Hope in Troubling Times
May 17, 2015 | Anita Retzlaf & Kelsey Dick

Alison reads Isaiah 24: 1-6  

Anita   A doomsday scenario - just one of the many that have been trotted out, probably since time began.  When the going gets really hard and horrible things happen, people are wont to predict the end of the world.  In the bible we call it apocalyptic, an experience of judgment. In our lives we know it personally as trauma, disaster, catastrophe, death.  In this first part of the Book of Isaiah the nation of Israel is threatened with obliteration.  They have been carried off into exile by the Babylonians, uprooted from their homeland: all vestiges of their religious tradition in ruins. Their situation is so dire that they do face the real possibility of being, literally, wiped off of the face of the earth.

This doomsday scenario is Israel's fault.  They had it coming according to the tradition of the prophets, and of this section in Isaiah.  They sinned, turned their backs on God and worshipped easier, more seductive powers. Israel's people lost sight of their roots. Now judgment is meted out – Israel, as they had known themselves, is no more.  So this is how the people of God, almost three thousand years ago, tell their own story of being overtaken by a mighty empire. The trouble with this interpretation of a nation’s collapse is the resulting picture of a God who has morphed from Creator to Destroyer and Avenger. Millennia later we are left to deal with this ancient interpretation of international conflict and the God that emerges out of this tale as violence and retribution personified.

Elaine Enns, who has done research on intergenerational trauma of Mennonites who witnessed atrocities in Ukraine and Germany, relates that one survivor stated of their experience in Ukraine, "We got too wealthy."  In other words, this horror came upon us because we lost sight of God’s will for us as a people.  There is truth to these stories of loss and trouble however we diminish God when we equate our bad behaviour with God’s desire for revenge. Behave or else… God’s going to get you for all of the trouble you have caused. Does God demand a pound of our flesh to keep order between good and evil? And then by association, does God send us forth to maintain control by judging others? Do we not misunderstand God’s desire for us to love and to be open to the “other?” Indeed we heap judgment upon ourselves by our actions. It is one thing to recognize our fault, as did Israel in its telling of their story.  It is another to ascribe to God, in our contemporary setting, the role of Divine Stalker and Enforcer.

Kelsey - reflections on "judgment"
The world we have created for ourselves is in undeniable disarray. We have certainly transgressed laws and broken the everlasting covenant, but in what way? We all have differing ideas of the curse that is devouring the earth. We try to find a way to understand what is sinful and normalize these behaviours as right or wrong. But what is right and wrong?

Humanity has a history of fearing what is not known and what we can’t understand. We take great comfort in certainty. We find ways to reduce anxiety by creating so called truth; we’ve created a world of binaries in an attempt to police uncertainty. What I’ve come to understand is that absolute certainty is not something that can be achieved no matter how hard we search for it. Nevertheless, we do try hard.

Judgement has become normalized, so much so, that we may not even realize we are doing it. Anyone that deviates from the societal norms we’ve created or the beliefs we hold is consequently branded as abnormal or even sinful. Could it be that assuming God’s judgement on others is ironically the curse Isaiah is speaking of? 
The world is not black and white and creating a world of binaries in an environment that is so fluid and enigmatic is not only limiting, but it’s defiant to God’s beautifully diverse creation. Assuming God’s judgment on others is blinding and places certain individuals as the “other” and as wrong and sinful.

In recent years, I have come out as gay and although often indirect, this period in my life has not been met without judgment from others. I have been labeled as the other, believed to be wrong and certainly judged as living a sinful life. Isaiah talks of the few righteous people left on earth. Might the problem be that some assume that a particular version of Christianity is right, and that some assume the position of those righteous few?

Hymn - Calm me, Lord 

Alison - reads Isaiah 42:5-9

Anita   Ah yes, then comes the time when we can breathe again. After the crisis has passed and the terror recedes comes the flood of relief following the great struggle.  So too, the people of God through the prophetic writings of the second section of Isaiah, take a collective breath. God extends an olive branch to Israel referring back to the covenant that was made between them generations ago. Infused with hope it is now appropriate to turn to the future.  The language of creation returns to Israel’s story.  Judgment is gone and promise returns. 

New creation comes into being; life springs forth after a time of darkness and death.  Last Sunday in our Adult Education class Edna Froese talked about light and darkness; that only after a time of dormancy and fallow can new growth burst forth.  We need darkness in order to know and to enjoy light. 

In this portion of Israel’s story the earlier experience of darkness and disorientation is transformed into fruitful reorientation and renewed hope.  God reminds his people that they are held and kept and protected. Not only does God lighten up but God enlightens the people so that they can go out into the world and work the transformation that they themselves have experienced firsthand.  This section of Isaiah contains the Servant Songs; poetic and challenging descriptors of seeking justice and serving ‘for the world’s sake.’ 

Kelsey - reflections on "hope"
I spent the majority of my life attempting to conform to what is normal, avoiding situations that would create conflict of any kind. In doing this, I lost sight of who I was. I was rapidly falling away from the person I knew and was thrown into a world of darkness and disorientation. It wasn’t until I was met with the choice to remain unhappy and unfulfilled, conforming to what would maintain calm in all facets of my life, and what I knew was right in my heart, but would bring on a multitude of challenges, including judgment from others.

I found myself confronting the beliefs I was taught and was forced to reconcile these with my new found reality. It was here that I found my faith transformed. I spent years studying scripture, learning theology and reflecting in an attempt to deeply understand Christianity and where I fit within this world view.  

What I came to realize was simple. Though my beliefs about Christianity had changed, my faith had not. In fact, what I found was that my faith had grown exponentially, the difference was that it was more firmly grounded in a set of beliefs that I felt strongly about. The judgment of others forced me to face head on my relationship with God, to really decide not only what I believed, but why I believed it. What I discovered in all of this was an unshakeable faith that was more deep and personal than any external force could alter. From this I resolved within myself to not be concerned with what others thought about me or thought about the way I live my life, but rather transform judgment into hope and courage.  

Hymn - Lord Jesus you shall be my song 

Alison - reads Isaiah 65:17-19, 25

Anita   Possibilities of a new identity emerge in the third part of Isaiah’s story.  From all that Israel has learned in its time of trial and disorientation and with all that is hoped for into the future, now is the time to embrace the world in its diversity.  The passage that Alison read tells of the joy of a new way of being a people.  Joy and delight are expressed as radical inclusion, and peace, among the nations. The last chapters of Isaiah tell this story.

A new mind, a new heart, a new memory is being realized. After terrible trouble and encouraged with hope, the “discipling” community opens its arms to include those who are otherwise on the margins. Read Isaiah 56 and see for yourself.  “The nations will come to your light,” maintains the Prophetic Word.  This is a challenge for us right now, today.  The world waits for us as people of God to invite and include.  Do we have a light to shine forth or are we stuck back in the first part of the story, the paralysis of
judgment?

The end run of Isaiah’s story is salvation…

Kelsey - reflections on "living into the realities of hope"
Despite the negative consequences associated with judgment between people, I truly believe it comes from a place of compassion and desire to bring people to God and save them from the horrible judgment described by Isaiah. However, when we attempt to create a universal belief and way of life to alieviate the fear of uncertainty and the judgment of God, we deprive people of their individuality and uniqueness that God gave them. Beliefs have and always will be variable. It’s impossible to create consistency in what people believe when it is subjective and dependent on circumstance.

At the end of my journey, I found not only that my beliefs were no longer of the majority, but also that I was not afraid to express the ways my beliefs differed from the majority. In addition to this expression, my experience also made me conscious to not judge others for their beliefs, for I knew how constricting that feels. Although I may never agree with some people, I resolved to never place judgment on anyone’s beliefs as long as those beliefs are doing no harm to others. This judgment is not up to me and my energy would be better spent living the way Jesus taught.

Isaiah talks about God’s glorious new creation, God’s perfect creation. The question remains how to attain this new creation, how do we achieve salvation. Is it achieved by creating the same belief among all peoples or by learning to celebrate diversity and appreciate other opinions and beliefs within our respective worldviews? Based on our troubling history, I believe God’s new creation reflects the latter.

Hymn - My life flows on

Anita   …salvation: the word that has such varied meaning for us. If, after all the pain and fear that we live through in God’s presence, we are emboldened to be bearers of hope, joy and love, we have been saved.  “Arise, shine for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.”  (60:1) AMEN