Bible Text: Isaiah 49:1-7, John 1:29-42 | Preacher: Rev. Jenn Geddes
A few weeks ago I had the privilege of seeing a documentary entitled, Life, Animated. It is about a young man, Owen Suskind, who at an early age was diagnosed with non-communicative autism. The family was devastated. As he grew up his condition worsened until they felt they had lost their little boy who would or could not speak or make eye contact. Until one day when they realized he had memorized the entire plot to the Disney movie, Aladdin and they could reach him not only by watching but by expressing emotions through the movies. Some of the first words he said to his parents where to express that his big brother was sad, just like Peter Pan because he didn’t want to grow up. Suddenly they were able to make sense of life by communicating through these animated movies. Owen was able to attend a school that specialized in not only teaching the usual subjects, but also skills for being and living independently. In the documentary we are able to watch him develop as a teenager to an adult and living on his own, something the family never thought possible. There is a recognition that it was through this creative discovery of communicating through animated films that Owen was then able to develop his speech and express himself, but it also happened because there was an entire community supporting him, rooting for him, being patient with him and allowing him to work with his autism, not against it. He overcame adversity through community, but it also means letting go of our own needs to point and share with someone greater. We too have the opportunity to help a young boy become stronger together. This is the sentiment expressed in Isaiah’s passage, and also something John expresses as he points beyond himself to someone greater.
While the passage from Isaiah comes from a series that is traditionally called “The Servant Songs”, there has been much scholarly debate regarding the identity of the servant in this song. Clearly we can draw connections to Jesus who is often called the suffering servant. However, you will note that in our little passage it transitions repeatedly between an individual and a people. The individual says things like, “The Lord called me before I was born.” but then the passage also says, “You are my servant Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” On one hand this is about a faithful servant and on another it is about the people of Israel who, as a community in covenant with God, will make God’s blessings to all nations known. Here is where I am going with this. I think it is both about an individual and a community. For we are called as individuals to be disciples, but we work together as disciples in community. Each one of us has our own personal reasons for being here today but it is made manifest through our actions as a church- as a whole. And so it matters little to me about whether this is a song by one person or many people. The final goal is the same, a call to service.
Regardless of whether it is meant to be an individual or a people who are singing this song it was indeed sung to a people who were fragmented and living in exile. Yet, this gives them a new goal. The Israelites felt that their original purpose was to be God’s people, living in God’s land and worshipping in God’s temple. When the land and temple are stripped of them they loose a major part of their identity. What are they to do now that they have been traumatized and scattered by a conquering super power? If they are no longer living in God’s land or worshipping in God’s temple are they still God’s people? This is the question at the heart of much of The Book of Isaiah and responds with yes, you are still my people and you have a responsibility to fulfil regardless of land and temple. Old Testament scholar Juliana Claassens brings this home, regarding the Israelites she says, “They have been greatly traumatized by the unbridled display of imperial power when the mighty Babylonian army destroyed their homes and holy place, and forcefully removed thousands of people from their city, taking them into chains to Babylon…The text assumes the reality of the exiles and provides them with a new purpose in life, looking beyond their own self-interest and seeing their role as being of service to the many foreigners [who now cross their path].”
Perhaps we have all heard the phrase, there is always someone having a worse day than you. It’s not a phrase I like nor is it one I would use pastorally when assisting someone who has received some bad news. However, imagine that you have just had the worst day- there was never a day like this- and you are told it’s not about you but about others. It is not the most helpful thing and yet, that is what Isaiah is doing. Isaiah is saying, you can wallow in your own pain and suffering, mourning your loss of land, sure you can feel sorry for yourself and get nothing done because you have no place of worship, you can claim to be the victim and refuse to help others out but God is telling us to overcome that adversity so that we can help others overcome their own. The Israelites could not have undergone a more terrible experience being stripped of everything that defined them and yet God, through Isaiah, is telling them to brush themselves off and serve foreigners. In part, I believe it is because as exiles themselves they are gifted with the empathy to understand what other foreigners under Babylonian rule are going through. Expose your vulnerabilities in community and you as well as the community become stronger together.
In some way John, the Baptist is responding in a similar fashion. John lives it out by saying, “This story of repentance and reconciliation is not about me, but someone greater than me.” John was not the messiah or Elijah or a great prophet but rather a messenger who pointed beyond himself so that others could see and hear that the Messiah was among them. John’s response is counter-intuitive to our modern ears. If someone congratulated me on being the amazing person that I am, would I really say, well, actually I’m not that great….really the greater person is my husband. OK, maybe I would, but John refuses to be given a status that in many ways he deserves. John is a great leader, John has disciples, John is teaching and spreading the good news of the Gospel, John’s ministry is relatively successful and yet John continues to say don’t follow me, follow him.
When Jesus sees John’s disciples turning to follow him, Jesus says, “What are you looking for?” I want to point out something here, in John’s Gospel, those are Jesus’ first words, “What are you looking for?” It is a question directed to us as individuals but also as a community. What are you looking for? What are we looking for? If we are looking for someone to take the blame, if we are looking for an audience to listen to our self-pity, if we are looking for a way to feel good about who we are already. Then Jesus would likely say, “go look somewhere else.” But the disciples answer Jesus by saying, “Rabbi, where are you staying?” The disciples are not asking where is your place of rest? They are asking where is it that you dwell? And Jesus responds, “come and see.”
We are still in the season of Epiphany when we are called to seek the light of Christ in community but imagine if we lost all that defined us. Would we be able to turn to Jesus and say, wherever you dwell, we want to dwell too and would we be able to hear the words of Isaiah saying, “be a light not to yourselves but to the outsiders.” Would we be able to overcome adversity in community? Amen