Wednesday's Big Idea: John 17:6-19

Once again it is Wednesday and so I chronicle the ideas and narratives that came out of morning prayer with the men of my church.

The scripture that we focused on was John 17, starting at 6 and going through 19. Jesus starts out praying for himself (1-5), then his disciples (6-19), then all believers (20ff). For me the key passages were in the first 3 verses:

I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them.

Jesus was praying for those whom the Father gave him - his disciples, but if we take this prayer as a model, we can pray something similar, "God, I want to reveal you to those whom you give ME." In my life it starts with my inner circle: my wife and son. If I am unable to reveal God to them through my words and deeds, then I can't expect to go much farther beyond that circle. So I must be a demonstration of the Father to them. Beyond that, I need eyes to see others whom I have been given. Who, specifically, has God put in my life for the purpose of using me to reveal God?

There is more then revelation, however. Not only do I need to SEE who God has given me, I need to HEAR His words so that I may speak them accurately to those people. So immediately I have two very important prayer challenges: Open my eyes so that I may see and open my ears that I may hear. My responsibility once I have seen and heard is to speak the words of God to those He has revealed. Notice that our responsibility stops at hearing and obeying - we are not responsible for the results. Jesus says "and they accepted them." Jesus spoke the words that the Father gave him and that was enough.

My struggle is to hear the words of the Father and know they are the Father's words. This is a tremendous act of faith, but I think more often it is easier to know which word's AREN'T the words of God versus knowing which words are. I don't have much to offer in the way of how to discern that, but I believe prayer and the Bible are two very good starting places.

Isaiah 1:21-31

The last part of Isaiah 1 targets Israel's ruling class:

See how the faithful city
has become a harlot!
She once was full of justice;
righteousness used to dwell in her
but now murderers!

²² Your silver has become dross,
your choice wine is diluted with water.

²³ Your rulers are rebels,
companions of thieves;
they all love bribes
and chase after gifts.
They do not defend the cause of the fatherless;
the widow's case does not come before them.

It is those in power and wealth who are saddled with the greatest responsibility for justice and care of thedisenfranchisedd. Why? Because they are the ones most capable of doing so. As Christ said "To those who are given much, much will be expected." Justice has always weighed more heavily on the powerful, if only because the structural means of justice are controlled by them. Further, if leaders are corrupt and injust, where does that take the followers? We must uphold our leaders to as high a standard as we hold ourselves and possibly a higher one - after all, shouldn't they be setting an example for those who would follow them?

I do not mean to absolve those of lesser means of responsibility, but once again, it is God through Isaiah who is pointing the finger, not me. It is very hard for me not to draw parallels to modern America in Isaiah's words. Our leaders have become good at saying the right things but doing the wrong ones. We could blame the "system", but ultimately it is up to the individual to eschew the bribe (even if it is legal), to avoid the thief (even if wearing a suit) and defend the fatherless and plead the widow's cause. How I would like to cast my votes for people whose hearts were truly compassionate towards the needy, who sought justice for all and led the people with humility. Isaiah isn't suggesting legislation or policy, but he is addressing a heart condition in Israel's leadership. Their hearts were hardened and they sought only to add to their wealth and power. They had lost sight of the awesome responsibility of leadership and what role they were to play in their nation's health.

Isaiah's words should weigh heavy on those of us who are able to influence our leadership. We, too, have a responsibility for justice. If we allow or encourage misbehavior by our leaders, we become guilty either implicitly or explicitly. Our sins of omission sit on our hearts as well. I confess that I often feel I do not do enough to address poverty, injustice or affliction in my own locale. The problems seem overwhelming and intractable, yet God calls on us to be involved as part of the solution even as much as our leaders. We are expected to do as much as we can with what God has provided us. As I stated in my previous post, it is the positive commandments which are most difficult to follow for the boundaries are much wider and terms fuzzier. That does not release us from the responsibility, however. We are still called to love our neighbor as ourselves and be our brother's keeper.

As in the previous section, Isaiah starts with an indictment then moves tojudgmentt and promise. Two paths are simultaneouslytraveledd - the path of redemption and the path of ruin. God will restore His people but that will only come about by repentance or destruction. Those who repent will be saved, but those who do not will find that the pride, power and glory they once had is the source of their downfall:

²⁴ Therefore the Lord, the LORD Almighty,

the Mighty One of Israel, declares:
"Ah, I will get relief from my foes
and avenge myself on my enemies.

²⁵ I will turn my hand against you;
I will thoroughly purge away your dross
and remove all your impurities.

²⁶ I will restore your judges as in days of old,
your counselors as at the beginning.
Afterward you will be called
the City of Righteousness,
the Faithful City."

²⁷ Zion will be redeemed with justice,
her penitent ones with righteousness.

²⁸ But rebels and sinners will both be broken,
and those who forsake the LORD will perish.

²⁹ "You will be ashamed because of the sacred oaks
in which you have delighted;
you will be disgraced because of the gardens
that you have chosen.

³⁰ You will be like an oak with fading leaves,
like a garden without water.

³¹ The mighty man will become tinder
and his work a spark;
both will burn together,
with no one to quench the fire."

Isaiah 1:10-20

Slowly but surely we make our way through the book of Isaiah. The prophet has laid out his indictment of the rulers and people of Israel, yet he is not finished building his case against them. The nation has not only committed crimes against people and God, but they continue to go through the forms of religious expression thinking it is the forms of worship and acts that absolve them of wrongdoing.

God, through Isaiah, speaks His heart to the nation, rebuking them for pretending to worship Him while continuing in their sinful ways. Israel seeks forgiveness without repentance and God makes it clear that words and ritual are not enough, He wants their hearts:

Hear the word of the LORD,
you rulers of Sodom;
listen to the law of our God,
you people of Gomorrah!

¹¹ "The multitude of your sacrifices—
what are they to me?" says the LORD.
"I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
of rams and the fat of fattened animals;
I have no pleasure
in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.

¹² When you come to appear before me,
who has asked this of you,
this trampling of my courts?

¹³ Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
Your incense is detestable to me.
New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—
I cannot bear your evil assemblies.

¹⁴ Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts
my soul hates.
They have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.

¹⁵ When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I will hide my eyes from you;
even if you offer many prayers,
I will not listen.
Your hands are full of blood;

¹⁶ wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds
out of my sight!
Stop doing wrong,

From this passage we learn what we already know - thsacrificeses and rituals of God were put in place as a parable andemonstrationon of who He is. They were designed to move the heart, mind and body into a place of worship and teach the nation about the person God. God didn't desire the acts in themselves, but the actors. We do the same thing nowadays repeating certain words as incantations or singing songs without a sense of lifting them up to the creator.

I think the words of Isaiah ring true now as ever, and echoes of Psalm 52 reverberate through the mouth of Isaiah "You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart,O God, you will not despise."

In David's case it was his confession anrepentancece that led to his redemption sacrificeses and offerings were not going to absolve a murderer nor reinstate his authority as king. It was God's mercy and His response to David's heart that justified and saved him.

Isaiah continues to point the direction of redemption for the nation of Israel. Not only are they to stop doing wrong, and stop substituting the forms of God for worship of Him, they are to repent and do right:

¹⁷ learn to do right!
Seek justice,
encourage the oppressed.
Defend the cause of the fatherless,
plead the case of the widow.

Note Isaiah's emphasis. In modern evangelical Christianity the focus is on personal piety and character. These things are good and surely the crimes of Israel were personal as well as public, however, it was how the people, especially the leaders, of Israel treated others that truly brought the wrath of God spoken through Isaiah. "Stop sinning " was not enough! Ceasing to do wrong was only half of the equation, the other half was "do right." For Isaiah that came down to seeking justice, encouraging the oppressed (or crushing the oppressor) and defending the defenseless. The prophet Micah, who seems to repeat many of Isaiah's themes says much the same thing in Micah 6:8 - "He has shown you, oh man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of thee? To do justly, seek mercy and walk humbly with your God."

Isaiah nails the challenge that we face even today. It is easier for me to do the "shall nots" - although Christ raised the bar on those in the Sermon on the Mount - than to do the "shalls". What does it look like to seek justice? How can I encourage the oppressed? What is the cause of the fatherless and widow and how can I defend it? We must learn to answer these questions, for I believe they are vital. God does not seek personal piety alone, but an activinvolvementnt in promoting justice, helping the weak and feeding the poor. James, in his epistle, states "faith without works is dead" a very good paraphrase of this section of Isaiah.

As mentioned previously, Isaiah is a master of marryinjudgmentnt and promise and he does so even in this first chapter. As God brings an indictment, levels his charges and points a direction out, He ends his introduction with this closing statement:

¹⁸ "Come now, let us reason together,"
says the LORD.
"Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.

¹⁹ If you are willing and obedient,
you will eat the best from the land;

²⁰ but if you resist and rebel,
you will be devoured by the sword."
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.