SERMON
Seeds of Hope
Isaiah 55:1-13
Fall is the season of the realized future. Harvest is the
consequence of spring planting. Those who work with the earth are
all too familiar with the inexorable harvest law, “what you sow
you will reap.” In the first 39 chapters of Isaiah the great
prophet of Israel speaks in severe tones. He recounts the ways in
which the people of Israel resisted the will and love of God
through their unbelief and sin. Specifically he targets the sin of
pride and idolatry. His words are tempered and shaped by his
encounter with God when he was in the temple after King Uzziah
died. Isaiah is clear that the decisions of the people have
yielded devastating consequences, none the least of which is the
fall of Jerusalem and the capture and forced exile of Judah’s
brightest and best people by Babylonia in 587 BC. Following these
powerful messages Isaiah speaks to the people about God’s gift of
forgiveness and God’s plan to restore the land to the people. This
is a message of hope but it is received with measured enthusiasm.
Strangely, and maybe not so strangely, the people who were
demeaned and disoriented when they were captured became acclimated
to life in Babylon. Over time what was considered to be
unthinkable took place. The people of Judah became comfortable and
complacent in a land and in a culture that was the antithesis of
Jerusalem. Although there was no temple they found ways to worship
God. As a minority they maintained their traditions through
rituals and story telling. Over time their participation in
worship shifted from lively engagement to obligatory performance.
Old Testament scholar S. C. Thexton says, They had been in Babylon
for many years - some for their whole life. They had grown roots,
acquired property, and commercial interests, were prosperous and
secure. The prophet does not plead or argue, but throws into the
quiet pool of their complacency a disturbing pebble as he asks,
Does all this really satisfy you? It is this question that serves
as a preamble to God’s invitation for the people to join God at
the table and eat those foods that will sustain, nurture and
nourish their souls. The first few verses of Isaiah 55 are
provocative and counter intuitive. Underlying Isaiah’s questions
is his awareness that the people of the exile reflect a deep
yearning for God. However, this yearning is masked by creaturely
comforts. The clouds of complacency surround the people in an
envelop of apparent contentment. It is into this environment that
Isaiah challenges the people to seek first God. He follows these
words with a primer on God’s plan and pattern for spiritual
growth, nurture, and development. He sets up an analogy between
the botanical world and the spiritual world. Seeds sown naturally
bring forth the expected results. When the seeds of hope, which
are the words of God, are sown they to will produce the expected
spiritual results. These seeds yield a harvest of blessing,
forgiveness off sin, redemption from failure, and a new and
everlasting intimacy with God. These words spoken by Isaiah
hundreds of years ago are not merely words of encouragement to the
Babylonian exiles. These words of God resonate with the first 18
verses of John’s gospel in which Jesus is identified as the Word
of God. These words pertain to us today. They create ripples in
the pool of soul. They stir up our yearning for meaning, truth and
love. They yield a harvest of joy and peace.
What is the harvest of God’s words in your life?
How are the seeds of God’s word sown in the life of the
individual/church?
