Epiphany 5B + Restored in God/ This That Year + 2.7.21

 

M. Campbell-Langdell

All Saints, Oxnard

(Isaiah 40:21–31; Psalm 147:1–12, 21c; 1 Corinthians 9:16–23; St Mark 1:29–39)

 

“Have you not known? Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?

It is he who sits above the circle of the earth….”

I remember being in a grassy and muddy field area in Northern California, at a slight distance from the stage where the band Newsboys was playing. And across the fields a voice blasted:

“Have you not known? Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.

He gives power to the faint,
and strengthens the powerless.

Even youths will faint and be weary,
and the young will fall exhausted;

but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles,

they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint.”

It was almost like I had never heard these words before, or at least had never heard their power until I heard them proclaimed from a microphone at a Christian rock crowd. I was not entirely in my element at the concert, being a quieter Episcopalian. But we were in seminary and Alene had brought me to this concert to share a band she liked. It was a most interesting cultural experience, seeing all of the “Not of this World” gear. But one of my most striking memories of that time was hearing the words of Isaiah before the band launched into the song they had based on the prophetic text.

Reading these words again this week, I felt a little chill as I remembered the excitement and energy of this reminder that God is indeed with us, and that no matter how weary we may feel, God will renew us for God’s purpose. Other institutions and princes may fall if they do not serve God, but God will renew us if we just hang in there and trust.

This week I was reminded that Isaiah’s words are to the Israelite people in exile. They will be able to return to Jerusalem soon but they may be disappointed. They may feel weary from their time of exile. Perhaps they would find Jerusalem in disrepair. Perhaps they felt disconnected from their sense of connection to God after so long away from the temple. Not unlike us. Imagining their weariness, what came to mind for me was the weariness I see around me at the moment. Essential workers who are burned out or rapidly approaching burnout. Our wisdom year folks who just want things to be normal already. Those with memory loss who have experienced mental decline due to a change in routines and simply not having enough social interaction. Farmworkers who, although lauded as essential workers, are denied sick pay and proper masks. So many around us are tired. Many of us are tired reading the news- more death, more illness. More politics that seems to come from Mars, not earth.

And yet… we are seeing the tide change. One death is too many but to go from sometimes eighteen or more a day in the county to five on Wednesday tells us that we have reason to hope. Something is going right in the midst of all that is going wrong. We will eventually see the light at the end of the tunnel. Dear friends, family and fellow parishioners are being vaccinated. None of it is happening as quickly as we would like, but it is happening.

This makes me think of my friend Theo Blue’s song “This That Year.” Drawing on the Biblical idea of the Jubilee in the context this year,

He says, and with apologies that I do not sound like Darren:

“This that year

Imma talk climate change

If we don’t we gonna die

This that year

We might die anyway

But they can’t say we ain’t tried

This that year

Imma invest in us,

Treat the family like stock…

This that year…

All of my weight gonna drop

All the self-hate gonna stop

This that year

All of my bros gone fly

All of my friends don’t cry

…This that year

Imma do ratchet things but I’m still walking with God. [1]

Although in a different language and tone, this song helps me remember these words:

“Have you not known? Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth. …

He does not faint or grow weary;
He gives power to the faint,
and strengthens the powerless. …

but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles,

they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint.”

We will experience this strength, this vigor again. Before long we will be running free, vital again. Able to hug and share communion together in a building. We will be able to work together in workspaces without fear of contagion (although I suspect we will all have slightly different practices as a result of this time). Able to combat climate change and combat racism. Essential service providers will continue to be busy but they will feel a return to normalcy, times of rest and recuperation and less pressure placed on them daily. Soon they will be able to simply do their important work, work that helps everyone else do theirs too, whether it is bagging groceries or inserting an IV drip or harvesting lettuce. In the meantime, pray with me for God’s protection for those most at risk – protection in body, mind and spirit, so that they would know that even now, God is renewing their strength, if they only trust in God.

Amen.

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[1] Theo Blue, “This That Year” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRy8rPbDm6E. With apologies if my transcription of the lyrics is off!