First Sunday after Easter,
2009
Text: Isaiah 43:1-12
The Rev. Jerry Kistler
St. Stephen’s Reformed
Episcopal Church
“Through Water and Fire”
“Thus says the Lord
who created you… and He who formed you… ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I
have called you by your name; you are Mine… I will be with you… I am the Lord
your God… your Savior… Since you were precious in My
sight, you have been honored, and I have loved you... Fear not, for I am with
you.’”
These are some of the most tender words
the Lord has ever spoken to His people. Words of comfort.
Words of grace and mercy. Words of reassurance that
His people are still His people, and that He loves them, and has redeemed them.
They’re words that follow on the heals of other words
that describe His people as being completely undeserving of any such comfort or
reassurance. In Isaiah chapter 42,
And then chapter forty-three opens with the words, “But now….” Or as they could also be translated, “Now then…” As one commentator has put it, when the Lord Almighty starts out by saying, “Now then...” it’s enough to make us quake in our shoes! How will the Lord react to such a catalogue of culpability?
You know, it’s like when you were a kid and you got in trouble at school. You got caught doing all kinds of nasty things, like shooting spit-wads at the back of the head of the girl who sat in front of you, or making weird, obnoxious noises while the teacher’s back was turned, and she finally got fed up with it and sent you to the principal’s office. And you went in, and the principal sat you down, and he said, “Now then…” – you knew you were in for it! Sounds like I know whereof I speak, doesn’t it?
Well how is the Lord – the Principal of the universe – going to react to such a rebellious, obstinate people? Does He say, “Now then… I’m done with you. I’ve had it! I’m ready to wipe you from the face of the earth and start from scratch! I’ve had my fill; I can’t take any more!” No.
Does He say, “Now then, let’s revisit everything you’ve done. Let’s make a catalogue of all your former sins and keep them on record so I can pull them up whenever I want to and make you really feel your guilt when I want to get you to do something for Me.” Is that what He says? No.
Completely unexpectedly, He says, “But now, thus says the Lord who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you.”
“Fear not,“ that is the Lord’s word of grace to His sinful people. “I created you. I formed you to be a holy nation, a special treasure to Me above all nations. Then sin came in and separated us.; you sold yourselves to other lords and other gods. But fear not, I have bought you back. I have become your Next-of-Kin, and I’ve shouldered all the cost of your redemption Myself. I have called you by name. Now you are mine!”
“Fear not.” It is that comfortable word of grace we all need to hear. Because fear is so much a part of the curse that has befallen the human race for sin. Not that godly fear that we’ve spoken of before, but that dread and terror we all feel because we know that our sins have justly provoked that anger and wrath of a holy God. That fear and anxiety we all feel in face of a world that seems hostile towards us – nature itself seems to fight against us. That fear we all experience when life suddenly throws us a curve-ball, and we’re not sure how we’re going to be able to deal with it.
“Fear not,” God says. It’s that word of grace that always seems to be the first word out of God’s mouth – almost as if God feels compelled speak that word first – when He comes to His sinful people in mercy and forgiveness – probably because they’re always expecting Him to come in anger and judgment. “Fear not,” He say.
But then He tells them why they need not fear. He promises to be with through all their trials and tumults. “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.” In all these things, God says, “I will be with you.”
Notice He didn’t say, “I’ll simply take away all the fires and floods of your life, “ or “I’ll give you a quick fix or a trouble-free future.” No. God’s people will not be immune to trial and tragedy as they pass through waters, rivers, fire and flames of life. But the promise is we will no be overwhelmed or defeated by any of them, because we will not walk through them alone. He will walk with us. That’s His promise.
You know, this promise was given to a people that would be in exile far from home, who would be in the midst of deep waters and fiery trials, with many more trials to face before they’d finally be brought back home. And even though the cross and the empty tomb are behind us, we’re still living in a situation not unlike theirs. We are still aliens and exiles living in the midst of a hostile world. But it’s the faithfulness of the same God who promised never to leave us nor forsake us, that will bring us through the fires and through the waters all the way home.
Remember what Jesus said that first Maundy Thursday: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you… Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” And as He was ascending back to Heaven He said, “And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
You know, Jesus can go with us through the storm-floods and fires of life, because He’s gone through them before. And not only that, but He’s transformed them, so that they are no longer the waters and fires of judgment – He suffered those completely for us on the cross – but now in the hands of our good heavenly Father, the trials of life are the tools He uses to hone and shape us for glory.
This is why trials of life can not ultimately hurt the Christian who trusts the faithfulness of God to be with him in the fires and floods. Psalm 91: “There shall no evil happen unto thee; neither shall any plague come nigh they dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee in their hands, that thou hurt no thy foot against a stone.” This is no denial that God’s people will suffer many things, but it is the truth that in an ultimate sense nothing can truly harm us, if we trust the faithfulness of God to be with us in the fire and in the flood, and to transform them to be the means by which He gives us the glory of His Son.
I’ll never forget: it was when I was just a very new deacon. I used to visit some folks in an assisted living facility somewhat like Spring Creek here in Montrose, although not nearly as nice. And there was one woman who was suffering from MS, and read to her that psalm – Psalm 91. And when I was finished she said to me, “How can it say, ‘No plague shall come nigh your dwelling’? MS is a plague.” And I struggled with an answer. But finally the word God gave me to speak to her was simply, “You’re being glorified. You’re being gloried through your sufferings. You’re being glorified through your MS.” And I know it took all her faith to hear that word, and I know it takes all your faith to hear that word today.
There several of our members who are walking through the fire right now. Let us remember that one of the primary ways the Lord fulfills His promise to be with them through their trials is through us. As I’ve said before, we are Jesus’ hand and feet in this world – His hands to hold the hands of his brothers and sisters in times of crises; His hands to steady them when they walk lest they stumble; His hands to wipe a fevered brow, or to lift a cup of cool water to parched lips; His feet to walk the extra mile to visit and serve His friends in need.
A couple of week after I read Psalm 91 to that woman with Ms, my friend Mark and I found her in her room on her bed crying out for water. “Water, water,” she cried. And so we quickly filled a glass and lifted it to her mouth. And she blessed us for our kindness. Now that’s not in any way to boast of our ministry, but its just to say that God does keep His promise to be with us in our trials, and sometimes – often – that’s through you and me.
“Fear not,” says the Lord, “for I have redeemed you; I have
called you by your name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will
be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk
through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of