"Walk in the Light"

      Today's message from Isaiah was written in a time of great uncertainty.  The scholars say there are two possibilities for when it was written.  It was written either during Israel's zero hour ¹, the Babylonian captivity, or it might have been written earlier, around 700 B.C., during the period of Assyrian domination.  Either way, it was bad news for Israel.

      In the earlier period, Judah had been at war for over forty years, first with the Egyptians, then with the Assyrians, then with the Egyptians, again with the Assyrians.  All an entire generation knew was war.

      Imagine for a moment, your sons and daughters (grandsons/daughters) grow up playing with guns and grenades, are summoned into the army at age twelve, and expect to die or be maimed before they turn twenty.  Hard to imagine a more broken scenario.  Families were broken; bodies were broken, hearts were broken; futures shattered.  There was little hope for peace and wholeness.

      Even if Isaiah had been prophesying later, the scenario was hardly better.  The zero hour of the Babylonian captivity, some 570 years before Christ, was devastating.  "With the destruction of their country, the expulsion from their homeland, forced labor in Babylon, an eclipse. . . had fallen on God's people²".  An eclipse in which the nation and the faith of Israel seemed broken beyond repair.

      Either way you look at it, Israel was in big trouble.  Israel was broken; the monarchy destroyed.  The entire region was unstable.  All nations lived under the constant cloud of looming aggression from their neighbors.

      Any way you look at it, it was an anxious time.  There was insecurity about Israel's leadership.  The monarchy was linked with God.  The king was considered to be God's instrument, anointed and sanctioned by God.  No one knew what was going to happen with the king.  The house of David would face at least two generations of decline.  The dynasty had been humiliated by the Assyrians.  This broken monarchy crushed people's faith.  They thought God was broken, too.

      Into this context of brokenness and hopelessness the prophet Isaiah speaks.

      A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.

      Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins. . .The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.

      In the midst of incredible brokenness, Isaiah imagines peace and new life.  The people are promised the perfect King.  People are promised rebirth, life from a broken stump; nothing less than a Savior.

      This savior comes from the soil of the family of Jesse.  This longed for ruler will grow, like a strong green shoot, from what people thought was dead.  This one will resurrect the ancient promise to David.

      And then, this new king, there will be peace and a new order of life.  Enemies will play bocce ball with one another.  This peace will extend even to the animal kingdom, where the wolf will stop making lunch of the lamb.  Babies will play with poisonous snakes and not get bit.  No one will hurt any more.

      Yes, you say, all this sounds well and good, and, you say, all this sounds a bit like a fairy tale.  No one can deny this.  It requires both faith and imagination to understand how Isaiah's word still holds power today.

      Imagine.  New life from brokenness.  This is the power of God in your life and in my life, starting right this very moment.

      Imagine.  New possibilities where once there were dead ends.  This is the promise of God to us, here. Now.

      Imagine.  A fundamental change in the way people relate to one another.  A fundamental change in the way things are.

      Imagine!  It happens.  The gospel tells us it still happens.  By the grace of God, it does.

      It happened to Christine Caine, born in Sydney, Australia. One week before her thirty-third birthday, Caine discovered she had been adopted.  There was a lot in her past that had to be overcome.  Because of her religious upbringing, Caine had believed that the only way a woman could serve God in ministry was to become a nun.  It was only upon her visit to a church where a female pastor was preaching that she experienced a different paradigm and saw a glimpse of what she felt called to do for God.

      Caine founded and now directs The A21 Campaign.  The A21 Campaign seeks to "abolish injustice in 21st century."  Its current mission focus is human trafficking in Europe.  The A21 Campaign aims to educate, raise awareness, address legislation, fight corruption, and rehabilitate victims of human trafficking.

      Caine also is the founder and director of Project Europe.  Project Europe builds churches and leadership across Europe.

      Imagine. A child given away at birth now changing the world.  A woman who believed there was nothing she could do to serve God in a big way, now an internationally known pastor, leader, and motivator.  Out of a broken past, new life.  Out of dormant roots, luxurious and abundant growth.

      Imagine the end of addiction and a chance for new life.

      It happened to Charles and Judy.  For years, Charles abused alcohol, and for years Charles did not treat Judy very well, either. Charles was well on the way to ruining everything he said he cared about: his family, his career, his health.  He knew he had a problem. He had tried to quit on his own.  What it took for him was the kind advice of a friend.  "Go to God, Charles.  This thing is bigger than you.  You need to hand it over to God, and let other people help you quit."

      Today, by the grace of God, Charles is a changed man.  Sober, healthy, rebuilding relationships with his wife and children.  He feels better today than he could have ever imagined.  He knows new life from a broken past.

      Imagine.  Something good out of terrible violence.

      It happened to someone whose sister was murdered.  Julia is now a well known researcher and political advocate to eliminate domestic violence and empower women.  Her work has been very effective in lifting young women out of ignorance and poverty.  She has inspired new standards and instituted new laws in Brazil.  Her work is a fresh green shoot growing out of the broken stump of grief for her sister.

      It happened to Maria.  She might be fifty years old; she could well be younger.  Maria was in a horrible automobile accident five years ago.  She had been a businesswoman, but now she lives in nursing home.  She has no use of her body except for her head and face.  Maria lives confined to a high-tech wheelchair, which she can move with some device on her nose.  There is a little silver spot on the end of her nose, like a strange bindi or a little jewel you might see stuck on a belly dancer.  It's part of her technology.  It's rather playful there on her nose, and she has a beautiful, peaceful face. An amazing smile.  She continues to work on her computer (thank God for technology!) and to inspire others.  She is the most positive, warm and sensitive person you may meet in a very long time. She is that way, she says, because she believes in the healing power of God.

      Christine.  Charles.  Julia.  Maria.  It happened to them, and it can happen to you.  It takes at least two things:  first, it takes imagination!  Imagine the power and the possibility of God acting and changing the way you view things, the way you respond to difficult challenges, the way you behave.  Second, it takes faith and time.

      Imagine.  No more bitter quarrels with loved ones.

      No more steely silences.  No more turning to lies, cursing, or cover ups.  A peaceful acceptance of the painful things life has handed you.  Seeing possibilities instead of past failures.  Nurturing new growth.  Getting "unstuck" from the things which hold you back from growing, loving, and serving God.  Imagine.

      A rose blooming in the middle of winter.  A green shoot growing out of a dead stump.  Imagine.  A savior born in a barn, destined to die on a tree, rise from the dead, and bring life again where there had been nothing but death.  Imagine.