Nancy E. Petty

Pullen Memorial Baptist Church

November 18, 2007 – Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost

Texts: Isaiah 65: 17-25; Luke 21:5-19

By Blessing and Deliverance

            Sometimes it is helpful, if not necessary, to escape into that perfect world that we all wish for at times. For our youth, maybe that perfect world is a place like BYC (Baptist Youth Camp) where there are no parents harassing young people about homework or messy rooms or curfew hours. For those among us still in elementary school, maybe the perfect world you escape to is the ultimate sleepover with a few close friends where there are no rules about how much junk food you can eat, or how long you can play computer games or how late you can stay up and watch TV. For others of us maybe it is that place where we imagine having the perfect job, doing the one thing that feeds our soul; that place where our significant relationships are stress free; that world where we don’t have to worry if we have enough money to pay all the bills; a place in time of good health, wholeness and wellness; a place of peace with the past, satisfaction with the present and hope for the future.

When you think of the perfect world do you ever imagine a world like the prophet Isaiah—a world where the former things will not be remembered or come to mind; a world of joy where people delight in all that is; a place where there is no more weeping or cries of distress; where children don’t die and everyone lives out a full lifetime; where all have houses to live in and food to eat; a world where all God’s creation live peacefully with one another? For sure, Isaiah paints a picture of an amazing, if not perfect world; and how wonderful it would be to live in such a world. However, our scripture readings for this Sunday don’t allow us to stay in that place. Our gospel reading offers another snapshot of the world; one that feels more grounded in our world’s current reality. It is a picture of destruction and death; of false prophets; wars and insurrections; of nation rising against nation; of earthquakes and famines and plagues; and of betrayal by the closest of friends. The picture of the world we find in Luke, the reality which confronts the people of his day, stands in direct contrast with Isaiah’s picture of a new and glorious creation. And yet, if we look closely we find hope in both.

Biblical theologian Claus Westermann points out that there are two basic ways by which the God of the Bible deals with humankind: by deliverance and by blessing. Unfortunately, Christian theology in the West has failed to emphasize either; blessing or deliverance. Instead, Western theology has focused most of its attention on sin and judgment leaving little imagination for how God truly desires to be in relationship with us. As a result, when we find our world and our lives in crisis and conflict, we not only fail to imagine God’s hope for us, we fail to live out the vision God has for our world and God’s hope for how we will live with one another in this world.

The power of blessing may be one of life’s greatest gifts, both given and received. Not only does blessing permeate the story of Israel, it precedes all of creation. Blessing was the very purpose of creation. Original blessing underlies all being, all creation, all time, all space, all unfolding and evolving of what is. As Rabbi Heschel puts it, “Just to be is a blessing; just to live is holy.” So if blessing was God’s first word on creation and humanity, why have we lost our way of blessing? Why has the Christian faith spoken so loudly and consistently about original sin and practically been silent about original blessing? Theologian Matthew Fox asks that question this way: “Why has original sin played so important a role for sixteen centuries of Western Christian theology…?” His answer gives us much to ponder. He writes, “I believe that the basic reason is political. I believe that an exaggerated doctrine of original sin, one that is employed as a starting point for spirituality, plays kindly into the hands of empire-builders, slavemasters, and a patriarchal society in general. It divides and thereby conquers, pitting one’s thoughts against one’s feelings, one’s body against one’s spirit, one’s political vocation against one’s personal needs, people against earth, animals, and nature in general. By doing this it so convolutes people, so confuses and preoccupies them that deeper questions about community, justice, and celebration never come to the fore.” In other words, what Fox is saying, is that an emphasis on original sin keeps power in the hands of a few. But blessing, well that’s another matter. Blessing is for all, not just for the few. Blessing is about justice-making and it has the power to transform individuals and civilizations because it builds trust and hope and a future that God envisions for all creation. And that is why it is so dangerous—politically and spiritually. Blessing holds within it the power to shape us into the people that God created us to be.

Think about how you feel when someone speaks words of blessing to you. Or how you feel when you speak words of blessing to another. Think about our Rite-13 liturgy and the power we all feel as each parent blesses their young person. Think about our Child Dedication liturgy and the power of this community when we say to that child before us and their parents that we will nurture them into becoming the person God has created them to become. Think of that moment when your parent, or friend, or total stranger blessed you. How did you feel? Empowered? Transformed? Loved? That is what blessing does to us and for us. It empowers us and transforms us and lets us know we are loved. Those moments are so powerful because they connect us, at our very core, to how God created us—as an original blessing. Nothing you can do, nothing that I can do, can ever separate us from God’s blessing on our lives. And of all places, the church needs to be proclaiming this message just as the prophet Isaiah did. When Isaiah speaks of a new heaven and a new creation he is returning us to the beginning of creation and that of original blessing. He is not setting forth some new way of being but rather is returning us to how God desires to deal with humankind: by blessing. And while blessing is about pleasure and feelings and spiritual connection, it is also about deeper questions of community, and justice and transformation. We see this truth over and over in God’s dealings with Israel and in his gift to us of the Christ child.

While blessing may be the first word of creation, deliverance is the second and Jesus reminds us of this truth in our Luke passage. If blessing is a word we need to hear from the church in all times, deliverance may very well be the word our generation needs to hear for the times in which we are living; for just as blessing has the power to transform our lives so does deliverance.

In Luke, Jesus’ response to the questions regarding the destruction of the Temple contains both a warning of the wars, earthquakes, famines, and plagues that will come and a warning to the disciples of the persecutions they must endure. For sure, Jesus paints a very different picture from that of Isaiah. It’s a picture we see almost daily in our newspapers and on our televisions: wars; earthquakes; famines; and plagues not to mention story after story of nation rising up against nation. When I read this text I was somewhat taken aback by how familiar it sounded to the reality of our world. The picture he paints is neither glorious nor glamorous. It is not a picture of a peaceful kingdom like that of Isaiah’s. It doesn’t have hues of joy or delight but rather is tinted with the strong colors of persecution and betrayal. There are no children laughing in his picture and the images of mothers weeping for their young are in the foreground. Unfortunately, we don’t have to use our imagination to get the picture. We see it daily. And not only do we see the images of wars and earthquakes and kingdom against kingdom; our culture is also plagued with pseudo-religious prophets and popular religious best-sellers claiming that the end is at hand. So Jesus’ words in Luke seem especially relevant to us, today. But what is his word to us?

It is this: “By your endurance you will gain your souls.” It is not only a word of deliverance; it is a promise of deliverance. By your endurance…by standing firm in Jesus’ call to create community, to oppose injustice, to work for peace, and to make a place for the excluded…you will gain your souls…you will be delivered into the promise of God’s love and hope in this world and the next. Will gaining our souls be easy? No. Jesus’ words remind us that every generation is called back to God’s vision for creation and humanity by the examples of those who have suffered persecution and hardship because they dared to strive to live out a call for community that transcends social barriers, that cares for its least privileged, and that confronts abuses of power and wealth. The picture is not always peaceful. And it seems more often than not, our world forgets that we were and are created to bless. In those times, in our forgetfulness, God’s way of dealing with humankind and creation is through deliverance. Like blessing, deliverance also has the power to transform our lives. Think of a time when you were delivered—the time a stranger spoke a kind word to you and delivered you from hopelessness; or the time a friend showed up and delivered you from an abusive relationship; or maybe even the time your faith community delivered you from loneliness. How did it transform your life to be delivered? Did you regain a piece of your soul?