O NE LAST TIME, LET’S DIG into the “Lent in a Bag” to see what we have. Stickers. Mr. Potato Head stickers. What shall we do with Mr. Potato Head stickers?
To figure that out, we look at these words from Second Isaiah. We call this prophet Second Isaiah because there is strong evidence that the book we have of Isaiah was written over many years by at least two if not three prophets. He is an unknown prophet who encouraged the hopeless exiles in Babylon. (But for familiarity and convenience we will simply call him Isaiah.)
We heard the exile story last week. Away from their homeland for so long, the exiles wallow in gloom and self-pity. For the uprooted Jews in the foreign city, the idea of return seems distant — as distant as their God. Anyone who tried to tell the people different, anyone offering a false hope, would be ridiculed.
Yet, God wants Isaiah to spread the news of imminent release and return. This reading lists some body parts.
● Verse 4: The Sovereign LORD gave me a tongue.
● Verses 5–6: The Sovereign LORD opened my ears.
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FIRST, ISAIAH IS GIVEN the tongue of a teacher to speak an encouraging word to the weary; to hearten the disheartened.
Second, God open Isaiah’s ears so that he might hear God’s voice. God’s rouses him every morning and calls him to listen.
We are called, like Isaiah, to hear and to speak of Jesus and his love. We hear, with our ears, the call and words of God to us. We speak, with our tongue, sustaining words to the broken and weary. That’s where Mr. Potato Head comes in. In your devotional time, hear, think and pray over how you can use each part of who we are for God’s truth and justice.
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TAKE THE FEET STICKER and ask: How can my feet be used to promote justice? Do the same with the other body parts. What about your hands and the proclamation of Good News? Does what you look at with your eyes lead to freedom for yourself and others? Peel off the stickers and name ways, as your stick to Mr. Potato Head, that you will be faithful to God with your body and life.
Isaiah is not finished listing body parts. He mentions the back and the face. His back beaten. His face spat upon. Abuse and insults from using his ears and tongue for the word of God. Why would someone whose goal is to sustain the weary be beaten? Why would someone who listens to the cries of the needy be spat upon? It doesn’t make sense. Perhaps the teachings from God are not what the people want to hear.
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THESE WORDS COME AS A WARNING to us — living into God’s calling comes at a price. History is chock-full of examples of those who speak truth to power and are despised. Those who have an eye for the suffering are often roughed up. Those who speak to sustain and even lift up the downtrodden are sometimes killed.
It might be the bullet aimed for 14-year-old Malala. It might be Tiananmen Square tanks that threaten to run over non-violent students. It can be “the powers that be” who lock in prison for years Nelson Mandela. Those who have a gift to speak hopeful words for the weary are turned over to those who would pull out their beard and beat their back. The ones who listen to the cries of those who need to be heard are turned over to insulters, bombers, and demanding crowds.
How do we sustain ourselves for doing good in the face of criticism? Isaiah’s response to his insults and injury? The Sovereign LORD is with me.
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ISAIAH IS DEFIANT. He is not humiliated — despite the abuse — because God comes to his aid. His mission does not waver in the face of negative and violent reaction. He is certain about God’s calling; therefore he feels that vindication by God will come. Because of God’s help, he will not be disgraced. Because of God’s help, he will be declared innocent.
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BUT THERE’S ALSO ANOTHER WARNING for us.
How easy it is for us to be the ones who condemn those who speak the word of the LORD. How easily we fall prey to joining forces with the “powers that be.” How often we are the ones beating the backs and spitting on the faces of God’s teacher. How dangerous it is that we get too cocky thinking we’re on the right side even as we strike out against the tongue and ear of God’s servant. How easily we move from “jumping up and down shouting ‘Hosanna’ ” to crying out “Crucify him.”
The unwritten question resonating in the background on this Palm Sunday; the struggle the Triumphal Entry asks: Will these same people worship THE Jesus on the donkey, when he is THE one hanging on a cross? Will they identify with the suffering one, just as they celebrate the one who comes as a king? Will we?
— Keith Cardwell
