I am writing this a few days after the slaughter in Orlando Florida. Our hearts are broken and our minds befuddled again by still one more act of random brutality. In this frame of mind I take some hope and comfort from the prophet Isaiah. He was speaking to the people returning from Babylonian exile. They were barely a nation, just a broken, depressed and discouraged people who faced the enormous task of rebuilding Jerusalem, the Temple and the nation.
Using poetic language and appealing to their imaginations, the prophet draws on images of prosperity, comfort and maternal tenderness to raise up the downcast spirits of his people. What they cannot do for themselves the God, who loves them, will do. They are like infants at the breast and their motherly God, who will nourish and, with a powerful hand, return them to strength.
That vision was never fully realized and Israel would always have to struggle under the domination of other powers. But Isaiah’s words would spur them on to the hope of being a people under God and the beacon God commissioned them to be to the nations.
The prophet’s vision speaks to us today we who, in our Pledge of Allegiance, hold before us a vision similar to Isaiah’s, “one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” It is a vision we have only partially lived up to. We are constantly being reminded of what we have not yet fully achieved. The recent mass shootings in Orlando, with their strong undertones of homophobia and religious extremism, call us back to Isaiah’s dream, as we once again turn to our nurturing and loving God for support, reconciliation and tranquility.
What Isaiah hoped to see and Jesus proclaimed, was not about an other-worldly “paradise” reserved for us after death. Rather, it was a challenge and promise for what is possible here: human beings living in mutual respect and in loving relationships, guided by justice and compassion. We will need to do what Isaiah is suggesting if we are to have healing now and a blessed future: turn to God for the help we need to truly be a nation of equality for all human beings, where the rights of every person are respected.
During this election cycle we also need to pray for the kind of leadership that will guide and challenge us to live up to what we promise our citizens in the Bill of Rights and our Constitution. We need new prophets to remind us that the dream of our founders is not dead. We hold out hope and urgently pray that our elected officials will renew and help us achieve that dream. Happy Fourth of July!
When an important dignitary is going to visit a place, he or she is preceded by representatives to plan and arrange for their grand arrival. We see examples of that when the president makes a visit to one of our cities, or a foreign country. Enormous preparations have to be done to arrange ceremonies, guest lists, security, banquets, interviews, etc. We see similar examples during this presidential campaign as the candidates go to places around the country to speak, meet supporters and raise funds. Those speaking venues don’t just pop up, all prepared to host the candidates, their entourages, the decorations, with seating and facilities for tens of thousands of supporters.
Jesus is planning “speaking engagements” too. But of a vastly different type than that of a president, or candidate for office. One could be tempted to call what he has in mind as “non–events.” There will be no scripted speeches, press releases, stadiums, banners and cheering crowds prepped for his arrival. Instead, he is sending out 72 of his representatives to prepare the way in “every town and place he intended to visit.”
Jesus’ “advance people” won’t arrive in these towns and places loaded down with propaganda about their candidate. There won’t be banquets for the local influential people. Nor will there be free food and drink to draw the crowds. Instead, there will be just 72 representatives, sent in pairs, to let people know something about the one who is coming. They won’t be given prepared talks and handouts, carefully scripted by PR people so that they say exactly what they are supposed to about the one who is coming. No one will be overseeing them to make sure they stay “on message.
Jesus will be represented by 72 of his followers who have been with him. They will speak out of their own experience and tell their personal stories about the difference and impact Jesus has had on their lives. Jesus tells them not to bring anything with them. These ambassadors for Christ won’t be providing for themselves. Jesus is quite clear about that, “no money, bag, no sack, no sandals.”
Well then, how will they manage without the essentials? Jesus is sure there will be people who will welcome their message and open their homes to them. Middle Eastern hospitality means there will always be some to host them and provide for their needs. If the 72 aren’t preoccupied by their material needs they will be more focused on the good news they carry. And they will have to trust that it will be received by hospitable hearts. The focus will not be on them though. They will have to trust that through their unique personalities and individual gifts, Jesus’ person will come through in their words and actions. Their task is to go ahead of Jesus to prepare for his visit.
The biblical number 72 represents all the nations, all the peoples of the earth. So, when Jesus sends out 72, it’s an outreach to all people and a statement about the universality of God salvific reach. The kingdom of God, which these missionaries will announce, is coming in Jesus and is for everyone — all races and nations. No one is left out; no one is excluded.
We modern Christians are being sent as the first 72 were. Politicians may disappoint us in their promises to make us “one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” But we can’t wait for them to achieve the prophet’s vision of a peaceable kingdom with God as its ruler. We have to begin the process of change, with a conversion of ourselves, our families and even in our communities of faith.
Like those 72 we will have to rely on the power of the living Christ in us to bring about the changes we, our church and our nation need to accomplish, before we can be, “one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”