Our Sermons

Bible Passage: Isaiah 52:1-6
Pastor: Pastor Schlicht
Sermon Date:  November 15, 2020

Michael Griffiths wrote the book God’s Forgetful Pilgrims in which he maintains that the church has, to a great extent, forgotten her identity in Christ and has settled for something much less. The original British edition of the book had a bit more catchy title: Cinderella with Amnesia. The cover shows a picture of Cinderella sitting in rags, gazing at a glass slipper in her hand. Her expression is a mix of sadness and puzzlement. She has no idea where the slipper came from. Although somewhere out there the prince is looking for her as the love of his life, she has completely forgotten. She has no idea who she is or the incredible future she could enjoy. The premise of the book is that, as Christians, we often forget the identity we have as the Church, the bride of Christ, and by extension, we do not live with the joy and confidence this identity affords. As his beloved people, we are prized by Jesus, our heavenly Prince, chosen by him to reign at his side (1 Peter 2:9). Yet, beautiful and beloved as we are in his sight, we go right on—like Cinderella with amnesia—sitting in sadness and confusion. 

This has always been a danger for the people of God.  This is the story of Israel too. God’s ancient church, the people he refers to collectively as Zion or Jerusalem, had been forcefully removed from their homeland and exiled to Babylon. Devastated and despondent they could no longer sing for joy. As the Psalmist writes, “By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept…We hung our harps on the willows.” (Psalm 137) Bondage, sin, and misery had given them amnesia. They were forgetting who they were. Just like us, they too needed an identity check. And just like them, we need to hear God’s Word through the prophet Isaiah. 

He writes: Awake, awake, Zion, clothe yourself with strength! Put on your garments of splendor, Jerusalem, the holy city.   Isaiah tells them to put on two kinds of clothing. First he says to clothe yourself with strength. God is on their side, he is mighty to save, and that knowledge provides strength and courage. Wake up! Implicit in this whole section is that God is coming, that he is going to free his people. If a soldier is fighting a war and they hear that reinforcements are on the way, fresh courage and strength comes. Second, Isaiah says to put on “garments of splendor,” which refers to royal or priestly garments. For Zion is the daughter of the King, Jerusalem is the Holy city. Isaiah really says, Remember who you are! You are royalty! You are valuable. God is on your side! “Wake up, snap out of it!” Listen to verse 2: “Shake off your dust; rise up, sit enthroned, O Jerusalem. Free yourself from the chains on your neck, O captive daughter of Zion” (52:2). God’s people had been sitting in the dust, in some cases quite literally chained captives. Like Cinderella with amnesia, they had forgotten who they were! God wants them to shake off the dust and sit on the throne as his queen. Remember who you are, Isaiah says. You are the daughter of the King, you are the Bride of Christ, you are God’s Church! Remember who you are!

Easier said than done, though,right? Israel had been violated by the Babylonians and made to feel like dirt. They were devalued and shamed. As God says in verse 5: “For my people have been taken away for nothing, and those who rule them mock, declares the Lord.”  There’s nothing worse than feeling like you aren’t valued. We may not be in exile, but we often feel devalued too, don’t we? 

Perhaps it’s the isolation of Covid-19, maybe it’s the friends who you wish would call, perhaps it’s a relationship that ended and they left you feeling worthless. Maybe it’s even that voice in your own head that tells you that you aren’t worth anything. We often feel like we belong in the dust, and certainly not on a throne. We feel shame.

Harold Senkbeil is a Lutheran pastor who wrote the book The Care of Souls. And in it he talks about the distinction between guilt and shame, which is so important to understand. He puts it this way: “Guilt has to do with behavior,  (“I made a mistake.”) while shame is a matter of identity. (“I am a mistake.”) Guilt is tied to the sinful things I’ve done; shame is the continuous experience of utter remorse over who I am. A person who experiences shame has an abiding sense of failure and self-disgust.”  I notice this in my children too, I don’t just tell them they are forgiven when they sin, I realize that they still feel terrible and so I sweep them into my arms and tell them that I love them, too. Because shame also needs to be addressed. We feel guilt over sins committed, but shame is sin suffered and that can be our sin or often the sins of others which cause us to suffer. I think of the many people who have been abused and live with shame over sins they never committed. They know they are forgiven but they still feel worthless.

Shame is dangerous. It’s dangerous because it drives our fear of ever being vulnerable. (“If people see me, they will reject me.”) So we hide deeper and deeper and numb ourselves. This is true in our relationships with people, and it’s also true in our relationship with God. Remember what Adam and Eve did right after they sinned? They hid from God and tried to cover themselves because they felt ashamed. It wasn’t just that they had committed a sin, they were already suffering self-disgust because of shame. Many Christians struggle with this: We know that God has forgiven us (dealt with our guilt through the work of Christ on the cross—something we hear every week), but we struggle to believe that he actually  likes us. And that’s the Devil trying to use shame against us: “You are bad and unloveable. You deserve the dirt and the chains. You aren’t fit for clothes of splendor.” 

That is why God’s words today are so important to hear. He wants to remind us of who we are. He wants us to remember that we, as his church, are his beloved, his royal family, the very people he sees as perfect and holy. That’s what we celebrate on Saints Triumphant Sunday, isn’t it? Though we are sinful, God not only forgives us, but calls us holy in Jesus’ name. Just like he has done for little Remi Playter, in our baptism God not only forgives our sins, but he wraps us up in the robe of righteousness Christ won for us. He clothes us in strength and splendor, he breaks the chains off of our necks and shakes off the dust of death. In Christ, God seats us next to him on a heavenly throne and tells us that we are loved eternally.

The next time you are feeling ashamed, ask yourself what God thinks of you. In verse 3 Isaiah writes: For this is what the Lord says: “You were sold for nothing, and without money you will be redeemed.” Ironically, though others had treated God’s people like they were nothing, God sees them as priceless. Though others may sell you for nothing, God redeems you as priceless. As St. Peter says, “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed, but with the precious blood of Christ.” 

I’m trying to sell my Camery these days. It’s a 1998 Toyota Camry with 200,000 and change on the odometer. It’s a great vehicle, although it has a few downsides, like no air conditioning, duct tape is holding in one of the headlights, there’s a hole in the muffler so it sounds like a stock car, and it’s always a little exciting to see whether it starts or not. Those are just the main ones. But regardless of what it should be worth, if you offer me $15,000 for the car today, the BlueBook value will be meaningless. (BTW, sold!) Something is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it. We know this. And it’s of you and me. God gave his only Son for you. God was willing to bankrupt heaven to redeem you. You are worth everything to him.

Through Christ our sin is forgiven and we are counted as holy in God’s eyes. Though we are sinners, we are counted as saints! And that’s how God wants us to live. He wants us to shake off the dust, to take off the chains of shame. He wants to clothe us with his strength and put on the splendorous clothes of Christ’s righteousness. He wants to remind us that he has prepared a throne for us in heaven. He wants Cinderella to realize that her prince is on his way. He wants us to remember who we are in Christ.  Amen.