QUARANTINE BLOG # 251

December 6, 2020

Second Sunday in Advent

Energy at Midpoint

But those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31).

The poem in Isaiah 40 is a poem addressed to the Israelites in Babylonian exile. They were displaced persons who had to believe in God in an alien environment, and that is not unlike our situation. The American Church increasingly is in an alien, hostile environment if it takes the claims of the gospel with real seriousness. The folks in Isaiah 40 were unclear about how to be God’s people in such a situation, for it was more costly and dangerous than they wanted to face.

The poem reflects a faith community in which the possibilities of the gospel seem to have failed. We might call it burnout. They could not generate the old vitality. Nothing seemed to work. In this world, appeal to the power of God didn’t carry much weight.

And then the poet makes a move to his listeners. The poet speaks about the people who trust in this God and who notice what God is doing. It is not only that God does not grow faint. It is that God gives power to the faint, and to he who has no might, God increases strength. The news in this poem is for the faint in the church, those who have run out of steam, out of patience, out of courage, out of imagination, out of generosity.

The reason we have run out is that we have believed the world too much. We have listened to the Babylonians. We have yearned too much for the American dream. And people who get caught in Babylonian dreams or American dreams wind up without energy for faith and mission.

But as we focus on the God who is free and restless and at work, we break the spell of the empire, and we are free again.

I saw a sign recently which said that God wants spiritual eagles, not chickens. But whether we fly, run, or walk, we are free, joyous, buoyant, ready to defy the empire, ready to receive God’s gifts, ready to do God’s will. Advent is a time for remembering and gratitude. But it is also for hoping, for receiving energy, for resolve for the mission. The mission is very tough these days. But God is not hidden, not indifferent, not powerless, and we are the people of this God.

So, dear eagles – soar into your mission. It is time to move toward the things we know best. They are our very life, and to them we are summoned: justice, mercy, compassion, peace. All you who are weary and are heavily laden, take the yoke of Christ – rest and obey!

By your loving spirit, may Advent be a time of remembering and giving thanks, and also a time of renewing our energy and our resolve for mission. May we rest and obey. Amen.

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