The Power of One: Isaiah 9:1-7 - Second Sunday after Pentecost

It’s 196 days until Christmas. The reason why I bring this up is because you might be feeling a little disoriented in your sense of time after hearing today’s first reading. I don’t imagine we have ever read this passage in church during any month other than December. After all, who do you think of when Isaiah speaks of a child who is born for us will rule God’s people? Whose name will be called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace”? 

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But since it’s not Christmas, I invite you to consider Isaiah’s words from the point of view of those living almost seven hundred years before the Christmas. After all, these are the ones God sent Isaiah to speak and prophesy. And these are words of promise and hope for them. God wasn’t going to be waiting 700 years to be faithful to Israel.

That’s good news because they weren’t living in the best of times. The kingdom ruled by David and Solomon had split apart into two weaker, politically unstable halves. Neighboring empires were pressing in on their borders. The people worshiped false gods. Greed, injustice, and violence were running rampant.

It was such a bleak time that some may have lamented the birth of a child in fear for how difficult their lives were going to be.

Are we living in such a time?

All the time, I hear people speak sorrowfully how difficult it is to be a child and raise a child in today’s world. I am inclined to agree. Today’s children and parents face hazards and threats which didn’t exist during my childhood. How could you not feel sorrow for a child born in war-torn nations like Ukraine, Afghanistan, or Sudan? Or a child born into slavery? Or a child born into poverty? Childhood is meant to be enjoyed, not survived.

On the other hand, how many of the Bible’s heroes were born into bleak and bitter times? There was Moses, who was born during a genocide, whose mother set him in a basket and floated him down the Nile? Or Jesus, who was born to an unwed mother, in a manger, and who miraculously escaped a genocide? I can’t think of anyone in the bible, aside from Israel’s kings, who was born in ideal circumstances. Do you think that the mothers of Moses, or Joshua, or Isaiah, or Ruth, or Esther, or Mary, or any of the heroes of the bible had any inkling of how much God would accomplish through their children?

Last December, our Bible study group studied Christmas Spirituals, and we learned that African American slaves greeted every newborn baby with great celebration, even though that child was not born free. Every parent knew that they could be separated from their children at any time, and they might never see them again. And there was nothing they could do to stop it. But they also had hope that maybe, just maybe, this child would know freedom. And maybe, just maybe, by the grace of God, this child will be their Moses through whom God will bring them salvation?

Today, the prophet Isaiah is challenging us to do the same—to recognize that God desires nothing less than to heal and transform the world through every child born on this planet. God’s power to act through an individual life is not constrained by the circumstances of their birth, or by their race, nationality, economic status, or social position. Unfortunately, these very things still present great obstacles which can keep a child from living up to their God-given potential. It is much more difficult to be healthy, to know right from wrong, to develop self-esteem, to be educated, and to know the love of Jesus Christ while suffering poverty, food insecurity, broken families, racism, unsafe neighborhoods, inadequate schooling, the lack of community support, lack of opportunities, and not being welcomed into the fellowship of the church.

Before you can effectively serve others, you must recognize that you can do God-sized works because you are a child of God and because God’s Spirit lives within you. God has given you talents and spiritual gifts which are uniquely your own. God’s power in you is not constrained by anything you lack or by wrongs you’ve committed. Remember: God looks for availability, not ability. You weren’t born to suffer. You weren’t born to be miserable. You were born to live in the love and joy of the Lord. And if you woke up this morning, it is because there are people who need your good works, and because God has good gifts for you to give and receive.

A good life isn’t measured by career success, the possessions you accumulate, the exciting vacations you take, or the number of likes you get. To live well is to invest your life in the lives of others, so that they can live well, and go on to do the very same. If we could only see ourselves as God sees us and learn to see our neighbors as God sees them, things would change very quickly in our world.

Life is meant to be enjoyed, not survived. It is a gift, not a curse. And it is a blessing for you to share. God wants to use your life to create life and restore life. If you leave this world a better place than the world you were born into, what more could you have wanted out of life?

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