Rev.
Debbie Cato
Isaiah
58:9b – 12 and Luke 3:7-16
Fairfield
Community Church
December
15, 2024
Listening God. We know that you are constantly speaking to us. So, in this moment, we are quieting the noise in our heads. We are closing our eyes. We are leaning in. We are listening. We are doing the good that is ours to do. Speak to us as only you can. With hope in our hearts, we listen. Amen.[1]
Do the Good
that is Yours to Do
This Advent season,
we are looking at “Words for the Beginning.”
We have said that endings always come before beginnings. Endings are
always followed by beginnings. God is
working on new beginnings before we even experience the endings. So, what words do we need to hear as we move
into a new beginning?
The first Sunday of
Advent, we talked about how precious each and every one of us are to God. He created each of us in His image and calls
us His beloved. Through the prophet
Isaiah, God told the Israelites, “I have called you by name. You are mine.
You are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you.” You are a blessing.
Last week, we
focused on community and how we are not meant to go alone. God did not intend for us to navigate life by
ourselves. We need one another. We need community.
Today, our theme is “doing the good that is yours to do.” Doing the good that yours to do. None of us can heal all the world’s problems on our own. No one person can meet all the needs in the world. But each one of us can do some-thing that matters; something that makes a difference. God created every human with something to offer – regardless of our stage of life. We are each called to do the good that is ours to do. What is yours?
Each one of you;
each one of us, can do all these things.
They don’t require special skills; they don’t require wealth; they don’t
require good health; they don’t require youth.
Each one of these things is within our abilities to do the good that is
ours to do.
Through Isaiah, God said that if you do these things, then you shall be called a repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in. So, what is the biblical meaning of breach? In Hebrew, “brech” means a tear, a break, a disruption, a strife. A breach is anything that comes in the way of healthy relationships; loving relationships, Christ-like relationships. We are told we must repair relationships. And we are all equipped to do just that. It’s hard. It’s not fun. But to God it is essential for any new beginning.
Besides relational, there are also spiritual breaches. A spiritual breachis any kind of sin that controls or rules over us. When sin controls us, it is an indication that our spirit has been breached; it’s broken. We can repair those spiritual breaches. God gives us the gift of redemption, which is both repentance and turning from that sin.
Redemption is a complete 360° transformation. When we have ongoing sin in our life, it causes a spiritual breach, and it affects our whole life. We are unable to live into the fullness God intends for us. It impacts other people because it impacts our relationships.
Repairing these breaches – both in our own spiritual life and in our
relationships with others, is essential for God’s creation. It is essential for any new beginning. The good news is, as those saved by the blood of Jesus — we are equipped to be restorers and unifiers.
The main message of
Isaiah 58 is that there are occasions when we, the people of God, need to carry
out an audit of what is really going on in our inner world and therefore, our
relationship with God. God, through the prophet Isaiah, challenges the
Israelites to do just that – to determine what is real and what is fake in
their faith.
The Rev. Canon Jan Naylor Cope, preacher at the National Cathedral said this: “If you pressed me for four words that describe what it means to be part of the Jesus movement, four words that describe what it means to build the Kingdom of God, four words that exemplify the Christian life, it would be: repairers of the breach. This is what Isaiah makes clear as he speaks to the people of Israel who have just returned from exile. If you desire to know what God wants from you, then quit your bickering, your finger pointing, your slandering of others, and offer your food to the hungry, satisfy the needs of the afflicted – work to repair that which is broken in your own lives and in the lives of those around you. I believe this is our calling, she says.”[2] To be repairers of the breach.
The book of Isaiah
is one of the most important Old Testament books in the Christian tradition. Isaiah
is quoted or alluded to in the New Testament more than any other book in Hebrew
Scriptures, except the Psalms. Today’s passage clearly states that our actions,
and our inactions, have consequences.
We all can stop our
bickering, putting an end to our finger pointing, and our slandering and
gossiping of others. “We can all offer
food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the suffering. We can – and must work to repair that which
is broken in your own lives and in the lives of those around you.”[3] Things that are broken in community.
It may not seem like
much. But if each one of us does the
good that is ours to do – think of the difference it would make. Think of all the lives we would collectively touch. All the healing we would facilitate.
John the Baptist
calls these actions “fruits worthy of repentance.” Fruits worthy of
repentance. Things that are a result of
the forgiveness we receive through Christ.
In this season of expectant hope, we must remember that the good we do
has ripple effects beyond what we can see.
We are not the world’s savior, but we move toward the One who not only invites
us into the work, but who works right beside us and through us.
Kate Bowler, a Duke
professor and author wrote this blessing for what is ours to be done:
Blessed are we with
eyes wide open to see reality.
The sickness and
loneliness, the injustice of racial oppression.
The unimpeded greed
and misuse of power.
The violence of
intimidation.
The mockery of truth
and disdain for weakness, and worse,
The seeming
powerlessness of anyone trying to stop it.
Blessed are we who
are worn out from cynicism
that we feel we’ve earned.
God, when we’re
tempted to throw up our hands and surrender,
anchor us in hope.
Remind us of what is
ours to be done.
Those small,
faithful acts that add up
to something bigger than ourselves.
Something that looks
a lot like a realized hope.[4] Amen.
[1]
Sanctifiedart.com. Advent Series
2024. Third Sunday of Advent. Prayer by Rev. Sara Speed.
[2] https://cathedral.org/meditations/called-to-be-repairers-of-the-breach/ National Cathedral. The Rev. Canon Jan Naylor Cope. 2/17/2024.
[3] https://cathedral.org/meditations/called-to-be-repairers-of-the-breach/ National Cathedral. The Rev. Canon Jan Naylor Cope. 2/17/2024.
[4] https://katebowler.com/blessings/a-blessing-for-what-is-ours-to-be-done/For
Advent 3.
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