WHERE THE SPIRIT LEADS

Dr. Richard J. Henderson January 9, 2005

click for printable version

Isaiah 42:1-9
Matthew 3:13-17

Introduction

A man ventures out to see a strange, evangelist preacher. The preacher is harsh, rough, demanding; and sometimes insulting to those who come to him.

The preacher goes out beyond the city, beyond the suburbs; He goes out to a wilderness area with a strong river running through it. When he arrives, the preacher is baptizing people in the river. The preacher shouts at the top of his lungs and dunks his converts. Quietly the man approaches the river. He stands on the banks. When the preacher is finished with his last baptism, the man calls out to the preacher that he wants to be baptized too. The preacher looks up, his wild hair blowing in the wind. "No. Stop. I need to be baptized by you, and you come to see me?"

The man responds, "It needs to be done."

The preacher shrugs his shoulders as the man walks out to him, waist deep in the cold water. The preacher takes him and lowers him down into the water. As he lifts him up the skies open and a spirit like a dove cries out, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."

It is then that many people realize who Jesus is. It is with this event that Christ's calling is confirmed and he begins his ministry.

I

Our Old Testament reading tells of the calling of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah. His calling is very similar to Jesus'. In fact, many people see the Suffering Servant as Jesus. God says to this man, "Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him..." This person and Jesus have similar callings. God says to both of them, "You will bring justice. You will bring sight to the blind, hope to the oppressed, release to the prisoners."

Both people have been called to a similar mission. It has to do with caring for people, and not just responding to their immediate needs, but bringing justice, fairness, equality to their lives.

II

God's command for justice is where the Holy Spirit leads. As followers of Jesus - who are baptized in his name - we work where he has shown us to go. We follow his example and learn from his life.

When Jesus first began his ministry, he went to Nazareth, to the temple. While in worship, he got up, went to the front, picked up the scroll of Isaiah and read these words, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

The people were amazed at what he read. As they sat in awe, he went on to say, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

Jesus is the one sent by God to bring good news to poor people, release to those oppressed, sight to the blind - both physically and spiritually. Remember, quite a while later, when John the Baptist sent his disciples to Jesus to ask if he was the Messiah? Jesus answered, "Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them..."

Jesus mission is to bring justice to people oppressed, healing to those who suffer, and hope to people lost.

III

These same concerns are part of what it means for you and me to be called by God. To be given the Holy Spirit means to reach out to those who are put down, abused or oppressed. The life of the servant in Isaiah, and more importantly, the life of Jesus, show the concern we must have for justice and compassion. These are not optional for Christians. These are not nice things that some Christians choose to do; they are part of the definition of what it means to be a Christian. Justice is woven into the fabric of Christianity.

Jim Wallis of Sojourners magazine says that concerns for the poor appear, on average, in every six verses in the New Testament. That is not a minor theme, it obviously is central to what Jesus is about.

With the recent tsunami, we have seen a huge outpouring of money from people in the United States. This is tremendous to see, but Christians do this kind of thing week in and week out - literally! Individuals and churches send money for people in need every week. Christians around the world give billions every year - even when there is no enormous tragedy. It's at the heart of who we are.

IV

There's another important point here. In the passage from Isaiah, there are some words that might not make sense right away. Verse three says, "A bruised reed he will not break, a dimly burning wick he will not quench." Remember that?

This means justice must be won carefully. The road to justice must be just. We can't act harshly in the name of justice. We can't use any means to attain our goal. In pursuing justice, we are careful of people along the way. The weak will be protected; the hurt will not be hurt more. We won't break a bruised reed. The dim wick won't be snuffed out. We act justly in pursuing justice.

The end doesn't justify the means. The end determines the means.

Conclusion

A reporter went to observe Mother Teresa as she went through Calcutta, picking up the dying from the streets. He followed her back to her center where she gave the dying comfort and care in the last moments and days of their lives. It was difficult, very unpleasant work. Every day they were surrounded by death. As Mother Teresa was cleaning one of the dying, the reporter mumbled, almost to himself, "You couldn't pay me to do that!"

Without even looking up, Mother Teresa responded, "Me neither."

It was the hard, messy work of compassion. You couldn't pay people to do it. They did it because of their faith.

Amen.

©Richard J. Henderson 2005