As a native of the Philadelphia
area of Pennsylvania
“Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles.”
Could it be a sign?! I’m sure a lot of my friends
and family back home would like to think so, but…probably not! God hears the
prayers of both sides for encouragement, protection, and strength to play their
best, but I don’t think he takes sides in these matters.
If we want to know what God is actually saying to us through this morning’s reading, we would be better served by looking at the original context of this prophecy. Isaiah is writing to the people of
In response to these doubts, the prophet reminds
the people of the power and greatness of God.
In the ancient world, it seemed that every tribe
and nation had their own gods and goddesses. If your tribe or nation was
defeated by another, it must have meant that their god was stronger than your
god.
However God—The God of Israel, the God of the
Bible, our God—is not some petty local
deity. He is not just the God of Israel but the God of all the universe.
Although the strength and determination of men
and women fail, although we sometimes loose heart, although even the strongest
of human beings sometimes find themselves powerless before obstacles they
cannot overcome, God is not like one of these. God is not a man or any other
creature, but completely other than us. He is infinitely higher in strength,
power, wisdom, and greatness. There is
nothing in the world that is more powerful than he is. Indeed, he is the
creator and sustainer of everything that is.
Moreover, his wisdom and knowledge is not limited
and partial like ours. He doesn’t forget. There isn’t anything that escapes his
notice. He is all wise and all knowing. We on the other hand are anything but.
Although God’s purposes may not be clear to us, although we may not understand
his plan, we can be assured that God is absolutely competent, absolutely wise,
and absolutely good in all of his judgments.
Because God is the creator and source of all
things, because he is all powerful, everlasting, and all wise, he alone can
sustain us. Our strength and our perseverance comes from him.
Some of us are all too aware of our limitations.
When faced with our personal failings and weakness we too easily give up and
surrender to despondency. We despair at
our ability ever to overcome. Instead,
we should look to God’s grace for the strength and power that we lack in
ourselves. Acknowledging our own
weakness—the fact that our life has become unmanageable—should direct our
attention to a power higher than ourselves.
The prophet exhorts us, “Lift up your eyes and see your creator.”
For some of us the problem is that we have not
yet come to appreciate our weakness and limitations. We have an over inflated perception
of our own ability and competence. We believe that we can manage everything on
our own without the help of others. We neglect our need for rest, recuperation,
and spiritual restoration. We work as if we were machines and never take the
time to recharge our battery. Perhaps we believe we are too busy to pray, study
our Bible, or slow down, be still, and know our God. Unless we acknowledge that we are not God, but
merely human, unless we acknowledge that we are utterly dependant on God at all
times, we are bound to fall.
Jesus himself
reveals to us what it means to live a life humbly dependant on God’s
sustaining power and grace.
In today’s Gospel reading we get a glimpse
of just how demanding Jesus’ ministry
really was. Jesus came to town and the whole city gathered at the door. They
brought to him all who were sick and all who were possessed by demons. Could you imagine how physically and
emotionally exhausting it must have been to be Jesus? Everyone wanted a piece
of him.
I once read a comment from John Lennon about what it was like to be in the Beatles. Everywhere he went he was surrounded by screaming fans who wanted his autograph or even just to reach out and touch him, but that wasn’t the worst of it. Wherever they went to perform, they would inevitably be greeted by a long line of sick or dying kids whose one wish was to meet the Beatles. How could they say no? How could they turn them away? And yet the physical exhaustion and emotional strain was almost too much for him. After all he was little more than a kid himself!
I once read a comment from John Lennon about what it was like to be in the Beatles. Everywhere he went he was surrounded by screaming fans who wanted his autograph or even just to reach out and touch him, but that wasn’t the worst of it. Wherever they went to perform, they would inevitably be greeted by a long line of sick or dying kids whose one wish was to meet the Beatles. How could they say no? How could they turn them away? And yet the physical exhaustion and emotional strain was almost too much for him. After all he was little more than a kid himself!
Elvis Preseley used to have to buy out an entire movie movie theater just to get some time to himself to unwind. Wherever he went fans would tear off pieces of his clothing and even break off pieces of his car!
Jesus was surrounded by the same kind of
hysterical crowds, but more than that he was constantly confronted with those
who were sick and desperate for healing. Our Gospel lesson tells us he cured
many, but not all. There was a limit even to what Jesus could do. He inevitably
needed a break. He needed to recharge.
The only way he could do that was to sneak away
in the dark to a deserted place. Even then everyone was looking for him!
You may ask at this point, but isn’t Jesus God? Didn’t we just finish recounting about how God does not tire or grow weary, that he is limitless in power and might? Indeed we did.
You may ask at this point, but isn’t Jesus God? Didn’t we just finish recounting about how God does not tire or grow weary, that he is limitless in power and might? Indeed we did.
Although Jesus was God, he became man for our
sake. He accepted for himself the frailty and limitation of our human life. One
of the reasons he did this was to reveal to us what a truly human life
submitted to God really looks like. If even Jesus needed to rest and take time
to seek the face of God, we certainly do!
“Those who wait upon God will renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles.”
Although Jesus was the eternal son of God, he
demonstrated through his humanity the source of all strength and life. He did
not rely on his own power but casts himself always upon his heavenly Father.
When we do the same, we will find ourselves
lifted up from despondency and hopelessness. We will find new sources of
perseverance and new strength. We will
not remain chained to our weakness or the limitations of our nature, but we
will sore high above the world, the flesh, and the devil bourn up on the wings
of the Spirit.
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