EVENTS CALENDAR
Sermons
Beauty for Ashes
Listen to the audio (to save a file simply right click the link and select 'Save Target As...' or 'Save Link As...')
Isaiah 61:1-3 (New International Version)
The Year of the LORD's Favor1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.
Beauty for Ashes
March 21—surely one of the greatest symbols of hope in the northern part of the western world. We know it is likely there will be more snow, but what do we say? —It won’t stay for long. There will also be the clouds that bring the April showers but from this day forward, for three months each day’s allotment of light will be a little longer than the previous day. It almost doesn’t matter then what the day brings on March 21 because spring has sprung and there is hope for tomorrow.
We are looking at a text this morning from the prophet Isaiah. This is a word to people in exile. It is a word to those who have endured a long, troublesome, and disheartening sojourn in Babylon. The holy city, Jerusalem, along with its Temple, is in ruins. The overwhelming mood of God’s people is one of grief and despair. The prophet tells these people that despite everything that has happened to them, it is March 21, there is reason for hope. God is going to act on their behalf, giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.
Friends, one of the things of which I am aware is that, at least for me, there is much of the personal that goes into sermon preparation. When I take a text, I do my best to first hear what that text is saying before I try to impose upon it something I would like it to say. But I know I never fully escape letting what is currently going on in my life help to interpret what I discover in the text.
When I came to this text then I could not help but have two things in the back of my mind. The first is that this week I begin my ninth year as pastor of Blythwood Road Church. (The time sure does fly by when you’re havin’ fun!) My first Sunday here was March 24, 2002—eight years in the books. The second thing sort of flows from the first—how much longer will I be your pastor? If I retire at 65, that’s a little more than five years away. It seems then that I cannot help but think about what this church should be as it faces the future and what role I might have in helping shape what we are.
Today I want to make a contribution to that conversation, suggesting the shape of this community of faith must somehow come out of an understanding of who we are and what it is that God wants to do for us and with us. Let me offer two primary suggestions.
It is my understanding that Christians should always understand themselves to be people of the exile. To put it at its simplest: we don’t belong here. We are those who look forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God (Hebrews 11:10), people who are seeking a homeland (Hebrews 11:14).
When God’s people were in exile in Babylon they were promised that after the time of their punishment was over, they would return to Jerusalem. The promise which Jesus gave to his followers was never of an earthly city. In John 14 Jesus said he was going to prepare a place for us in his Father’s house. Our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20). Spiritually we are never to feel completely at home here.
What that means is there ought to be something about us that points away from earth toward heaven. It would be simplistic to say there ought to be something odd about us. Some of us fit into that category quite easily (he said, while making sure not to look anyone in the eye while he said it.) What I’m talking about are the standards our world uses to judge the worth or significance of people.
Here are just two examples. For women, image is everything. I have commented before on the advertising campaign of the Dove company called The Campaign for Real Beauty. I think it is commendable for them to be telling women that true beauty has nothing to do with having the shape and looks of a model. And while they are sharing that uplifting message with women they are also selling them at least 25 different products for hair and body.
For men of a certain age, what’s the latest message? Some of you probably know where I’m going on this. If you’re not quite the man you used to be, not to worry. Viagra has that under control.
There are, of course, all sorts of other ways in which we judge the worth of people—the car they drive, their stock portfolio, the area of the city they live in. The reason Christians ought to point away from such standards is that they are earth-bound. I hope what I am about to say doesn’t cause offense, but did you ever take a close look at Agnese Bojaxhui? As the saying goes, she was “as homely as a mud fence.” Agnese Bojaxhui? You probably know her better by the name she had as the founder of the Sisters of Charity in Calcutta, Mother Teresa. But when Malcolm Muggeride wrote his biography of this wonderful woman, he called it Something Beautiful for God, and everyone would say she was someone beautiful for God. Hers was a beauty that pointed away from the earth toward heaven.
The second thing I want to say is that Christians should always understand themselves to be people of God-given hope. Let’s look at how that hope is defined by the prophet—a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.
Let’s take a look at each of these images. Ashes are used at a time of mourning. They symbolize destruction and death. The garland is an adornment for the head of a bridegroom. The prophet is contrasting two occasions that are a part of human experience. Death brings an ending; for the Christian it is also a beginning, but the focus here is on the immediate experience of grief. The other occasion is a marriage, when the beginning of something wonderful and new is celebrated.
The second image pair contrasts mourning and the oil of gladness. When I am going out in the morning each day I spritz on my cologne. It never occurs to me that I should take into account the activities of the day. But in the ancient world, perfume was not used during a time of grief. The oil of gladness most likely refers to a perfume that would be worn by a woman as an accompaniment to a time of joy and celebration. Perhaps again it is a marriage that is in the mind of the prophet.
The third set of images contrasts a garment of praise and a faint spirit. This suggests a number of things to me. The faint spirit suggests a weakness that is the result of emotional fatigue. Let me remind you of an example. One of the times when people seek advice from their pastor is when a loved one has died. You know the traditional drill—the day before the funeral there is visitation from 2 until 4 in the afternoon and 7 to 9 in the evening. The funeral director will tell the family to arrive at least 30 minutes before each visitation begins, because “some people like to be early.” This being the case, in my opinion, the best funeral directors will also tell the family to wrap up the afternoon session right at 4:00.
No one thinks they will need to. “All we are going to do is meet our friends.” I can tell you those who let the afternoon visitation drag on and do not take time for a break and some supper experience a faint spirit before the evening is done. The expending of emotional energy is every bit as draining as the expenditure of physical energy. The spirit of those who grieve is worn and weary.
To such people God will give the mantle of praise. Notice it is not just praise we are given, not even a song of praise, but a covering garment of praise. I find that to be a lovely image. Praise is going to cover and protect and encourage and inspire the whole of my being.
What does this have to do with what our church will look like in the future, what shape it takes? One practical thing, it seems to me, is that we will try to maintain that delicate balance between being in the world but not of the world. Neighbourhoods do change, but for the foreseeable future Blythwood is in the midst of one of Toronto’s affluent areas. We must be good neighbours. When a retaining wall is in danger of falling down, we must fix it. When the paint peels, we must give the wood a fresh coat. And in addition to that our witness must point not to a beautiful building but to a gracious God and a beautiful Saviour.
Living that delicate balance also means that we strive for justice in this world and at the same time recognize we do not expect the kingdom of God to come in its fullness until, in God’s time, history finds its conclusion in the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Living that delicate balance will mean that we are prepared to become what the last part of our text says God has in mind for us. They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, to display his glory. God is going to give us a heavenly beauty. God is going to give us the aroma of joy. God is going to cover us with praise. In doing all of that God intends to point not to us but to himself. We are to stand firm in righteousness and display the glory of heaven.
It was when I was a child that I first heard someone described as being so heavenly minded that they were of no earthly use. Over the years I have concluded that it is the heavenly minded who are of the most earthly use. The one ingredient I would like to throw into the conversation about the shape of this church in the future is just that—if nothing else, let us be heavenly minded.
Let us count as important what heaven values, grace and forgiveness and faith and justice and integrity and compassion and peace.
Let us not strive for those things we can only have if we turn away from God, but let us instead open ourselves to the beauty and joy and praise that can only be received from the God who gives to people who hope in him.
Let us be content to know that we are most alive when our lives display God’s glory.
There was a time in this city that churches stood out because their steeples were the tallest structures on the landscape. In the future a church will stand out in spite of all that tries to hide it because its people are its steeple—they reveal God’s glory and point the way to heaven.
