Have You Not Heard - Is 40: 21-31

One of the core beliefs of Israel that is present throughout the scriptures is the assumption that faith begins with memory. Have you ever taken a moment to consider how memory defines us. Our memories sometimes aren’t the most accurate - we may not recall an event in full detail - but it is what we remember that is important, not if it is fully factual.

We, as human beings, have selective memories in this fashion. We remember things how we want to remember them. And we remember the things we want to recall. And that goes on to define who we are. For example, if we are pessimistic, we may only recall the bad things, even though good things have happened in our lives as well. And if we are optimistic, we are more prone to remember things in a positive way.

In today’s scripture passage the Israelites are facing the possibility of forgetting - forgetting who their God is and who they are as a people. For many many years they have been in captivity in Babylon after being taken from Jerusalem. They have been gone so many years that the keepers of the memories have passed on. Perhaps the people of Israel still shared these memories of who they are as the chosen people of God late at night, but the truth behind the words is starting to fade. The memories seem more like distant fantasies in the face of their captivity.

But in this passage, God cries out through the prophet for them to remember. Remember what they know. Remember what they’ve heard and what has been told to them. Remember who God is. God is preparing them for a journey back to Jerusalem to face the seemingly impossible task to rebuild the city and the temple. But it cannot be done if the people’s faith in God is not intact, if their memory has ceased to exist.

Can you identify with the amnesia of the Israelites? Are their times in your life when you have forgotten who God is? Forgotten who you are? Our type of amnesia today causes us to quickly forget God’s power and might when we enter into stressful situations. It is what causes us to ask ourselves if God has abandoned us during difficult times.

Israel is facing a real problem in today’s scripture passage because they are on the verge of corporately forgetting who they are. When a few people struggle the unit will not falter because others are in their lives to remind them who they are and that God is in control. But when the entire body has forgotten, when no one is there to testify to who they are as a people, an identity crisis begins to take root. Sometimes I wonder if we are in such a place as the Church of Jesus Christ today. If we no long remember who we are, what we believe, and why we believe it. Are we just as lost as the Israelites in captivity?

An old adage states that you cannot know where you are going unless you know where you came from. So many churches today are struggling to do the next popular thing or to offer the next program so they can draw people in, but this flurry of activity isn’t reflective of who they are as the people of God. It is more about entertaining then evangelism. More about profit then the Kingdom of God. I truly believe such activity shows that we are in a time of identify crisis, where we are desperately in need of someone to remind us who God is and who we are.

Today’s scripture passage tells us over and over again that God is powerful and in control. That other rulers will come to pass but that God remains the same. No one compares to God. Everyone and everything else is simply a creation of God. Yet, we are running around acting as if we are God. As if we are the ones in control instead of the ones following the vision that God has laid before us. We particularly forget who is who and what is what when times are going well. When we feel powerful. But today’s scripture reminds us of our unqualified powerlessness. And we don’t like that. We want to be the powerful ones being praised. Or we may even be willing to praise God’s powerfulness when things are going our way, but that’s not who today’s scripture passage is written to. It is written for the powerless. The ones who are so weighed down upon by life that they have forgotten everything that matters.

God is gracious enough to give us each moments when we are reminded who God is. Moments that remind us how big God is, yet how intimate our relationship is to the Holy. These moments are different for everyone, but they help us remember who God is. For me these moments have taken place in nature. If you enter my house, you will find pictures everywhere. Most are of people, friendly face smiling, but some are of moments. Moments that I remember every time I look at them.

As I write this sermon I see a picture of the sun setting over a bay of water. Orange and full as it disappears in its brilliance through clouds scattered across the sky. I can tell you the exact spot where that picture was taken and that it reminds me of the conversation I was having with a dear friend shortly before it was taken about who God is and why we need God in our lives. That picture and the conversation surrounding it are intricately linked and remind me of just how beautiful, grand, powerful, and creative God is.

And as I write this sermon the picture of my computer is one that simply takes my breath away. It is of a sunrise on a farm. The entire sky is yellow and deep orange. I can tell you that when that picture was taken, I had barely slept in days. It was taken on the morning I was camping. When I woke up before everyone else to be in a time of prayer, but instead the only prayer I could utter was Thank you, God. In that moment I felt enveloped by God’s peace and presence. Which I am reminded of every time I look at this picture.

But looking at these photos I also am reminded of how vulnerable I was when they were taken, and I can praise God for that now. For when we are vulnerable we are open to experience God’s power and grace. These photos and many others are like my rear view mirrors in my car as I travel through life. Rear view mirrors are important, because they help us see what is behind us so we can safely travel forward. Our memories stand as testaments to who God is and how far we have come by faith and grace. That God is everlasting. And this is good news to us when we feel faith, weary, and powerless. In our memories we can be reminded that God has renewed our strength in the past and will surely renew our strength in the future.

We will never fully understand who God is or how God works in the world. We will always have questions about Gods power and why God intervenes in some situations and not in others. I believe the Israelites had the same sorts of questions when they were in captivity. But like the Israelites we have a choice as to whether we will remember who God has been in the past so we can trust God now, or if we are going to try to live by our own power alone.

My hope and prayer for us today is that we will begin to remember who we are and who God is, and not confuse the two. I pray that we will have a way to remember those powerful moments when God unmistakably interved into our lives. I hope that we cling to those moments both when times are good and times are not so good, as a reminder that God has not forgotten or forsaken us. For just as remembering is selective, so is forgetting. So may we remember who we are so we can step out in faith. Remember our communal and personal story, God’s story, so we can live into God’s love for us. For even if our hope cannot be sustained, it can be remembered and renewed.