Waiting in the Dark

It is from third Isaiah that we read today. If you remember this was written after the Israelites had returned from captivity in Babylon. After the long wait in captivity in a foreign land they now struggled to rebuild their lives in a much changed promised land. The time was tough: others occupied their lands, the economy was in shambles, the political situation was unstable, and the temple remained unfinished. They began to question the wisdom of returning to Israel and God. Had they not already paid the price for their intransigence before God – fifty years of life in another land at the hands of another nation? So where was God? They were disillusioned about God. Was there a more powerful God than theirs? Should they have stayed in Babylon like many of their fellow Israelites? In the midst of these questions and struggles Isaiah addresses the people, a lament, pointing out that the people have not trusted God. If they would only look around and remember all the things God had done for them they would then be able to repent and return to God. That would not magically build the temple, the nation, or their lives, but instead, returning to God would give them the strength to live their lives as the people of God in the midst of their struggle. They were called to wait in the darkness of their time with the knowledge that God was with them persevering in the struggle that seemed impossible. They were not alone in this. Every generation of God’s people have had their own questions and struggles and darkness. 

We also struggle in our daily lives to answer God’s call. We struggle to see what God has called us to do when it is not always clear. We do not always like the task or those we are called us to love. Our own desires get in the way of answering God’s call. Sometimes the world around us seems to be crashing in upon us. We, like the Israelites, struggle as we attempt to do the seemingly impossible and truly incredible task set before us. We become discouraged. We bow to our enemies, sin and death, and compartmentalize God. Sometimes we turn to worshipping other gods like wealth, luxury, health, and popularity. All this when our lives have been put in great disarray by Covid-19. It is in this dangerous ever changing world that Isaiah’s message of lament and hope comes to us. That message, that we have not always trusted God and have turned to worldly things to escape from the darkness in our lives and world. 

Jesus, in our text from Mark, reminds us that it is not our duty or call to sit around thinking that the end may be near. That time will come and we may recognize it when it does. Until then we the people of God, sisters and brothers of Jesus are called to keep awake proclaiming God’s salvation by our lives – what we say and do. By our lives they will know that we are Christians and, more importantly, see God’s light in a world that for many is dark. Answer the call you received in baptism letting your light so shine before others they will see Jesus.