Be Called - Isaiah 45:1-7 (Epiphany 2A)

I came across a fact that made me feel old the other day. I know - what do I really know about that, right? It has been 15 years ago now since Iron Man came out. You know - the one with Robert Downey, Jr. being taken into a cave and somehow came out alive but with a bionic heart and a palpable need to avenge the wrong that had been done to him. 

Now - look how much has changed, even just in how movies are made. How many of them are superheroes willing to do whatever it takes against evil, and well - usually maligned billionaires with trust funds and government contracts. But there is a sense of public good, a collective interest that is being imposed upon in these movies. 

Iron Man is one of my favorite movies from the whole Marvel universe, as they call it. Don't get me wrong, it hasn't aged well, but what it has is a hero who gets a call, gets named, and then tries to bring about restoration. 

I'm sure you all can probably guess by now, but as a kid growing up, Batman was my favorite superhero. It was probably because of... well, movies. That first Batman movie came out when I was 9. Trust me when I say I didn't see it until I was semi-appropriately aged, but I can still see the movie theatres near Northcrest... I can't remember what they were called, but the Batman logo covered all of the windows of the entrance. I thought that was amazing. 

I know this might be a bit of a niche topic, but have you ever imagined what it would be like to be a superhero - whether Superman with that curl of hair right in front, fooling everyone while he hid behind his glasses; or even Wonder Woman with her lasso of truth and invisible plane, but gauntlets that would stop bullets. Each one has a personality and traits to match, who did you want to emulate? I'll let you think about that for a minute. 

What characteristics are most important for a superhero - or even on the flip side, a supervillain? Because you know the heroes can't just be fighting regular bad guys - they need their own brand of power to match wits with. 

Ok - I'm sure I could take up the entire time here talking about this, but doesn't it feel like Isaiah is talking about some sort of superhero in this text this morning? 

The passage from this morning is sometimes referred to as the second of the four servant songs - this is a reference to four poems, all found within the book of Isaiah - in chapters 42, 49, 50, & 52. They speak of a certain "servant of the Lord", who has called this servant to lead the nations, but gets abused by God's people. In the end, the servant is rewarded. W. Sibley Towner wrote, 

"The grouping together of these texts is a work of modern critical scholarship; the basis of the identification is that all of them speak of a single or a collective individual (such as Israel or the remnant of Israel) who brings for universal justice, does the will of the Lord, and suffers in the process. These texts… contribute significantly to early Christian understanding of who Jesus was. Nowhere in the entire book is this servant also an anointed king of the house of David, nowhere is he identified with the coming son of man of apocalyptic expectation, nowhere is he the eternal wisdom or Word from on high. All of these figures of Old Testament expectation are mingled in early Christian thinking about the person of Jesus. The result is that he is understood both as the messiah of the house of David, but also, unexpectedly, as a servant messiah who suffers vicariously.”

Which makes us think - who is speaking in this excerpt? One thought is that it's Israel, but that doesn't make sense given the context, and is really confusing. Another thought is that it's intentionally vague - to give us more freedom to really explore it. The last thought is, especially through a Christian lens - this is Jesus. The identity of the servant of the Lord belonging to God is really the most important aspect of this, regardless of who the actual speaker is. 

Given that today is actually Martin Luther King's birthday, I can't really think of a more fitting text for us to be reading. 

There may be fictional superheroes in our media, as I talked about before, there are plenty of examples of real superheroes in our world who aren't as recognizable. For example, Shirley Raines of Los Angeles helps make the residents of the Skid Row neighborhood feel human. She is the founder of Beauty 2 the Streetz, a nonprofit that provides free food, clothing, hair & makeup services to the homeless. 

How did this idea come to her? Well - she had to walk through a lot of pain and come through on the other side. Her 2 year old son died from an accidental poisoning at his grandma's house. As one could imagine, this broke Shirley's spirit and hope. She felt lost for YEARS, trying to understand what she was put on this earth for. When one day, a friend of hers from church invited her to volunteer.

Shirley had no idea what kind of need there was in her own city. Not only being without shelter, but without purpose as well. As she got to know the people she was serving, they would complement her makeup, hair, and general sense of style. So, she ended up opening an outdoor beauty salon to serve the homeless. 

After launching her nonprofit, Shirley took to social media, and her idea spread like wildfire. CNN named her as a 2021 Hero of the Year. Now almost 350,000 people are following what she's doing, giving back and finding meaning along with the people she is serving. 

Had Shirley not leaned into her God-given strength during the depths of her despair, who would have thought that a ministry like this could have happened? She realized she was called to make a difference to these people that society had discarded and left behind. She saw beauty in that, and wanted to share that beauty to give hope. 

What does it mean to be called? No - it's not just people like me standing up here in a pulpit. We will hear from Mary Ann from Inasmuch who was called to Fort Wayne to give hope to the impoverished here in our own community. God calls you exactly where you are to make an impact. We often hear people say, "Oh, I'm only [blank]... a housewife, a janitor, an accountant." How untrue that is! God created each and every one of you to be great for the Lord!

Underestimating yourself is not something that we're talking about today - you've been called! YOU are chosen - not just today - in case you don't hear it. You've been chosen since you were in your mama's womb! YOU can make a difference - the question only remains - is how? If you don't know - let's pray about it. If you need some brainstorming - let's get together, whether it's with me or others, discernment is certainly something that needs to happen. 

Let me read you the scripture again - and put yourself in the shoes of the speaker - that YOU are the chosen servant of the Lord, this time in the New Living Translation:

Listen to me, all you in distant lands!

    Pay attention, you who are far away!

The Lord called me before my birth;

    from within the womb he called me by name.

2 He made my words of judgment as sharp as a sword.

    He has hidden me in the shadow of his hand.

    I am like a sharp arrow in his quiver.

3 He said to me, “You are my servant, Israel,

    and you will bring me glory.”

4 I replied, “But my work seems so useless!

    I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose.

Yet I leave it all in the Lord’s hand;

    I will trust God for my reward.”

5 And now the Lord speaks—

    the one who formed me in my mother’s womb to be his servant,

    who commissioned me to bring Israel back to him.

The Lord has honored me,

    and my God has given me strength.

6 He says, “You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me.

    I will make you a light to the Gentiles,

    and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”

The Lord, the Redeemer

    and Holy One of Israel,

says to the one who is despised and rejected by the nations,

    to the one who is the servant of rulers:

“Kings will stand at attention when you pass by.

    Princes will also bow low

because of the Lord, the faithful one,

    the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

I know I'm going a little long today - but this is so important - did you hear anything different that time? Do you see a vision of something the community may need? 

Let us end with a word of prayer: 

Our Lord & Creator - 

I want to thank you for each and everyone of our congregation here this morning, how they gave up their morning to spend an hour or so with you. We see your faithfulness and we want to join you. I pray for our neighbors in the homes around this church - may they know that they're loved by this congregation. May they also know that they are chosen by you for what you have for them, whether they realize it or not. Before each of those present this morning were born, you called every one. You knew the hairs on their head even before they were formed. Thank you for the talents and gifts of Bethany's members and neighborhood - that together we are chosen by you for doing good work in this world.

In Jesus' name we pray - Amen.