Rev. George Miller
November 16, 2025
Isaiah 9:2-7
After our Annual Meeting last week, someone
came over and said “I hope we haven’t frightened you away.” I smiled with reassurance, also because someone
said the same thing at our last meeting.
After 20 years of church meetings, not to
mention Conference, and General Synod meetings, they are all the same, with the
same amount of stress, tension, and fear.
But one thing to be said is that St. Lucas
is going to “St. Lucas.”
We’re going to worry about finances, we’re
going to have heated moments, we’re going to take an hour to vote on a motion.
I smile, but it also breaks my heart, knowing
that folk are worried; afraid. No one
wants to see such a foundational rock as St. Lucas worrying about future
survival.
St. Lucas does too much good. We’re an inportant place in the
community. Many families and legacies
are within these walls.
So we are afraid. Uprooted with worry. Fearful about finances.
God bless Tom who asked “Do we have a
plan?” His question creates a steady ground
for us to work side by side to allay concerns.
Though I smiled when asked the question, I
am mindful of 2 things-
There is a divide in how we think and want
to proceed as a Body of Christ; not quite yet a cohesive team that moves
forward as one.
Second- we heard a lot about budget and voting,
but we didn’t hear were words like “Gospel,” “God,” “Jesus,” “Holy Spirit.” Scripture or Christ’s Teachings didn’t come
up.
As an entity whose Mission is to
unite “Christians in the worship of
God and affirms life-long Christian education, faithful discipleship and caring
service in God’s name,” we didn’t hear many of those words.
Maybe next year we can start our meeting
with the Mission and Our Promise, which reads-
“St. Lucas UCC members, united in Christ
and led by the Holy Spirit, strive to live faithfully, grow spiritually and
serve lovingly all of God’s creations.”
Last week, someone said “I hope we haven’t
frightened you away.” I smiled because
after 20 years of meetings, they are all the same, with the same stress and
fear, and St. Lucas is going to “St. Lucas.”
We’re not the only ones- this level of
worry has been around since God set the Israelites free and their first worry
was about water.
The fear and worry over real life
situations is all over the Bible. Some
like Hannah take it to the Lord. Some
like King Uzziah think they are the Lord.
Then there’s King Ahaz who hears a word
from the Lord and still chooses to do his own thing.
King Ahaz is the 12th King of
Judah, the Southern Kingdom, about 30 years after Amos. It’s a time of instability and worry. The Assyrian empire is posing a threat to the
world, taking over nations.
The King of the North partners with the
King of Syria to fight against Assyria.
They invite King Ahaz and the South to join them.
Ahaz refuses, so they attack with the plan
to install a puppet king.
Ahaz is terrified. Instead of turning to God for guidance, he
turns to the Assyrians, thinking that an alliance with them will bring him
safety.
This is where Isaiah comes in. He says to Ahaz “I know what you’re thinking,
but don’t do it. Stand still in your
faith. Stay right where you are. Trust in the Lord. Don’t turn to the left, don’t turn to the
right, but stay. Soon this will be over
and you’ll be OK.”
But Ahaz ignores him. He takes the Temple’s offerings and gives it
to Assyria in exchange for their help, starting a non-reversable domino effect. Assyria enters Judah, making them their
underlings. They attack Syria, conquer
the capital city of Samaria, ending the Northen Kingdom.
The people are taken as captives,
displaced, forced into marriages, creating what’s known as the “Ten Lost Tribes
of Isreal.”
Out of fear and zero trust in God, Ahaz has
made his people servants of the Assyrians and caused the northern kingdom to be
decimated.
It is a dark day for everyone. But, as John 1:5 says “The
light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overtake it.”
Though Isiah has come with words of
judgement, he’s also come with words of hope.
Words that say these difficult days will be over, transformation will
take place.
That seeds are being planted in which
there will be some good. Eventually troubles
will be over, barriers are broken, and peace is possible.
Isaiah tells Ahaz about a child to be
born, one who will do good things, live in right ways, and be enthusiastic for
God.
For scholars, it is believed that Isaiah
is talking about Ahaz’s son, named Hezekiah, who as the future kind did indeed
do great things.
For Christians, this reading takes on a
second meaning- pointing to the experience of Jesus Christ.
Especially Christians who know what it is
like to walk through disappointment, pain, weariness.
In these words spoken 2,750 years ago, we
hear the ageless stress and anxiety of being human and trying to make it
through another week, another day, another hour.
Not much has really changed since Ahaz,
has it? Yet Isaiah still dares to say,
“The people who walked in darkness have seen great light.”
Not that the darkness is gone, or pain non-existent. But because we are not alone- God meets us
there.
This is in many ways the heart of Advent
that we are about to enter, when we get to journey back to Bethlehem and meet
the baby in the manger, where God is present in the person of Jesus.
Not a king in a castle or a chariot, but
as a vulnerable innocent child.
When earliest Christians had an experience
with Jesus, they looked upon these words from Isaiah and said ‘These words are what God has done
in Christ. This is what God continues to
do.”
When Jesus walked by people could sense
the wisdom, the inner strength, the care.
When Jesus walked by those aching for stability and wholeness , they may
have called him “Wonderful Counselor,” “Prince of Peace.”
One way we of St. Lucas can hear Isaiah’s words
is to not think of a child born in the past, or yet to be, but the child born
in you, now.
When we can breathe again after a hard
week, when we are resilient, when we
speak kindness, we are embodying the everlasting wisdom and peaceful might seen
in Christ.
As we enter into 2026 looking for a plan,
we can hold onto these words, knowing that though things can appear dark, there
is a light, it shines upon us, and the darkness does not have to overcome it.
We do not have to be Ahaz. We don’t have to make rash decisions based on
fear or makes alliances that drain our spirit.
We can turn to the light of Christ and
welcome the presence of the Lord; we can remind ourselves that in Jesus, God is
right there.
We can pray like Hannah. We can use our wisdom like Solomon. We can speak like Amos.
With God, for God, as followers of
Christ.
For that let us say “Amen.”
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