( Isaiah 43, 1-7 ) - [ Deutsch ]
Grace be with you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ
They had been away from home for 50 years. Away from their home, their relatives, their personal belongings. Away from their culture, tradition and religion. No connection to the ones left behind - no mail, no zoom, no Whatsapp. Away from the temple, away from God?
We are in the year 538 BC. The Jews were not in this situation by choice. The Babylonians had defeated the Jews by force and taken them as prisoners into exile in Babylon.
That was now 50 years ago, the first generation was already partly no longer alive. The second and third generations now lived in faraway Babylon - sometimes under very difficult, sometimes better circumstances - depending on who was in power at the time.
But slowly, and increasingly, they had come to terms with the situation and got used to it. Some had good jobs, others enjoyed the culture, which was strange at first. And some forgot all about Jerusalem and did not want to go back.
The Babylonian empire was no longer so terrifying and was disintegrating. The Persian king Cyrus had defeated the Babylonians and was now ruler. He was friendly to the Jews, offered them jobs and let them keep their faith. And finally, he gave them their freedom. They could go home if they wanted - or remain in this newly created environment.
Only one prophet, this Isaiah, kept reminding the Jews where they came from and where their real home is.
This brings us to our text for today.
Isaiah 43, 1-7:
Israel’s Only Savior
43 But now, this is what the Lord says—
he who created you, Jacob,
he who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
3 For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypt for your ransom,
Cush[a] and Seba in your stead.
4 Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
and because I love you,
I will give people in exchange for you,
nations in exchange for your life.
5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
I will bring your children from the east
and gather you from the west.
6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring my sons from afar
and my daughters from the ends of the earth—
7 everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.”
So, should they head all the way back home? All the way back through deserts and rivers? Back to a destroyed Jerusalem and city walls, schools and temple? Just leave everything behind.
Why should I take this risk. Why should I believe this Isaiah? Or that God wants this? Is He really here with us?
Interview on bungee (Renate and Nicky)
On bridges all over the world, people find themselves harnessed in and with a thick rope around their feet. They stand on an edge far above the drop-off. Some are silent and hesitant, others speak words of courage to themselves. Some make grim jokes. They are still secured with safety carabiners and staff members give them advice and words of encouragement. All the staff radiate joy in their work but also a sense of responsibility - they have all jumped many times. Every morning, one of them jumps and tests the ropes and equipment.
Finally, the moment arrives for the brave ones to jump off the edge at a dizzying height. The last snap hook is undone and you hear: 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 ... Bungee! Trusting in the rope and the technical safety of the whole system, they finally feel their way forward step by step and dare to jump. Some are amazed at their own courage at the end!
A double net holds them: one made of a well-thought-out construction of the rope and the other made of people who pass on their experiences and give courage.
Do not be afraid, for you will be held - this is how we could also understand the basic message of our sermon text today. Do not be afraid, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by your name, you are mine!
It is a word that has comforted and encouraged people for more than two thousand years and has also guided many through life as a baptismal or confirmation verse. It is a phrase that promises God's presence to the people of Israel and to each individual. Isaiah had comforted the people of Israel after fifty years in Babylonian exile and promised them that God would lead them back to Jerusalem. For a long time, the Israelites had understood it as God's punishment that they had to live far from home. As a result of Isaiah’s words, some of them begin to hope that they will return as free men. His words also tell them: It is God at work in all this. And he is graciously inclined towards them:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
For the Israelites, this word of God becomes a declaration of protest against the prevailing circumstances. It is a word of freedom - they no longer belong to the Babylonian king, nor to the new Persian ruler, even if he should lay claim to them. The Jews remember God, who delivered their people from the land of Egypt. Who saved them through the waters of the Reed Sea. Even if foreign nations and kings should oppress them like fire, they will not defeat them.
God's promise strengthens their self-confidence and enables them to resist the temptation of being absorbed by the foreign culture.
So how do we understand these sentences today?
Jesus Christ, himself a Jew, has included us Christians into the promise of his people. He taught us to see God as a loving Father whom we can trustingly ask for help. Through Him the rope of faith reaches all the way to our time. Through Christ we also belong to God and hear his promise to Israel anew for us individually. He promises to accompany us on our paths. Fear not, (...) you are mine!
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and the rivers shall not drown you; and when you go into the fire, you shall not burn, neither shall the flame scorch you.
Fire and water, in the ancient world they describe all the possible dangers that a man could encounter and be afraid of.
Fear and anxiety are also well-known companions to us. We fear illness and suffering. We fear losing our jobs. Loneliness. Fights and conflict. We fear terror and war. These are internal and external gorges that present themselves to us. Fear in itself is not a bad thing. But it can be all consuming. Fear can occupy our thoughts and actions, so that we feel out of control and no longer know what to do.
But God wants to pull us out of the rule of fear. By attaching ourselves to him, we gain a different perspective on the very subject of our fear. He is our inventor, our creator.
He knows us with our weaknesses and strengths. We are more than what we feel in our fear, in our anxiety.
There are people who, with their faith and testimonies of life's experiences, help us to trust in a new way.
We can take action. We can endure. We can begin anew. God delivers us from the paralysis of fear and gives us renewed courage so that we can move forward.
In our home group a few weeks ago, shortly before we finished, the question came up whether we can still experience God in a concrete way today? And all at once it poured out: everyone had had very concrete experiences with God somewhere along the line. This is something we should share and tell others about - to encourage them. To make trust and faith easier for others.
Just as Nicky can assure us that the rope will hold!
God is our inventor and creator who wants the best for us and says: " Do not fear, I have redeemed you, I have called you by your name, you are mine.”
Many - especially here in our congregation - can testify to this and in doing so they can encourage us to trust and believe. The rope works!
May God's peace, which we can never fully comprehend with our minds, keep our hearts and our minds through Jesus Christ.
Amen.
