Emmanuel As An Adjective; Isaiah 42: 1-9

 

Rev. George Miller

Dec 11, 2022

Isaiah 42:1-9

 

In the spirit of gifts, grace, and gratitude, it is good to remember that we are who we are because of those who have come before and the legacy they left behind.

 

Our founding pastor, Rev. Bob Loffer, who worked with the FL Conference to create Emmanuel UCC as a progressive voice in central, rural Florida.

 

Gene and John who gifted us with this gorgeous piano that takes on the life and talents of each player.

 

Sue Shellhammer who created our Mission Theme Song- “We are Emmanuel, we love we give we share.  We show God’s Holy Spirit through the ways we care.”

 

We are Emmanuel.  Emmanuel means “God With Us.”  Our First Nation Sisters and Brothers may say that Emmanuel means “Creator Is with Us.”

 

I wonder if there is another layer to this whole Emmanuel thing.

 

Typically, we think Emmanuel refers to Jesus, but what if Emmanuel could mean any person in which you can clearly see that God is with us through their actions and words?

 

What if Emmanuel was not just a name but also an adjective? 

 

What if Emmanuel was used the same way we’d use words like smart, kind, compassionate to describe someone?

 

Imagine- a child opens a door for an elder and the response is “Why thank you, you are such an ‘emmanuel’.”

 

Or a girl fixes her friend’s bike and the neighbors call her an “emmanuel.”

 

When someone’s generous, we said they were “emmanuel.”  When someone does something just or humble people could say “I see the emmanuel in you.”

 

Is this what Isaiah 42 is actually about?

 

As Christians, we may have difficulty separating what Isaiah discussed from discussion about Jesus because we’ve been taught to take this text and place it upon the Christmas and Easter story.

 

But what if the author’s original intent had nothing to do with a future servant, but had to do with the present moment and present people?

 

Isaiah 42 was written about 600 years before Jesus, during a time of great confusion.  Folk were wondering when they would ever get to experience “normal” again.  Folk were losing hope.

 

Without hope it is hard to live, so the author redirects them, channeling God- 

 

“Look!  Here is my servant who makes me happy!  Here is the person I have chosen to bring the gifts of justice.  Here is the one I have breathed my breathe into!”

 

For so long, people assumed that Isaiah is referring to Jesus; that he had a window into the future.

 

What if Isaiah did have a window into the future, but what if the person he is talking about…is you?

 

What if Isaiah is saying “You’ve been waiting all this time for someone to make things right, but the person who can best do it, is you!”?

 

What if God’s reference to a servant who is chosen, who pleases God, who has the spirit of God within them, is really referring to you?

 

Could you be God’s chosen servant?  Could you be the one in whom God’s soul delights?  Could you be the one in whom God’s spirit rests upon?

 

Of course you are.  YOU are God’s servant.  YOU are God’s chosen.  YOU are the bearer of God’s breath.

 

If so, what will you do about it?

 

Think of 21-year-old Suzanne Belair of Haiti who though free, chose to fight with those who were oppressed.  She could be called an “emmanuel.”

 

Or Carlos Manuel of Cuba who let his enslaved-workers free.  He could be called an “emmanuel.”

 

The American suffragettes who wrote letters, marched, used the power of their purchases. They were “emmanuels.”

 

Gregario Aglipay of the Philippines who spoke up for the rights of agricultural workers and was excommunicated for his activism.  He could be called an “emmanuel.”

 

17-year-old Canadian Ann Harvey who saved 163 shipwrecked immigrants off the coast.  She became known as the “grace darling of Newfoundland.”  Surely, she was to them “emmanuel.”

 

As we heard last week, Dr. Gilbert Mason and UCC pastor Rev. Jack Aregood who waded in the waters of Biloxi to make the beaches integrated were certainly acting as “emmanuels.”

 

Isaiah speaks of Emmanuel and says “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, who makes me happy.”

 

Isaiah isn’t just talking about one person, nor is he just talking about Christ, but anyone who embodies the spirit and justice of God.

 

Nancy’s prophetic words a few weeks ago about the LGBTQ community, she was an “emmanuel.”

 

Anytime Fe, Randy, Roxie feeds us, they are “emmanuel.”

 

Anytime Kim cares for the property he is being an “emmanuel.”

 

Our Back Bay team, Shepherd’s Pantry volunteers, Garden of Hope imagineers, you are all “emmanuels” because you show us that the Creator is With Us, that God is Here.

 

Who else is God’s servant, in whom God is pleased?  It’s you.  And you.  And you. 

 

Any time you’ve done something kind, every time you’ve been just and fair, every time you bent but did not break, God has been so pleased with you.

 

It is God who has called us into righteousness, it is God who gives us the breath to do what we do, and it is God who hold us accountable, cheering us on each step of the way.

 

God is holding out God’s hand.  God is inviting you to be a light unto the world, and it is God who is keeping you at God’s breast.  For you are God’s beloved, and in you the Lord is well pleased.                                               

 

Amen.