"Home On the Range"

 

Isaiah 42:1-7

 

     Reading Isaiah 42 reminded me of one of those things I used to do that irritated my wife.  When we first got married, when I was showering I would sing Home On the Range, as loud and as off key as I could.  "Home, home on the range, where the deer and the antelope play, where seldom is heard, a discouraging word."  It was that word discouraging that caught my attention this week, especially when thinking about the ordination of elders. 

 

      Isaiah, in talking about the servant of the Lord, said, "He will not fail or be discouraged."  Other translations have "He won't tire out and quit,"  "He will not be disheartened or crushed,"  "He won't quite or give up."  When Isaiah shared those words he was probably thinking about the nation of Israel as the servant of the Lord.  Later the Christian church believed that Jesus fulfilled Isaiah's prophecy.  Today we believe it also speaks to us as disciples of Jesus.  Ministers, elders, members, we are all servants of the Lord.    

 

     Whatever is going on out in the world, the covenant people of God are called to be a light among the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon.  No matter how difficult things might be we are called to keep on keeping on in faith. 

 

      Let's be honest, on some days it is easy to become discouraged.  Things don't go the way we hope, we see friends struggle, we experience the hurt of members of our family, the church seems to have less and less influence in the world.  There are days when you wonder if it is worth it.  It appears in the gospels that even Jesus got discouraged at times.  According to Luke when he drew near Jerusalem he saw the city and wept over it, saying "Would that even today you knew the things that make for peace!"  And then he entered the temple and drove out the people who were making it a den of robbers. 

 

       How do we keep from being discouraged?  We remind ourselves of who we are representing.  So much is done in the church to make people happy.  Our mission is not to make people happy.  It is to serve the kingdom of God.  Happiness comes not from getting what we want.  It comes from the realization that God gives us what we need:  Love, grace, forgiveness, joy, peace.  When we begin to feel discouraged we remember who we are serving, a risen Savior, a God who showers us with love and grace. If we are trying to make the people happy we are bound to be discouraged because there is no way we can make all of the people happy but we can share with them the gifts of God. 

 

        I think we also become discouraged when we feel like we are alone.  Isaiah was reminding the people that they were not alone.  God puts God's Spirit on his servant.  When Jesus was baptized the heavens opened and the Spirit descended up him.  When we are baptized we are baptized with the Spirit of God.  Today as hands are laid on our newly elected elders we are reminded that it is the Spirit of God working through all of us.   

 

       We will not fail or be discouraged not because of who we are and what we can do but because of who God is and what God will do through us.  Romans 8 is a wonderful reminder, "We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.  For we can be sure that nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

 

     Elders, newly elected elders, members and friends, we will not fail or be discouraged because we serve a Risen Savior.