Sunday's Sermon - The 10th Voice

It wasn’t easy putting this together for this past Sunday.   It wasn’t easy because I had trouble getting the words out – or better.. I had trouble finding the “voice”.      

I’ve heard this said regarding authors and their stories; it’s almost as if the writer’s job is to create a space in which the characters can “speak” for themselves.   Well, often it can be like that with Sermons.   Sometimes sermons have their own voice, and my job is to give it its own space to reveal itself.   It reveals itself, but of course it’s the skill of the person delivering the sermon that gives it it’s quality.   Now, I’m not a very good ”Sermonator”, but I know enough to know what it feels like for the "Sermon" to have its own voice.   

And for the longest time (maybe for about 5 to 6 hours) I could not find that “voice”.   Well, I could hear it in the background, but I couldn’t focus in on it.   But it was there – Isaiah’s voice was there… behind the voice of the dominant culture.  

Here’s the first nine verses of Chapter 58 of the book of Isaiah:

 "Shout with the voice of a trumpet blast.   Shout aloud! Don't be timid.  Tell my people Israel* of their sins!  
     Yet they act so pious!     They come to the Temple every day and seem delighted to learn all about me.
They act like a righteous nation that would never abandon the laws of its God.    They ask me to take action on their behalf, pretending they want to be near me.
    'We have fasted before you!' they say.   'Why aren't you impressed?    We have been very hard on ourselves, and you don't even notice it!'

"I will tell you why!" I respond.    "It's because you are fasting to please yourselves.   Even while you fast, you keep oppressing your workers.
   What good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarreling?      This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with me.
   You humble yourselves by going through the motions of penance, bowing your heads like reeds bending in the wind.    You dress in burlap and cover yourselves with ashes.
Is this what you call fasting?

   Do you really think this will please the LORD?    "No, this is the kind of fasting I want:  Free those who are wrongly imprisoned;
           lighten the burden of those who work for you.     Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people.
     Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless.      Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help.

 "Then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal.     Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the LORD will protect you from behind.
  Then when you call, the LORD will answer.   'Yes, I am here,' he will quickly reply.

Wow!

Is Isaiah saying to America in general – “Did you do enough for God?”    Or   “Did you do it the right way?”     Or maybe, “Are you Sincere in what you believe?”    The word “sincere” comes from the Latin “sin cere” meaning “without wax”.    Actors in the day would wear masks made of wax.   So sincere (sin cere) means to remove the mask of pretense, of artificiality.  

“Yeah, we give!”   Yes, but are you doing it for the tax break?      “We do stuff!”    Yes, but if you couldn’t put it on a resume, would you still do it?

I knew a person who lived in Texas many decades ago.  They lived close enough to the Mexican border where they made a practice of going and visiting a particular family, and particularly the little boy in the family.   He was given a lot of things, he was taken out to lunch a lot.   Before you question the intention of the person (it was a much older woman- could have been his grandmother), there was absolutely nothing improper about this… except the creation of a very “giver – receiver” relationship.    It created a very un balanced (non)partnership.   Did they help him?   Sure –in the sense that he “got” a lot of stuff and food he might not have otherwise gotten.   But the thing is, he and his family were completely in her debt.    And there was absolutely no way they would ever be able to become equals with her.   They would always be Debtors (givees), and she would always be Patron (giver).   I suppose a case could be made that she received perhaps a sense of moral superiority, and he had his dignity lowered.         

Isaiah’s voice – today – leads me back to why we are called to worship, to worship as honestly as we can.   It must come as NO SURPRISE that we live in a pretty superficial culture, a pretty shallow culture.    I mean really, why do we need to know every little move Justin Bieber makes?    Some of our “famous” people are famous for being famous…. And that’s all!   And, come on folks, do you seriously think there are  whole slew of us out there waiting to know what you’re having for dinner, or that we want to see a picture of the latest cute thing your cat did… again?!?!     Here’s a line from the movie "God Bless America"… a movie that questions the whole celebrity-culture that has been leaking into our “ordinary” lives.    

I would defend their freedom of speech if I thought it was in jeopardy. I would defend their freedom of speech to tell uninspired, bigoted, blowjob, gay-bashing, racist and rape jokes all under the guise of being edgy, but that's not the edge. That's what sells. They couldn't possibly pander any harder or be more commercially mainstream, because this is the 'Oh no, you didn't say that!' generation, where a shocking comment has more weight than the truth. No one has any shame anymore, and we're supposed to celebrate it. I saw a woman throw a used tampon at another woman last night on network television, a network that bills itself as 'Today's Woman's Channel'. Kids beat each other blind and post it on YouTube. I mean, do you remember when eating rats and maggots on Survivor was shocking? It all seems so quaint now. I'm sure the girls from '2 Girls 1 Cup' are gonna have their own dating show on VH-1 any day now. I mean, why have a civilization anymore if we no longer are interested in being civilized?

       

 I could rant more… but, well, wadda ya gonna do?   

Okay, maybe a little more…    Commercials say their products are there to “change your life”!    But we HAVE all these products that are supposed to be so life-changing… how come our lives aren’t??

Isaiah says:  You say you’re pretty moral people.  But your Box-store good-deal is made off the extremely limited choices of the people in other countries.   “But the companies who hire these people are giving them jobs with pay they might not otherwise even have access to.”   Yes, but they often have almost no other choices – and that’s the issue.   “Well, we all have choices to make, right?!”    Their choices can be either work there… and be at the mercy of the company (hours, living conditions, etc), or have little other possibilities for economic improvement.   Whereas our choices are more often than not deciding where we’ll get the better deal for hat pair of pants.   

Isaiah is reminding us this still isn’t just.   For Isaiah it’s not about redistribution!   It’s about questioning whether the whole system is good for the souls/hearts of all!  

Why do we have so much stress and anxiety in our culture and lives?    There are so many who take medications for depression and anxiety on a regular basis.   We certainly do have the best medical care, but this comes from the same culture where people don’t know their neighbors… where people long for some deeper purpose and/or meaning…   where people long for Spirit… for deeper friendships.     How many close friends do you have?    I mean close – like friends who’ve seen you through lives’ thick and thins, or who you have helped through life’s turmoils and changes?       And how close do they?    

Don’t misunderstand me… I’m not saying who we are is bad.     I’m saying there probably isn’t enough in our lives to counter the prevailing message that selfishness is good for us!    I’m saying there aren’t enough places in our lives to lead us to question whether having more stuff is always the best for us.   I’m saying there aren’t enough places in our lives that help us remember that how we are, and who we are, is okay… that it really is good enough!     I’m saying that “affluenza” will warp our hearts and minds.   

Evidently there was a recent court case where a young man from Texas was arrested for killing 4 people as a result of driving while intoxicated.   His lawyer pleaded for his client saying he suffers from “Affluenza”; he was raised in a super-rich home, and as a result, sadly, his parents never raised him well enough to know right from wrong.  So, he’s not responsible… your honor.    Seriously?????     Affluenza???   

Isaiah’s voice is necessary for us!    He is our 10^th Man.   There’s a line in a movie, where after one of the Arab-Israeli wars, Israeli planners and analysts realized they always need a contradictory voice.    In a group 10 people with the same information, if 9 of them arrive at the exact same conclusion, it’s the duty of the 10^th person to disagree with the prevailing consensus no matter how improbable that disagreement might seem.      The 10^th person has to start with the assumption that the other nine might just very well be wrong on this one.   

This is partly why we come together on Sundays.    To hear the 10^th voice.    In this case, it’s Isaiah.  I heard this voice this week.   It wasn’t clear, but it was nagging me all week.

Yes God does loves us!    Absolutely!       But today… that’s not the question for us.   Where else in our lives do we hear the 10^th voice?   Where else in our lives can we come together with people and remember again about the important things?

Maybe this is hard to hear.   It is hard to say.   I love saying how generous the people here are – in the US and in this congregation!    Which is true.       I want to say how the people from this community are very much connected to mission!     Which is also true!     Last year – 2013 – this small community of faith gave about $15,000 in support of missions.       You care about each other!   You all have good hearts!   This is true!

And yet Isaiah’s 10^th voice still needs to be heard… by all of us   across the board.  We still need to hear that we don’t have to buy everything the culture is selling!    Remember who you are… and why!

"No, this is the kind of fasting I want:  Free those who are wrongly imprisoned;
           lighten the burden of those who work for you.     Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people.
     Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless.      Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help.

 "Then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal.     Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the LORD will protect you from behind.
  Then when you call, the LORD will answer.   'Yes, I am here,' he will quickly reply.