Are You Listening?
Indianapolis First Friend
August 27, 2017
Bob Henry
Isaiah 51:1-11 (NRSV)
51 Listen to me, you that pursue righteousness, you that seek the Lord. Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug. 2Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you; for he was but one when I called him, but I blessed him and made him many. 3For the Lord will comfort Zion; he will comfort all her waste places, and will make her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song.
4Listen to me, my people, and give heed to me, my nation; for a teaching will go out from me, and my justice for a light to the peoples. 5I will bring near my deliverance swiftly, my salvation has gone out and my arms will rule the peoples; the coastlands wait for me, and for my arm they hope. 6Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth beneath; for the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and those who live on it will die like gnats; but my salvation will be forever, and my deliverance will never be ended.
This week, I read through the text chosen for this day several times. I often read it in Lectio Divina style and read it over and over and allow specific words or phrases to speak to me to focus on. This week, as I was listeningI heard God speaking these words in a more personal way and almost as though it was being re-written for us as we gather. So this morning, I will read the text we just heard again, but this time in a more personalized translation for our gathering this morning. You may want to close your eyes, if it helps you focus...
Listen, people of First Friends, you that seek God.
You are chips off the old blocks, Remember the names carved on those foundation blocks, George Fox, Elizabeth Fry, John Woolman, Susan B. Anthony, William Penn, Mary Dyer, Margaret Fell, and the list could go on, They make a quarry of great blocks from which we have been hewn. In the same way you are chips off the blocks of the greats. All the way back to Abraham and Sarah who were called and blessed and made many. God has always been wanting to comfort, nurture, and bless you. Yes, even you, who are living in difficult situations and unsafe times. God is comforting and renewing, bringing back to life, you and your community. There will again be laughter and smiles seen on your faces - and a song of thanks will play from your car radios and iPhones.
Listen, people of First Friends, and pay attention everyone in the entire United States and throughout the world. God’s words of hope have been delivered and have been sent out. God’s justice has become a beacon of light which now dwells within each of you.
God desires to swiftly deliver you from all that ails and destroys your world. A deliverance which saves you from wars, natural disasters, the evil of humankind, and your own mind. How will this be done, you ask? Instead of lifting up arms in war and wrath against you, God wants to embrace you with his arms of peace and give you hope.
Look up, and down, and all around for God is enveloping you in the midst of your pain, your struggles, your hurt. Don’t be crushed and die by the effects of those around you - those who discriminate, are greedy, who hate, rage war and live in anger. Instead, be embraced by the hope, peace, and joy of the saving grace of God. And in turn embrace neighbors, friends - even enemies - until they all experience God’s love and live in peace for ever.
I don’t know about you, but I think that is the message we need to hear in our world today. Don’t you?
This passage from Isaiah is filled with strong images of encouragement for people who have been through tough times. I used to think that “tough times” were what other people went through - but as I have grown and matured, and experienced life, I have realized “tough times” can take on a variety of disguises - from difficult transitions, to depression, to loss of abilities, to technology challenges, to neighborhood and societal challenges, and yes, to the big things like death, sickness, unemployment and bankruptcy.
On my way home a couple nights ago, I was stuck in rush hour traffic on 69 listening to NPR. The conversation revolved around the fastest growing killer in America [Pause] - social isolation. Yes, you heard me right. Social isolation has surpassed some of the biggest killers in America. The study showed that,
“...people who spent very little time with friends and family, or at social events, were more likely to die regardless of income or health status,” (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.)
It’s alarming - but it makes sense. We have become so busy, so obsessed with technology, so focused on societal issues and living the American dream, that we have missed the fact that people are isolated, lonely, neglected, and forgotten.
A few years ago now, I was studying geriatrics and came across a study that talked about elderly people moving into nursing homes. It said that on the average, the last time an elderly person sees their family is on the day they are dropped off at the nursing home.
“Grandma and Grandpa (or mom and dad) are taken care of - so I now have more time to do what I need to do. I will get back to visit soon…” but that actually doesn’t happen.
The elderly are not the most isolated though. Are you ready for this....Middle aged men are. Yes, you heard that correctly - middle aged men.
I could not believe at what an alarming rate middle aged men are becoming socially isolated. It has become rampant in the last 20 years. Men wrap themselves in work, family, and technology and soon friends disappear...and quickly social isolation has enveloped them. This was a wake up call for me - as a middle aged man.
But maybe this is a wake up call for all of us and our busy lives. Just maybe our “tough times” are because we are not engaging our friends, neighbors, our families, even our enemies.
● We no longer know how to talk to each other.
● We no longer spend time together - without our clocks ticking or phones dinging.
● We no longer have time to relax, enjoy, and LISTEN. Media has our attention, our ears, our eyes, our lives.
That is why our text for today is so relevant to our times - in both statements from our text this morning it begins with the word: LISTEN!
We are supposed to be good at this - we are Quakers. We are all about expectant waiting and listening. We have processes for listening and gaining clearness. This is considered one of our distinctives anddisciplines.
Looking a little deeper, listening actually means we have to stop, take a moment to evaluate and become aware again, and then respond.
Frederick Buechner, in his book, “Now and Then: A Memoir of Vocation) describes it this way...
“Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery it is. In the boredom and pain of it, no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it, because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace.”
Listening to our lives will have us looking back to our origins, just like in our text for today - maybe we will need to explore our personal or family history, maybe our spiritual ancestors, maybe the people who have inspired us. Doing that helps us remember who we are and reminds us of the promise that God has not abandoned us.
When I was at Huntington University I had my students create a Spiritual Biography timeline. They were to mark where they recognized God active in their lives. As they would present their timelines, many would share horrific struggles and difficult times that they had endured in such a short life span. What amazed me was it was in those “tough times” that they would say they recognized God’s presence the most. Whether it was a parent, friend, relative, pastor, etc...they recognized it as God’s presence in their lives. God never abandoned them - even though they thought they were going through hell. And looking back, and listening to their lives they recognized it.
We often have to look to our past to find hope for the future. With all that is going on in our world, I have been reading a lot of Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, Desmond Tutu, and John Woolman lately. I even picked up a copy of Cornel West’s National Bestseller “Race Matters” from 1993 and could not believe how helpful it was for our current day.
The past can help us to see a way forward and remind us of what not to repeat. And it most definitely shows us how God has used people to make a difference.
The question is...are we listening?
● Are we listening to God?
● Are we listening to each other?
● Are we listening to our own lives?
● Are we listening to history?
● Are we listening?
Let me close as I opened this sermon with my personalized version of Isaiah 51:1-6 - let it be a call upon our lives to first listen and then respond.
Listen, people of First Friends, you that seek God.
You are chips off the old blocks, Remember the names carved on those foundation blocks, George Fox, Elizabeth Fry, John Woolman, Susan B. Anthony, William Penn, Mary Dyer, Margaret Fell, and the list could go on, They make a quarry of great blocks from which we have been hewn. In the same way you are chips off the blocks of the greats. All the way back to Abraham and Sarah who were called and blessed and made many. God has always been wanting to comfort, nurture, and bless you. Yes, even you, who are living in difficult situations and unsafe times. God is comforting and renewing, bringing back to life, you and your community. There will again be laughter and smiles seen on your faces - and a song of thanks will play from your car radios and iPhones.
Listen, people of First Friends, and pay attention everyone in the entire United States and throughout the world. God’s words of hope have been delivered and have been sent out. God’s justice has become a beacon of light which now dwells within each of you.
God desires to swiftly deliver you from all that ails and destroys your world. A deliverance which saves you from wars, natural disasters, the evil of humankind, and your own mind. How will this be done, you ask? Instead of lifting up arms in war and wrath against you, God wants to embrace you with his arms of peace and give you hope.
Look up, and down, and all around for God is enveloping you in the midst of your pain, your struggles, your hurt. Don’t be crushed and die by the effects of those around you - those who discriminate, are greedy, who hate, rage war and live in anger. Instead, be embraced by the hope, peace, and joy of the saving grace of God. And in turn embrace neighbors, friends - even enemies - until they all experience God’s love and live in peace for ever.