The cover of our bulletin brings up the contrast between the love
of power and the power of love. That is
the basic conflict in just about every story ever written. It’s the basic premise of the Harry Potter
book series. And also the Hunger Games,
and Divergent. Disney cartoons from Snow
White all the way to Aladdin, Mulan, and Frozen are all about the contrast
between the power of love and the love of power. With a new Star Wars movie coming out I’d
better not ignore that. I’ll bet just
about anything that it’ll be about love and virtue overcoming evil.
Who wants to read
a book or watch a movie where power wins and love gets defeated? Of course some stories are that way. Look at The
Diary of Anne Frank. And yet, that
book is only interesting because the Nazis lost the war.
The story of
Jesus from beginning to end is about the conflict between the power of love and
the love of power.
Despite the fact
that about the only kind of story we love is this kind of story it is a much
harder reality to live out. Most
everyone thinks he or she is a basically good person, or tries to do what is
right, but when it comes down to it the love of power usually wins in their
lives.
The love of power
wins whenever a person’s chief aim in choosing a house is status it bestows
upon the buyer; or when a person chooses a car mostly because of how it will
make him or her look when driving it. The
same goes for clothing. How many times
have teenage girls said, “I don’t want to be seen in public wearing that!” I have a colleague whose daughters, when they
were teenagers, would only carry things in bags from the Gap. They would certainly not carry anything in a
bag from Walmart. And they probably
would have died of shame if they were forced to go in public with a bag from
Kmart.
Boys are no better. How many teenage boys at the height of cool
go cruising the streets in minivans?
Adults are also no better. At
that business meeting when everyone puts their cell phones on the table don’t
you check out what other people have; and then make a subtle judgement? Admit it, you do! What do you think of that person who whips
out an old flip-phone?!?
This may not seem like the love of
power, but it is. It is about creating a
preserving your image and status; in other words, your power. No one wants to slip down.
The book of Isaiah had something to
teach the people of that day, but they had a hard time getting it. And it has something to teach us too, but
we’ll also have a hard time getting it.
It is about how the power of love truly works and expands.
Last week I mentioned that the book of
Isaiah was almost certainly not written by just one person. Almost all biblical scholars agree that
chapters 1 through 39 are based on the teachings and writings of the historical
prophet Isaiah. His writings come from
the time between 740 and 701 B.C. That
is the time period when ten of the northern tribes of Israel were destroyed by
the Assyrian Empire. Only two southern
tribes were left with the city of Jerusalem as the capitol. It was a tense time for the Jews. They were too weak to defend themselves
against the mighty empires that surrounded them, for there was also Egypt
threatening from the south. Isaiah
exhorted the Jewish leaders that they should trust God because God had promised
to divinely protect Jerusalem forever.
That sounds like a good teaching, and it was, but it also led to
arrogance, the idea that God would protect Jerusalem no matter what.
A century later the Babylonian Empire
had grown in the east and it not only threatened Jerusalem, but it 587 it
destroyed Jerusalem and hauled off the Jewish leaders into exile in
Babylon. You’d have expected a small
nation, only the size of a couple counties with a population of a few thousand,
to go extinct. But it didn’t. Ironically it was in total loss and defeat
that the Jews began to realize how big and powerful God really was.
If you look at Jewish writings prior
to the destruction of Jerusalem they describe God as being their God, and while
they understand God as being big and as the creator of the universe, it is
still more limited than later writings.
When you hit chapter 40 in Isaiah
you’re reading from a different author.
While there are connections to the historical prophet Isaiah, which is
probably why these chapters were attached to Isaiah and didn’t become their own
independent book, the understanding is bigger.
Ironically, in dealing with economic collapse, loss of the Davidic
dynasty, and military conquest their view of God becomes bigger. The only thing they have left is God, and
that reveals greater things about God’s power and God’s love. They begin to realize that while they are
God’s chosen people, the world is not about them. Rather, God will use them as a vehicle to
work in the whole world. They start to
see God’s work as being cosmic, and God holding everything together. As the Jews see themselves as smaller they
start to see God as bigger.
The first week of Advent we read from
the original prophet Isaiah. Last week
we read from this second author in Isaiah.
His work goes up through chapter 55.
This week we’re reading from a third author whose work covers the rest
of Isaiah. He is writing from an even
later time period. By this time the
Babylonian Empire has be destroyed by the Persian Empire. The Persians allow the Jews to return to
Jerusalem and rebuild it. The Jews have
spent decades in exile. An entire new
generation has arisen. It should be a
time of rejoicing and restoration, but it is not. Corruption is back. Pagan practices are back. Work on the temple and the city is slow and
stumbling. Nothing has improved! Plus, the Babylonians did allow some people
to remain in Jerusalem, mostly poor and weak people not worth hauling off. Even so, those who remained have scraped out
a living. Now they aren’t too happy
about all these people coming back and wanting to rebuild the city, upending
all that they have created to survive.
Do you have a friend or family member
or maybe a co-worker that whenever they show up they completely upend all that
you had planned? That’s what the people
who stayed felt about those coming back.
Where was this blessed time of peace
and prosperity and restoration that the second author in Isaiah wrote
about? Is God still failing them?
You can guess
what happens. In this third author in
Isaiah they realize God is even bigger.
They realize that God is not only interested in saving Jerusalem and the
Jewish people, God is at work saving the entire world. The entire way of living called the love of
power will be destroyed and the power of love will prevail.
This will all be
done by God, not by people. Prior to our
verses we read for today we find this in Isaiah 59:15b-18, “The Lord saw it,
and it displeased him that there was no justice. He saw that there was no one, and was
appalled that there was no one to intervene; so his own arm brought him
victory, and his righteousness upheld him.
He put on righteousness like a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on
his head; he put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and wrapped himself in
fury as a mantle. According to their
deeds, so will he repay; wrath to his adversaries, requital to his enemies; to
the coastlands he will render requital.”
Notice God does
the work, not people. Notice how God
dresses himself as a warrior for battle.
Now contrast that with our verses where the prophet says, “…for he has
clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of
righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride
adorns herself with jewels.” God is
again doing the dressing, and it is dressing the faithful people for a
celebration.
God’s work. God’s celebration. This is the power of love overcoming the love
of power. As the ancient Jews discovered
their incapability they became aware of God’s capability. God’s full capability would not be seen for a
few more centuries, when Jesus is crucified.
Then we see the true power of love.
The love of power
is easy to see. It is intoxicating and
all of us fall victim to it, at least from time to time. The power of love is sometimes almost
impossible to see. Yet its great
strength is there always. It is God’s
way. May we, like the ancient Jews
before us, recognize God’s enormous power and tendency to work in unpredictable
ways. And then trust in that so that we
too can be dressed by God for celebration as God’s ultimate victory comes.
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