You’ve certainly heard the phrase, “They don’t make things like they used to.” It’s usually a lament that the quality of items has deteriorated over time. Old things were thought to be of better and more durable quality. Older people often nod their heads at that. But the saying can also go the other way around. When I was a high school student I attended a farm machinery auction where there was something I wanted to buy. It was very old and wasn’t in working condition. I was hesitant in my bidding as the price was nearly at the maximum I was willing to spend. The auctioneer’s assistant leaned over to me and said, “You know, they don’t make things like they used to.” To which I replied loudly, “Yeah, I know. That’s why I don’t want to spend much on it!”
Indeed, we forget that many things – most things in fact – have improved in quality tremendously over the years. Cars are far more dependable, safer, and last a lot longer. Houses are far more efficient. Computers are faster and cheaper. And on and on goes the list.
But some things are timeless. Some things have value forever. We see that in our reading from Isaiah 40. The prophet declares, “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”
Isaiah is a very complex book. It is easiest to say that the first 39 chapters of the book come to us from the 8th century B.C.E. and the prophetic activities of the historical prophet Isaiah of Jerusalem. Then the second portion of the book – chapters 40-55 comes from the 6th century B.C.E. when the people of Israel were in exile in Babylon. Then the third portion of the book comes to us from late in the 6th century or early in the 5th century B.C.E., which is when the people returned to Jerusalem and rebuilt it.
That overall schema works okay, but Isaiah is actually far more complex. And even though it was written over a period of centuries, biblical scholars note that the form it has today has been very carefully assembled and edited to have an almost timeless quality.
If we move to the time of the writing of the gospels in the 1st century we see the words of Isaiah speaking timelessly to that day. In Mark 1, which we read, Mark is very authentically using Isaiah 40 to refer to John the Baptist and anticipate the arrival of Jesus. John’s gospel does the same.
Isaiah is written so as to be timeless. This fits with what its creation is intended to do, which is to build your faith in the timeless and enduring faithfulness of God.
We read from Isaiah, “A voice says, “Cry out!” The prophet replies, “What shall I cry? All people are grass, their constancy is like the flower of the field.”
Indeed, what word can be spoken that will have lasting effect? Will it not go out of date in time? Or perhaps, do they not make things like they used to? Will the quality of the future somehow be weaker?
There is a reply. (And if I may add a couple words.) “[Yes, indeed,] the grass withers and the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” (40:6-8)
There is the timelessness the book of Isaiah is designed to create.
Fads and styles will come and go. Quality will come and go. Everything will fade, break, die, or decay. But… the word of our God will stand forever.
If this chapter from Isaiah does indeed come to us from late in the 6th century B.C.E. then let’s remind ourselves of the situation of the Jewish people. Jerusalem had been captured and destroyed decades before – maybe 50 or 60 years before. The leaders and many people were taken from Jerusalem and living in exile hundreds of miles away in Babylon. Hardly anyone alive anymore can remember what Jerusalem was like. A couple generations have gone by. Was the Jewish faith just going to slowly erode away until they became assimilated into Babylonian culture and religion? If God was real, and God’s promises were real, then when was God going to act? Again, it’s been a couple generations of waiting and getting nothing.
In that context we hear as if from God’s divine court, “Comfort, O comfort my people,” says your God. “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid…”
So God does see. God does know. And God does care. God is still with them. They can trust in God even though there is no physical evidence to justify that trust.
In time things do change. The once mighty and seemingly eternal Babylonian Empire collapsed quicker than anyone would have thought. The Persians came in. King Cyrus of Persia allows the Jews in Babylon to return to Jerusalem and rebuild. Time would prove that God was trustworthy.
I think we may be in a similar situation in our faith today, although in some ways the situation is opposite. While the Jewish people had their nation conquered, their capitol city destroyed and their temple reduced to rubble; and then many of them were taken off into exile, we have perhaps experienced the reverse. The United States has remained strong in power. While there have been terrorist attacks and some trivial invasions, the nation has not been threatened or destroyed. No one is tearing down churches. No one is hauling off Christians into exile. There is peace, prosperity, security, comfort and ease. And before you disagree with me on any of that, yes, I know life always takes work and there are plenty of things to worry about. But we no longer walk from place to place or ride horses as our major means of transportation. Roads are paved. Sidewalks are smooth. Cars are dependable. We have indoor plumbing, internet, cell phones, and entertainment galore – all luxuries almost unimaginable not that many decades ago.
Yet our faith faces a different threat. Perhaps it is the ease of everything that is undermining it. Churches close in this nation at an unheard of rate. All religious forms are declining, not just Christianity. The entire social fabric of the nation is coming apart. People call themselves “spiritual but not religious”, for in their affluence they create a god in their own image, and they create a morality that suits their lifestyle rather than become a part of a religious organization that will present serious challenges to their self-made gods.
Last week I gave blood at Victor United Methodist Church. Usually the Red Cross staff has music playing, and they select whatever they want. To my surprise they didn’t have someone’s playlist. They had actually tuned to a radio station. And to my even greater surprise it was a secular station that was playing all Christian Christmas music. At least that was the case at first. It later changed to all secular holiday music. Still though, I realized how completely whole it felt to have Christian music for a Christian holiday. And when the music changed I felt how utterly disjointed it was to have a religious holiday being celebrated with the religion removed.
I don’t say this to be critical. All of that has been said many times and for many years. It is what it is, but it does speak of a faith that for all intents and purposes is dying or dead. What do we do when multiple generations see no value in Christianity?
All people are grass, their constancy is like the flower of the field. The grass withers and the flower fades…
But the word of our God will stand forever.
How long? When? What will it take? I do not know.
From a place in history, and yet with a message for all of time, Isaiah says, “’Here is your God!’ See, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep.” (40:10-11)
Our instructions are the same as the Israelites in Babylon. Stay true to your faith. Trust in God. Do not become watered down by the easy simplicity promised by just going with the flow of society. God sees. God knows. God cares. God is acting.
Fortunately for us we can see into the entire world. And we can see that our faith is growing overall and flourishing in many lands.
The past, the present, and the future are in God’s hands. Isaiah saw that. May we see it too. And may we faithfully prepare the way of the Lord. For many live in a desert. Many live in darkness. Many who are spiritual but not religious are actually very lost. It is not our work to fix things. Fixing things is God’s work. Our work is to faithfully prepare the way of the Lord.
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