over the world – drawn to them. Because
we live in a world that is desperate for hope – we live in a world that has tried everything and it
has not worked. The world is still the same. But the people of Israel stood and said – The game
changer is coming, the world will change, He is on his way. In the midst of darkness – thick
darkness – they had hope – not in themselves – not in a better piece of technology – not in
human will – not their hope came from the game changing reality of glory of the Lord. Only God
can change the world – only God can bring light. In that hope the people of Israel lived.
In that hope we are called to live. Living in the hope that we know is coming – that we hear is
coming. And as we live as people who live in hope – not some hope in human beings – not some
hope in our ability – but rather a hope in God – in the glory of God which will be revealed. Then
people will be drawn to that hope – to the drum beat that we hear and that we invite others to
hear.
We hear the drum being out its good news – its evangel – which means good news – and we
invite others to listen to the beat of God’s drum – to walk to its beat. This is what we call
evangelism – inviting others to come to the light of hope as we have done.
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Thanks be to God that His glory has shone – thanks be to God that we live in hope and
knowledge that his glory will shine anew in our world. Thanks be to God that we have been
invited to arise and shine in the light of God’s glory.
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