When I study scripture, one question I ask is: Who is speaking, and to whom are they speaking?
In today’s passage, it’s not quite clear.
It would be quite natural to assume that the speaker here is Isaiah. After all, the book bears Isaiah’s name.
But scholars have noted that the book of Isaiah contains two or three distinct sections which were written at different times in history and by different people.
Which means at least some parts of this book were written by someone other than Isaiah.
Now, it could be that the narrator is still Isaiah even if the author is not. For example: Samuel Clemens wrote as Mark Twain, and Mark Twain wrote Huckleberry Finn, and in Huckleberry Finn, the narrator is Huck Finn. Mark Twain is the author, but Huck Finn is the narrator.
This section of Isaiah could have been written by someone else, but that someone else may have been writing as if they were Isaiah. They may have said to themself, “I’m going to write this book of poetry and prophecy, and I’m going to make Isaiah the narrator - and attach it to other writings of Isaiah - because I believe what I’m going to write is a continuation of the thoughts and ideas of the prophet…”
So, here in chapter 49, we get a poem in which Isaiah says, “The Lord called me before I was born; He made my mouth like a sharp sword…”
And then, the Lord responds.
But the Lord doesn’t address the response to Isaiah. Isn’t that weird? The response is addressed to Israel. The Lord says, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”
If Isaiah is the one speaking, why does the Lord respond to Israel?
Then Isaiah (or is it Israel?) replies: “I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity.”
Well. Whoever’s voice this is, they sound exhausted. Worn out. And discouraged.
Whoever’s voice this is, I’m thinking: this can be any of us. Am I right?
Who here has felt exhausted, worn out, discouraged in these past few weeks, months, or years?
Well, you’re not alone. Isaiah felt that way, too. Israel felt that way too. In fact, so many of God’s prophets and followers have felt that way at one time or another.
One time, when Moses felt so worn out, so exasperated, and so fed up with the people he was trying to lead, he cried out to God: “Hey, God! Why have you treated me, your great servant, so badly? If this is the way you, O Lord, are going to treat me, put me to death at once.”
Moses was tired.
I think of the time Elijah was so tired and so discouraged that he prayed to God: “I have had enough, Lord; take my life.”
I think of the apostle Paul, who sounds particularly tired and discouraged in his letters to the Corinthians. In his second letter to the church at Corinth, Paul wrote that “we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus...”
Paul is tired. Worn out. Discouraged. And yet, Paul hasn’t yet given up hope.
I think of Jesus, and the times he got tired. One time, Jesus was so tired, he slept right through a terrible storm, sleeping in the bow of a boat that was tossing so violently that his disciples thought they were all going to die. That’s tired!
Pastors get tired. Sometimes pastors need to be reminded that even Jesus rested, so maybe pastors should rest now and then, too. That’s good advice for all of us, actually.
When I realized I would be preaching this sermon on MLK weekend, I wondered if MLK ever got tired, or what he did to rest. King is a role model to me and to other preachers, as well as activists, and the image we have of him is of a man who never got tired in the fight for justice.
But he did get tired.
And I learned that on several occasions, King escaped to Bimini, an island in the Bahamas that is just a two-hour boat ride from Miami. He stayed in room 303 at the Big Game Club and Resort, he liked to do some fishing, and he liked to visit some of the more secluded parts of the island, where he could be alone with his thoughts.
So even MLK needed to rest.
A lot of people engage in service projects on MLK day. Some even promote that it’s a day for action, not a day for rest.
Which is all well and good; but if a day of rest is what you need, then that just may be the best thing for you - as long as you make it a true day of rest.
Following MLK’s example, a day of true rest is one in which you can be alone with your own thoughts. And to be alone with your own thoughts, you need to get away from your computer, get away from your phone, get away from your TV, get away from all your anxieties.
Don’t worry, all those things will still be there when you get back.
For me, walking along the beach, or on the trails at El Dorado Nature Center, provide a wonderful time of rest - mental rest - when I can find some peace and be alone with my thoughts. At home, we have a fire pit in our backyard, with some outdoor couches that we bought used, and sitting out there around the fire is also a nice time of rest - even more so if I put my phone somewhere I can’t reach it.
Unfortunately, the weather we’ve had lately has not been conducive to spending any time outdoors.
But I know that my sermons - the work I need to do - are only good if I’ve had some time during the week for contemplation. Some time to be alone with my thoughts. Without that necessary time of rest, my sermons just aren’t as good.
My point is that everyone needs to set aside some time to rest. A Sabbath rest. It’s one of God’s commands! And we need to make sure that those times are truly times of rest. Good rest.
Because the work we are called to do is not easy.
It’s not easy to raise a family in these times. It’s not easy to be a good neighbor in these times. It’s not easy to be a follower of Jesus in these times. It’s not easy to pursue justice in these times. It’s not easy to commit oneself to the ministry of the church in these times.
We do our best at these things. We work hard - for our families, for our church, for ourselves.
And sometimes - often - we don’t see the results from our efforts that we’d hoped to see. And because we’re tired and discouraged, we say to ourselves and to God: “I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity!” The same words that Isaiah spoke. Isaiah’s prayer has become our prayer. Which means that the identity of the one speaking is Isaiah, is Israel - but it is also us.
Fortunately, God hears all our prayers. And God especially hears the prayers of those who are tired, worn out, exhausted, and discouraged.
Because I know that, often, God has sent me reminders that - despite how things may appear - all my work is not in vain. I may not have achieved the results I expected, but that doesn’t mean my work was in vain.
And the same is true for you.
In Isaiah 49:6, after Isaiah says that his strength is spent and that he has labored in vain, God responds, "It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth."
I’m not sure how far Isaiah was looking when he was looking for results. I’m not sure Isaiah understood just how far his influence reached. It seems that Isaiah was just looking as far as the tribes of Jacob, but God responds by saying no; you’re not looking far enough. I will give you as a light to the nations. The work you are doing is bringing healing, wholeness and salvation as far as the end of the earth!
Isaiah couldn’t see that far, but God can. And the work God is doing through you also extends farther than you can see or know.
So don’t give up. And don’t forget to rest when you need to.
Then you can say with the apostle Paul: “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies.”
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