Isaiah 60 - Radiant Beauty

KNU International English Church

Josh Broward

January 4, 2009

Imagine that the sun did not rise tomorrow. Imagine that the sun did not rise for many days, for many weeks, for many months, for many years, for many generations. Imagine that the whole world was draped in darkness.

Imagine yourself in that world of darkness. Imagine yourself walking, working, living, eating, sleeping, waking in that world of darkness. Imagine your children and your children's children in that world of darkness.

After many generations it would no longer seem dark, but only real. It is dark, but what is dark if you can't remember light? It is cold, but what is cold if you can't remember warmth? The darkness is constant but unknown, unfelt.

Imagine that suddenly, in one corner of the world, light appeared.

Maybe it was the light of the sun finally rising again. Maybe it was the light of a star. Maybe it was the light of a great fire. A great light shone in a dark world.

What would you do? In that great world of darkness, if you saw light, what would you do? In that great world of dark coldness, if you felt warmth, what would you do? How would you feel?

People from all around the world begin to travel to the light. They come on foot, on horses, in ships, in cars and busses, on trains, on camels. In every possible way, people come to see the light. People bring their children to see the light and to feel the warmth. The light shines and the people come.

And an amazing thing happens. As more and more people come, the light shines brighter and brighter. The heat grows warmer and warmer, like adding logs to a fire.

Another amazing thing happens. As people come to see the light and to feel the warmth, they are changed. The despair of the darkness had soaked through them, but now the light begins to warm their beings. As they soak in the light, the light makes hope and joy and peace bud tiny little green buds deep in their souls. And it's almost as if the light sticks to them. Like we're wet after taking a shower, the people are “wet” with light. The light has become part of them. They have become part of the light.

Isaiah said the leaders of God's people were blind and ignorant (56:9). “So there's no justice among us, and we don't know about right living. We look for light but find only darkness. We look for bright skies but walk in gloom. We grope like the blind along a wall, feeling our way like people without eyes. Even at brightest noontime, we stumble as though it were dark. … We look for justice, but it never comes. We look for rescue but it is far away from us” (59:9-11).

But Isaiah also said, “Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them … Then your salvation will come like the dawn … Your godliness will lead your forward, and the glory of the LORD will protect you from behind … Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will become as bright as noon” (58:7-10).

That leads us to our passage for today: Isaiah 60. We'll read verses 1-9.

The basic theme of this passage is light. By my count, Isaiah uses light related words twelve times in the first three verses.

“The glory of the LORD” is basically a light image. “Glory” is often described as light or brightness or fire or burning.¹ This word “glory” is a pretty cool word. In Hebrew it is kabod, and the root word is “heavy.” It means: “abundance, riches, prestige, honor, or respect.”² Think of an engagement ring, with all the girls gathered around - “Oh, it's heavy!” Or a powerful person - “He's a real heavyweight!” But glory can also describe amazing, profound beauty. Think of a time when you stood before an amazing work of art or an amazing sunset, and you just couldn't move. You were captivated by the beauty. It was a heavy moment, full of meaning for you.

That is glory. And God's got it – lots of it! It shines. It's beautiful. It's heavy. It reaches out and holds you – Ahh! When you see it, you can't move. You fall silent. You stand amazed at the shining beauty of God. You want more. You've got to have more. It's like getting your first taste of really good ice cream. Can I have another bite, please? It's like water in the dessert. You didn't know what you were missing until the glory hit you, but now that you've tasted glory, now that you've seen the beauty of God, you want more. You want to go deeper. You want in!

The shining glory of God is magnetic. It draws us in. Its power connects to us like an electromagnet. It connects with our deepest insides and transforms us from dull metal into attractive magnets. When we connect with God's glory, when God's glory gets in us, God's glory draws other people in through us.

When the light shines, people from all over the world come to see its light and to feel its warmth. Why do they come? They come to worship the God of glory. They want to participate in the light, to feel the glory, to become people of the God of glory. They come to the beauty. They come because they have seen something so beautiful that they can't stay away.

We need to stop for a minute and ask a question. What is so beautiful? What is so bright and shining? Is Isaiah saying there will be a literal spotlight over Israel that will call people from all over the world – like one of those spotlights that shine in the sky at night inviting people to a nightclub? What is all of this light and glory? What does it look like?

Remember what Isaiah said earlier: “If you are generous with the hungry and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out, your lives will begin to glow in the darkness, your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight” (58:10).

And here's how Peter explains it: “For you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God's very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light … Live an exemplary life among [your neighbors] so that your actions will refute their prejudices. Then they'll be won over to God's side and be there to join in the celebration when he arrives” (1 Peter 2:9, 12).

Jesus puts it like this: “You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand – shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.”

What is so beautiful? Goodness, justice, compassion – these are beautiful. These are the glory of God. These are the Light of the world living among us. These are the presence of God shining through us and in us. Beautiful love – it's that Mother Theresa kind of love. It makes us stop and look in awe. We something heavy, beautiful, shining, bright – the glory of God in a human life, the glory of God in a human community.

So how do we get this beauty? How to we experience this glory? How do we live in this light? Today, I want to suggest three things we can all do to live in the radiant beauty of God.

First, soak in the Light. Everybody say: “Soak in the Light.”

This week, I searched the internet for glow-in-the-dark toys. There's all kinds of cool stuff out there: dinosaurs, those little slappy-sticky hands, cups – so you can get that midnight drink of water easily, even glow-in-the-dark boxers! But for all of this stuff to work, it has to soak in the light first. If you just put it in a dark drawer and pull it out in a month, it won't glow. It's got to soak up some light for a long time before it will glow.

We're kind of like that. We don't really have any light of our own. We need to soak in the beautiful light of God before we can glow in the darkness.

It's kind of like sunbathing. Have you ever thought about what happens when you get a sunburn? The heat of the light actually gets into your skin. If you really have a sunburn, you can feel that your skin is hot.

So we come to worship services here, and we read our Bibles, and we pray, and why? So that we can sunbathe in the beautiful glory of God. So that the warmth of God's glory can get into us and change us.

We want these worship services to express the beauty and glory of God. When we come here, we want to get that heavy feeling, like we're standing in front of a sunset on the ocean – “Wow! This is beautiful. Something beautiful and deep is happening here.” If you'd like to help with that, join our Worship Planning Team. Talk with SoYoung and Lindsey. Pretty soon, they'll start planning our worship services for Lent.

What's the first way we can get the shining beauty of God into us? Soak in the light!

Second, share the Light. Everybody say: “Share the Light.” When I was a kid, my Dad sometimes took me camping. Every time we went camping, we would build a campfire, and – it never failed, every time – my Dad would tell me how a church is like a fire.

He would get a stick and start poking around the fire and show me the coals in the fire. Each person is like a coal in the fire. The fire is like God's Holy Spirit burning in us – the glory of God giving out heat and light.

When we're all close together the fire burns bright and strongly, but if you separate the coals, the fire begins to go out. One coal out of the fire will still glow for a while. It still has the heat of the fire in it – for a while. But over time, without the community of the other coals, one coal can't keep the fire. It turns orange, then brown, then gray, then black, and it will be so cold you can pick it up with your hands.

We're like that. We need the community of coals to keep the fire of God burning in us. If you want to experience the fire and beauty of God's glory, then join a small group Bible study. If there's not a group meeting when you want to meet, then start a new one. Check the information card or talk with Elena or Shannon if you are interested in a small group. When we gather together, the Holy Spirit lights us all up!

How can we get God's beautiful light into us? First: Soak in the Light. Second: Share the Light.

Third, be the light. Mother Theresa said, “Love for my neighbor will lead me to true love for God.” Isaiah said, “Share your food … give shelter … give clothes … then your salvation will come like the dawn” (58:7-8). James said, “Pure and genuine religion … means caring for orphans and widows” (James 1:27).

If you aren't experiencing much in your religious practices, if church is boring for you, if you can't feel God in the world, maybe you have never experienced true religion. If your spiritual life has gone dry, maybe you aren't living what God was really talking about with Christianity.

There's a saying in English: “The proof's in the pudding.” In other words, you only know if a pudding (or desert) is good if you eat it. In a lot of ways, you can't know if God is good unless you live life his way. You can't know God unless you allow God's light to shine through you.

Some of the most beautiful experiences I've ever had have been when I was simply serving someone who needed help. Giving out food and toothbrushes in Albania … building a house in Indonesia … babysitting for a single mother in Kansas … holding an orphan in Korea and she doesn't want me to put her down … POW! I was struck by the Holy! The glory of God shone like a beautiful spotlight on those moments. Those experiences of simple service and love were heavy with the presence of God. When the Light becomes part of us, we no longer wonder if it's real! We don't have to ask because we know it in a personal way.

If you want to practice being the light by caring for the helpless, talk with Isabel about how you can help with the single mom's house or the kimbap ministry. Or talk to me about volunteering at the orphanage.

How can God's beautiful life get into us, change us, become part of us?

First: Soak in the Light. Second: Share the Light. Third: Be the Light.

Listen to what Paul says in 2 Corinthians: “And when God is personally present, a living Spirit … [there is] nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him” (2 Corinthians 3:17-18). And then, we will be amazed at how the beauty and glory of God will shine through us and change our world. We will be amazed.

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1Dennis Bratcher, “A New Day Dawns: Verse Commentary on Isaiah 60:1-3, 15-22,” 2006, http://www.crivoice.org/isa60.html. downloaded 12.29.08.

2Dennis Bratcher, “The Turn Toward Hope: Verse Commentary on Isaiah 40,” 2004, http://www.crivoice.org/isa40.html, downloaded 12.31.08.

Isaiah 65 - The Birth of a Dream

KNU International English Church

Josh Broward

December 21, 2008

We're going to start this sermon today with one of my favorite activities: audience participation. Turn to someone around you and answer this question: “Why did Jesus come?” We are preparing for Christmas, right? Why did Jesus bother to enter our world in the first place? Why did Jesus come?

--- Talk in small groups.

--- Shout out answers.

Christians have two basic views of why Jesus came and how Jesus fits into the story of humanity.

In view #1, which has become popular over the past 100 years or so, the world is kind of like an airplane with engine failure. We are loosing altitude. Society is experiencing moral failure. The wings are smoking. This plane called humanity is going down. We are going to crash into the mountain of God's judgment, and everything we've ever known will explode in a ball of fire. Some parts of the Bible definitely sound like this.

In view #1, Jesus functions kind of like an ejection button and parachute. We can see the world going down in smoke. We can see the hell and fire of judgment coming our way, but aha! We also see a red button marked, “Jesus.” We push our little red Jesus button, say a quick prayer, and eject out of planet earth. We are saved by our Jesus parachute which carries us safely to heaven, while the earth burns wildly in the flames of God's judgment.

But there's another perspective in the Bible, another perspective available to us Christians. In view #2, the world is more like a sick body, a single human. God created a good world, but we were infected by sin. Now the cancer of sin is spreading throughout humanity. Every last cell of the human body has some form of cancer.

In this view, God is like the doctor. In the Old Testament, God tried non-invasive treatments. God entered a pilot program with Israel, hoping they would be the means for curing the world. God's treatment plan included instruction on healthy living through the Torah, a change of environment through the Exodus, steady doses of medicine through the prophets, even the physical therapy of difficulties and exile.

But nothing seemed to be working. Humanity was still sin-sick, rejecting God, and abusing each other.

Finally, in a radical step, God – the doctor – decided to get inside the body of humanity. In an amazing leap of theology, God entered the human world as a single human being – like a live vaccine. Once inside our humanity, God was able to start the cure on a new level.

Jesus formed a counter-cancer cell cluster (later called the church). He trained them in cancer fighting tactics, and finally God diversified his life in the world, by injecting each member of the church with his own living presence – the Holy Spirit. Now, the church is growing and spreading throughout humanity, fighting the cancer of sin in all its forms. Now, through the church , God is working within humanity for our own cure.

Someday, God will bring the final cure. Someday, God will work so dramatically and beautifully that all the cancer of sin will be eliminated, and humanity will be one whole, loving God and loving each other perfectly.

OK, so do these two views make any difference? Does it really matter which one we believe? Yes, it makes a lot of difference.

If we believe view #1, then our basic attitude will be to check out of this world. We will live like we're trying to escape. This world doesn't really matter. We'll ignore the poor and ignore the environment and ignore those around us – except for remembering to tell them about the emergency button. With view #1, holiness becomes a matter of measuring up to God's standards, being good enough so that we qualify to push that little red Jesus button and get our Jesus parachute.

If we believe view #2, then our basic attitude will be to check in to this world, to engage with what's happening around us. This world really does matter, so we'll care for the poor, care for the environment, and have strong, positive relationships with those around us. We will try to love them in all ways. With view #2, holiness becomes participating in God's mission of rehabilitating our world.

So we have to come back to that first question. Why did Jesus come? What is Christmas all about? What's the big deal with this baby in a manger? Why did “the Word become human and make his home among us” (John 1:14)? Tony Campolo, a preacher and professor, says he often asks his students this question. Tony says:

I get a lot of good answers. … But they seldom come up with what Jesus really would have said. I do know what Jesus would have said and did say. The first thing out of Jesus’ mouth when he started his ministry—Matthew, Mark, Luke, check it out—the first thing he says is, “I have come to declare the kingdom of God is at hand.” Jesus came declaring the kingdom of God. All of his parables are about the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is like a man who does this or a woman who does that. When he told his disciples how to pray he said, “Pray for the kingdom. Pray: thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven.” Note: no pie in the sky when you die! He’s talking about a kingdom in this world. He wants to change this world into the kind of world that it ought to be. That’s why Jesus came, to create transformed people who in turn will live in a transformed world.¹

Then, Campolo starts talking about Isaiah. In Isaiah 56, the prophet cries out: “This is what the LORD says, 'Be just and fair to all. Do what is right and good, for I am coming soon to rescue you and to display my righteousness among you'” (56:1). Throughout the last 10 chapters of Isaiah, God is calling the people to honor him by living faithfully and generously:

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. (Isaiah 58:6-8).

Isaiah goes back and forth between judgment and hope, threat and promise. One of the moments of hope is our passage today: Isaiah 65:17-25.

Tony Campolo explains:

The kingdom of God, the New Jerusalem, the new society that God wants to create, will be marked by justice. It will be justice in this sense: everybody will have a decent house to live in, everybody will have a good job and have a good opportunity to earn a decent living in the vineyards of this world, children will not die in infancy, old people will live out their lives in perfect health and not have to worry about who’s going to take care of them. ... It says when boys and girls are growing up, parents aren’t going to worry that their sons and daughters are going to end, “in calamity" ... girls getting pregnant before their time and boys being blown away in gang warfare.²

God promises the people of Israel that, if they will persevere, he will fulfill their dreams and his dreams for a just society. What are the basic building blocks of justice? Health, secure homes, dignified and productive work, and hope for our children, connection with God, and peace. God will fulfill their dreams so deeply that everything will feel new. The air we breath – new. The sky above us – new. The ground we walk on – new.

Jerusalem itself will be a called Joy and Gladness. God's people will be so beautiful that they will be a source of joy. Even God will rejoice because of his people. He will take delight in his people (Isaiah 65:18-19).

Here in our church, we are deeply committed to this dream. God has called us to be a loving community that changes our world. God has called us to help this dream become reality. When we think about this together, we see God's dream happening here in our community in three ways. First, we will be renewed by God's love. We'll connect deeply with God and be transformed by his love. Second, we'll be a multicultural community. In some ways, we don't have much choice about being multicultural. Look around. But we are going to embrace this diversity and become one diverse people through Jesus. Lastly, we want to cause global change through local action. Starting right here, and then partnering with one local community in a developing country, we want to change the world one community at a time! This is the dream God has given us, and we are deeply committed to it.

But dreams can sometimes get lost. Dreams can sometimes get buried amid the daily work of life. Especially when life gets hard and the dream is taking longer than we expected, dreams can fade away.

That's what was happening to Israel. God had brought them back from exile, but the garden of Israel wasn't regrowing very well. Isaiah gives them this picture of heaven as a reminder of their direction and as a call to persevere. It's like, through Isaiah, God is saying, “Look where we're going. Don't give up. We are working toward a beautiful end. Look at this beautiful society we are creating together. Join my rebuilding team and rejoice with me as we rehabilitate our world.”

This is why Jesus came. This is why we celebrate Christmas. God has a dream. God has a dream for a just and loving society. God has a dream for a community where all people are loved just as they are, where all people have something valuable to contribute, where all people of all colors and all backgrounds are respected and welcomed. God has this amazing dream of recreating the world, of recreating us, bringing us back to Eden – so to speak – where all people and all animals live together in peace with each other and peace with God. This is why Jesus came!

And God packed this dream into a baby, and he allowed that baby to grow in Mary's womb. God entrusted his dream child to Mary and Joseph. God entrusted the future of the universe to a pregnant teenager and a manual laborer. God gave them Jesus – the hope of the world – as a weak, vulnerable infant, dependent on their care, in an oppressed land. What was God thinking?!

Mary and Joseph probably often felt incapable and confused. This is a big responsibility for a young newlywed couple. Sometimes Sarah comes home after Emma and I had a fight, and I'll say, “I don't know how to be a parent. I don't know what the right thing to do is. What are we supposed to do in this situation?” I'm guessing that Mary and Joseph often felt the same way. But they just cared for Jesus and helped him grow the best they could. They made sure he knew the ways of God, and eventually Jesus became more than they could have imagined

In some ways, we are a lot like that. God has entrusted his baby little dream to us: a just world along the lines of Isaiah 65. When we look at the situation our world is in: terrorism, poverty, ethnic conflicts, AIDS, and on and on – when we look at all that, God's dream for a community of love and justice feels so small, so vulnerable, almost impossible – kind of like a baby given to a teenage virgin and a carpenter.

In many ways this infant dream is dependent on our care. In many ways, God's dream will succeed or fail in our world based on our participation. What was God thinking?!

We may feel incapable like Mary and Joseph. Maybe we won't know what to do or how to do it sometimes.

But, like Mary and Joseph, we need to just do the best that we can. We can nurture God's dream in our church and in our homes. We can help it to grow. We can shape our community by what we find in the Bible.

If we care for this God inspired dream, nurture it, help it grow, we too will be amazed at how this dream grows and evolves and becomes more than we could ever have imagined. If we will do every little thing to help God's dream along, we will be amazed at what happens.

Even as we work day by day and week by week to be a loving community that changes our world, we will find that month by month and year by year, the dream is becoming a reality. We will see that slowly a new world is emerging right here in our own community. This is Christmas.

1Tony Campolo, “The Victory of Justice,” October 30, 2005, 30 Good Minutes, http://www.csec.org/csec/sermon/campolo_4905.htm.

2Ibid.

Isaiah 61 - Changed by Hope

KNU International English Church

Josh Broward

December 14, 2008

"From Now On" video.

Now I know what you're thinking after watching that video: “Oh, no. Josh is preaching another one of those depressing sermons. He's even taking Christmas and making it sad. What's up with that?! Christmas is supposed to be happy!”

Let me tell you from the beginning that we'll get there. We'll get to the joy of Christmas today, but first we need to talk about the pain of waiting in the now, the pain of waiting when things don't go well, the pain of a world that is mixed up and not working right.

Have you ever had one of those days when everything seems to go wrong? A little boy named Alexander had one of those days. I want to take a few minutes to read you a story: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst.[1]

I went to sleep with gum in my mouth, and now there’s gum in my hair. And when I got out of bed this morning, I tripped on the skateboard, and by mistake, I dropped my sweater in the sink while the water was running.

And I could tell it was going to be a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

At breakfast, Anthony found a Corvette Stingray car kit in his breakfast cereal box. And Nick found a junior undercover agent code ring in his breakfast cereal box. But in my breakfast cereal box, all I found was breakfast cereal.

I think I’ll move to Austrailia.

In the carpool Mrs. Gibson let Becky have the seat by the window. Audrey and Elliot got seats by the window too. I said I was being scrunched. I said I was being smushed. I said, “If I don’t get a seat by the window, I’m going to be carsick.” No one even answered.

I could tell it was going to be a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

At school, Mrs. Dickens liked Paul\’s picture of the sailboat better than my picture of the invisible castle. At singing time, she said I sang too loud. At counting time, she said I left out 16. Who needs 16?

I could tell it was going to be a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

I could tell because Paul said I wasn’t his best friend any more. He said that Philip Parker was his best friend and that Albert Moya was his next best friend and that I was only his THIRD best friend.

“I hope you sit on a tack,” I said to Paul. “I hope the next time you get a Double-Decker strawberry ice cream cone, the ice cream part falls off the cone part and lands in Australia.”

There were two cupcakes in Philip Parker’s lunch bag, and Albert got a Hershey Bar with Almonds, and Paul’s mother gave him a piece of jelly roll that had little coconut sprinkles on the top. Guess whose mother forgot to put in desert?

It was a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

That’s what it was because after school, my mom took us all to the dentist, and Dr. Fields found a cavity just in me. “Come back next week, and I’ll fix it,” said Dr. Fields.

“Next week,” I said, “I’m going to Australia.”

On the way downstairs, the elevator door closed on my foot. And while we were waiting on Mom to go get the car, Anthony made me fall where it was muddy. And then, when I started crying because of the mud, Nick said I was a cry-baby. And while I was punching Nick for saying, “Cry-baby,” my mom came back with the car and scolded me for being muddy and fighting.

“I am having a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day,” I told everybody. No one even answered.

So then, we went to the shoe store to buy some sneakers. Anthony chose white ones with blue stripes. Nick chose red ones with white stripes. I chose blue ones with red stripes, but then the shoe man said, “We’re all sold out.” They made me buy plain ole white ones, but they can’t make me wear them.

When we picked up my Dad at his office, he said I couldn’t play with his copy machine, but I forgot. He also said to watch out for the books on his desk. And I was careful as could be except for my elbow. He also said, don’t fool around with his phone, but I think I called Australia. My Dad said, “Please don’t pick ‘em up anymore.”

It was a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

There were lima beans for dinner, and I HATE limas. There was kissing on TV, and I HATE kissing. My bath was too hot, I got soap in my eyes, my marble went down the drain, and I had to wear my railroad train pajamas. I HATE my railroad train pajamas.

When I went to bed, Nick took back the pillow he said I could keep, and the Mickey Mouse night light burned out, and I bit my tongue. The cat wants to sleep with Anthony, not with me.

It has been a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

My mom says some days are like that. Even in Australia.

Have you ever had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day? Have you ever wanted to pack up and move to Australia, or some other far away country? My friend, Belle, says that whenever her son is having a hard time at school, he says he wants to move to Finland. She says, “Yeah, but you would have to learn Finnish!” “Eegghh, OK. I guess I'll stay in Korea.”

One of the interesting things about this story is the ending. Alexander's situation doesn't change. He still had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. But his mom gives him hope: “Some days are just like that - even in Australia.” But not every day is like that. You'll get through this. Tomorrow will be better. Hope changes everything.

This week I had several terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days. I had two bad meetings, and I didn't sleep well for three nights in a row. On Thursday I woke up feeling sad and stressed and worried. On my way to my office, I went to the 7^th floor of the Jae 2 Chang Hakwon to pray. I do that sometimes because it's quiet and warm.

Have you ever read a passage of scripture that seemed to be written especially for you especially for that day? Sometimes it seems unreal that something in this Bible which was written thousands of years ago can seem so fresh and perfectly fitted to our current situation. Has that ever happened to you? Well that happened to me on Sunday. The reading in my prayer book for Thursday was Psalm 37. The words seemed to jump off the page for me. Sometimes I felt like crying. Sometimes I felt like laughing. Many times, I was so moved at how this fit my life so directly, I had to stop reading.

Let me read a few parts of it for you.

3 Trust in the Lord and do good.
Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.
4 Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you your heart’s desires.

5 Commit everything you do to the Lord.
Trust him, and he will help you.
6 He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn,
and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.

7 Be still in the presence of the Lord,
and wait patiently for him to act.
Don’t worry … or fret …
11 The lowly will possess the land
and will live in peace and prosperity....

16 It is better to be godly and have little
than to be evil and rich.
17 For ... the Lord takes care of the godly.

18 Day by day the Lord takes care of the innocent,
and they will receive an inheritance that lasts forever.
19 They will not be disgraced in hard times;
even in famine they will have more than enough. ...

23 The Lord directs the steps of the godly.
He delights in every detail of their lives.
24 Though they stumble, they will never fall,
for the Lord holds them by the hand. ...

34 Put your hope in the Lord.
Travel steadily along his path.
He will honor you by giving you the land. ...

37 Look at those who are honest and good,
for a wonderful future awaits those who love peace....

39 The Lord rescues the godly;
he is their fortress in times of trouble.
40 The Lord helps them ...
He saves them,
and they find shelter in him.

As I read that psalm, the hope of God began to get into me. Again and again, God said, “Trust in me. Be patient, and I will act. Put your hope in me, and I will help you.” I walked out of that room feeling lighter and freer. I approached my day with new confidence and courage. My situation did not change. I still had all the same problems. But I was changed. Hope changes everything.

Almost ten years ago, Robin Williams starred in a movie called, Jacob the Liar.[2] The movie tells the true story of a man named Jacob Heym, who was a cafe owner in Lodz, Poland. As World War 2 raged, all of the Jews in Lodz were moved into a “ghetto” - a poor, overcrowded part of the city.

Life was pretty hopeless in the ghetto. They had long work days, not enough food, no freedom, and little control over their own lives. Despair quickly took over. People moved through life with a dark cloud of sadness. Many gave up completely, and suicide became more and more common.

One day, Jacob accidentally heard a radio report that Russian forces won a victory and were moving closer to Poland. When Jacob told his friends what he heard, the news spread quickly through the ghetto. If the Russians were winning, and if the Russians were coming, then they might soon be free!

The rumor also spread that Jacob had a secret radio. Jacob decided to go along with the rumors, and he began inventing regular news updates about Russian victories and other signs of hope. Jacob actually began to imitate the radio itself, making the sounds of guns, bombs and even the voice of Winston Churchill.

This “secret radio” and Jacob's “news reports” changed the whole atmosphere of the camp. Hope returned. The people had joy again. They began to act with more love and care for each other. The despair stopped. The suicides stopped. Hope changes everything.

In our text today in Isaiah 61, Israel is in trouble. (It seems like Israel is always in trouble.) The people of Israel have been slowly returning from exile. Instead of finding the happy homes and fertile farms that used to be in Israel, now they find destroyed buildings, empty cities, and overgrown fields. Despair begins to set in.

But then a prophet speaks out and calls for hope. Listen to what he says in Isaiah 61.

The Spirit of the Almighty God is living in this prophet with one purpose: to announce good news to those who are having a whole lot of very bad days. He is bringing a message of comfort and hope to people who are brokenhearted, stuck, chained in their own history, mourning, covered in ashes, despairing.

What is this good news? The time of God's favor has come. God is turning the world upside down. He is bringing redemption. He is bringing healing. Rebuilding is coming. Renewal is coming. Food is coming. Safety is coming. Love and acceptance are coming. Peace and joy are coming. Abundance and beauty are coming. Don't give up. Rejoice and hope, for God is coming.

God has made an everlasting covenant with his people. God has promised to bless us and to help us. God will never give up on us. God will never abandon us.

And what happens when the prophet begins to tell this good news? He is overwhelmed with joy because of God's promise. Notice that nothing has actually changed yet. The cities are still empty. The buildings are still broken down. The people are still poor. But now, they have hope! They remember God's promise again! And hope changes everything.

Listen to how he describes his joy. “God has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness. I am like a bridegroom in his wedding suit or a bride with her jewels” (Isaiah 61:10). This is an amazing image. How many of you went to HyunSu and SuJin's wedding yesterday? Think for a few minutes about how they felt when they were getting dressed. They probably felt “overwhelmed with joy.” Nothing had actually changed yet. They were still single. They were still not married, but they trusted each other's promise. They were dressed in their wedding clothes, and they were about to see those promises become a reality. They weren't married yet, but they had an overwhelming hope of the change that was coming soon. Hope changes everything.

And what about us? We always have to talk about that, right? What does this passage have to say to our lives?

Remember the “From Now On” video? Christmas is a joy-filled season, but the joy of the Christmas season is not a joy of complacency or fluffy feelings. It is not the joy of sitting around and eating too much food and giving too many presents. It is not the joy of a day off work or a trip to the movies with friends. It is the joy that God is redeeming the world, turning the world upside down.

Our horrible, terrible, no good, very bad days are not the way life is supposed to be. 1 billion people who live on less than 1,000 won a day have a lot of horrible, terrible, no good, very bad days, and 2 billion people, who have less than 2,000 won a day (or maybe more with these crazy exchange rates!), all have a lot of horrible, terrible, no good, very bad days. And this is not the way the world is supposed to be.

But God is turning the world upside down, quietly, gently, persistently. God is rebuilding, renewing, reworking, replanting, healing, comforting, freeing, unchaining, redeeming us and our world. God has made an everlasting covenant with us. He will never give up on us. He will always love us. He will always be with us. No matter what we are going through, no matter what our world is going through, God is always here working for redemption. This is God's everlasting promise to us.

If we will listen to this good news deeply within our hearts, then we will be changed. This hope changes everything.

And the Spirit of the Almighty God is in us. God has anointed us, commissioned us, sent us to share this amazing good news with the poor, the brokenhearted, those who are stuck in their old ways of life. God has sent us to comfort the mourning, to help people move from despair to joy, from ruins to rebuilding, from emptiness to full fields again.

And how does it happen? Look at verse 11: “The Sovereign LORD will show his justice to the nations of the world. Everyone will praise him! His righteousness will be like a garden in early spring, with plants springing up everywhere.” God changes us. He puts his hopeful Holy Spirit in us, and we are transformed. We begin to live differently. We begin to live out his justice and goodness and righteousness.

Many of you remember Julene. She kept talking to me about organic activities in the church, good stuff we don't plan from the top down, good stuff that happens from the bottom up. I left church last Sunday amazed at how God is blessing our church. We are experiencing the organic springing up of righteousness. We are God's garden, and this is our spring. Good stuff is springing up all over the place, and it's hard to keep up sometimes.

- I walked into church a few weeks ago and HaeRi handed me a name tag. I didn't ask her to make name tags. I think she mentioned it to me, but I was as surprised as you were.

- Amanda came to me and said, “I think our information cards can be better. Can I make some changes?” Look in the bulletin to see our new and improved cards!

- Margaret said, “Wouldn't it be great if our church could give gifts to every kid in the Ssang Yong Orphanage?” Then, she gathered a team and made it happen.

- Elena said to me, “Oh yeah, maybe we forgot to tell you. There's a marriage seminar in January.” I said, “Oh! … That's good.”

- Two of our newer people, Emmanuel and SunHwa, came to me at different times and said, “I really want to help start some programs for our youth.” Great!

- Lindsey said, “We need some Advent Readings. Can you help?” I helped the first week, and then she took it over.

- Katrina came to me and said, “I really want to serve God here in this church. I'll do anything – even scrubbing toilets.” She's now helping with our kids, with our bulletins, and with set-up.

- Oh, and Elena's also raising money to build a well for a community that doesn't have clean drinking water. Her goal is to raise $18,000 in one year!

This is organic righteousness! God's goodness, God's justice, God's love and grace are popping up all over the place. God's hope has changed us, and now through us, God's hope is changing our world! This is what Christmas is about!

Hope changes everything. Hope changes us, and as God changes us, God changes everything around us. Hope changes everything. Let's live this hope together!

I want to finish with a prayer from The Book of Common Prayer. I've been praying this prayer several times a week. I think it really fits our message today.

Almighty God, Father of all mercies ,we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made.

We bless you for our creation, preservation, and the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.

And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts, we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages.

Amen.

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[1] This book is available for online reading or listening at: http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/family/alexander/.

[2] This movie is based on the book Jakob the Liar by Jurek Becker, 1969. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_the_Liar.