Rev. George Miller
Nov 20, 2022
Isaiah 36:13-20
“God saves.” GOD SAVES- it’s a
beautiful theme; an inspiring idea that we see throughout Scripture.
Exodus 19- God bears us up on eagle’s wings. 2 Kings 5- Naaman is restored to health.
“God saves” is inspiring to say, but for God to save, there must be a situation
to be saved from. You can’t celebrate salvation
unless there is an obstacle that needs to be defeated.
Throughout scripture we hear about God’s salvation- from hunger, slavery,
family conflict. Today the situation is 701
BCE: the Holy City is circled by the enemy,
ready to attack. It’s a hopeless situation.
They taunt King Hezekiah in front of the citizens. “Don’t listen to him. Don’t believe your God is going to do a dang
thing. Surrender now.”
King Hezekiah and the people choose not to surrender. Facing distress, the leadership consults with
the prophet Isaiah who gives wise counsel.
Hezekiah meditates and prays on it.
For 2 chapters this goes on- 57 verses of distress and the city about to
fall.
Then 37:36 comes along and we are simply told that in one night God defeats
the enemy; the people saved.
It's frustrating because this story goes on and on with all this worry
and woe, but when we get to the big action sequence the author is like “Oh,
well- God defeated them.”
If this was a Hollywood movie, we’d be like what? We sat through 2 hours and don’t even get an action
sequence?
The author is making a theological choice. They don’t want us to focus on how the obstacle
was erased, they want to focus on the theme- “God saves; God defeats.”
The author tells us that an angel strikes down everyone, but let’s be honest:
most likely the people of Israel came together and fought like lions and bears
to defend their home.
Most likely there was a lot of blood and gore. Most likely many of the Israelites lost their
lives. But the author does not want to
focus on that.
The author wants us to focus on this- God saves. In a time of distress, somehow, some way, God
defeats it.
That’s what makes Judith such a powerful story. The Book of Judith showed us the distress,
but it zooms in on how 2 people, Judith and the woman who serves her, act to
address the situation and resolve it.
At the end of Judith, the people are saved, God is given the glory, but we know it was because
Judith and the woman who served her, acted, did not sit idly by, and played their
part.
God saves. No doubt about it. We see this throughout the Bible. We see that when God saves it is often because
the people play a part in their salvation.
The Israelites had to be willing to walk through the Red Sea. Naaman had to choose to dip himself in the Jordan. The man in John 5 had to pick up his mat and
walk to experience salvation.
God saves, miracles happen. But it
often involves human participation.
For example, last month we celebrated raising $2,000 for Haiti. We did not get into the nitty gritty by
saying how many people gave, who gave what, or that someone at the last moment rounded
up the amount.
We raised $2,000 for Haiti because Carnide put in the work. Randy and Steve cooked. Folk set up the Fellowship Hall. People attended, wrote checks, reached into
their wallets and pocketbooks. That’s
what technically happened.
When we announced the amount received, we didn’t tell you every detail; you
didn’t know each person, or who gave what.
We celebrated that $2,000 was brought it for Haiti; we gave God all the
glory, treating it like a miracle.
Because it was a miracle, it was God. It was God working through every person who
felt called to give.
God saves. God’s been in the saving
business since beginning, and it is often through our participation that God defeats
what appears to be the undefeatable…
…Today is our Annual Meeting, and as with any church that has ever
existed, we’re going talk about the budget.
For us to keep Emmanuel UCC moving forward, it will cost $204,500. We plan to meet that. To do so, Emmanuel will need to bring in an income of 3,932 dollars a week.
To do what we do the way Emmanuel does it, we will need to receive $3,932
a week through donations, fundraisers, gifts, rental fees.
$3,932 a week can sound distressing.
If it depended on one person alone, we’d close our doors tomorrow.
But here’s the good news-
we do not depend on one person alone, nor does that $3,932 have to all come
from us, it can be anywhere.
God saves.
God finds how to defeat the undefeatable.
How God saves and defeats is through Moses and Miriam, Joseph and Judith.
God saves through prophets, servants, kings, leadership teams, and folk
we never anticipated to step in.
Think of Emmanuel UCC as a holy city.
Think of Emmanuel UCC as a holy city in which we are the citizens who do
the heavenly work of:
worshiping God,
feeding nearly 200 kids a month, sending students to school,
repairing homes.
Think of Emmanuel UCC as a holy city in which we offer folk a chance to rest,
to experience eternal life, and to connect with God free of fear.
While other places threaten you with the threats of damnation, or endorses
the mistreatment to the least of these,
Emmanuel UCC is a heavenly place that says “Within our gates, we dwell with the
assurance of God’s grace.
Join us in being accountable to the Lord of life.
Join us as we do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with the Lord.”
If we see Emmanuel UCC as a city, we could look at our 2023 budget as a
threat and say we are under distress.
But remember- that it is while in distress that God saves.
If we see Emmanuel UCC as a holy city, we can say that we are not alone,
nor are we helpless, for we have many Miriams and Mosses, we have many Josephs
and Judiths.
Within the holy walls of Emmanuel UCC we have many kings and queens who
shine bright with the ancestors of our faith.
We have many prophets, servants, and folk who we never anticipated to
walk through our doors.
God saves; No doubt. God often saves through the people, for the people.
Just as Jerusalem was under great distress and God saved through prophet
and king, leaders and priests, God can save us too.
How God saves will be through us, with us, through those who hear about us,
through the ministry we provide, and through the gifts of our hearts,
At a time when freedoms are being taken away and Christ’s name is used as
a weapon, God will fight with us as we fight too.
For that let us say “Amen.”
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