Spread It Around
“Spread It Around” by Pastor Rosanna McFadden
Good morning! I am happy to see you here this morning! As the unofficial start f summer and the official start of the Indianapolis 500, I know that this is a busy weekend for many folks. If you are watching the livestream after all your other activities are done, we’ll give you partial credit for at least checking in at Creekside today.
I’m sure you were paying attention when Cary read the scripture for us, and you may have even noticed that the reading was from the Old Testament, the prophet Isaiah. I don’t typically preach from only an Old Testament text, even one as lovely and as hopeful as this one. Today is no exception — I plan to talk about Jesus Christ, but I’m going to do it by using this text from Isaiah as a basis for dialogue between the Old and the New Testament. I am confident that I am in good company in this regard, because Jesus himself did this. He did in in specific and more general ways by quoting the Old Testament in his ministry: his favorite Old Testament material was Isaiah and the Psalms — each of which he quotes directly eight times, followed by Deuteronomy and Exodus, books of the Law which he quotes 6 times each. Jesus also makes allusions to the Old Testament — he’ll use a phrase or an idea which scholars can trace to specific books and verses. This is not a sign artificial intelligence at work: it is a sign of real intelligence of a Jew who was familiar with and formed by the holy writings of his people. We are going to dig into the original context of this scripture from Isaiah, how Jesus used it, and how it might apply to us.
But first, a few words about PB&J — especially for those of you who may be seeing PB&J at Creekside for the first time. PB&J is of course, short for peanut butter and jelly; that creamy yummy peanutty spread and sweet, sticky fruity jelly all slathered together on a soft piece of bread. You can get in on some of that goodness during the fellowship time after the service. But at Creekside, at least since about 2008, PB&J has also meant Praise, Blessing and Joy — a different kind of goodness which we have the opportunity to spread and share. It was Sue Noffsinger who first came up with the concept of Praise, Blessing, and Joy and wrote some memorable skits about it starting in 2008.
Remember for a moment, if you can, what you were doing 17 years ago — if you were even alive back then — and what was happening in Elkhart County in 2008. We started construction on this building in 2005 and met for the first time in May 2006. We had this lovely new building with a great big . . . mortgage, and were trying to start new programs and meet new people just as our community was headed into the most serious recession in years. Businesses were suffering — none more than the RV factories and dealerships with gas at over $4.00 a gallon. Our community needed some hope; we needed to spread some good news; and we needed to remind ourselves of praise, blessing, and joy as well as spreading it with others.
And here’s the message I want to be sure you hear this morning: the time when we need praise, blessing and joy the most is when things are difficult. There’s nothing wrong with getting a tasty sandwich when you aren’t hungry, but the time we really need to be filled is when we’re empty. The promise of light does not seem like that big a deal on a sunny day, but light for those who are walking in darkness is a lifeline. Hope for the prosperous, well-fed and complacent is a different message than hope for those who are grieving, imprisoned, and suffering. The words of Isaiah are for the broken-hearted; not only in Isaiah’s time, but in Jesus’ time, and in our own time, too.
As a bit of review, the words we know as the book of Isaiah were written by at least three different authors over about a 200 year period. The first 40 books — out of 66 — were written as a warning to the people to repent and change their ways or face the downfall of Jerusalem and exile to Babylon. The later books are written during that exile, and are words of hope and the promise of restoration: restoration of the people to relationship God, and the community to the homeland of Israel. Isaiah 61 is brimming with that hope and promise: it is good news to the poor, healing to the broken-hearted, and release to the captives. Verse 3 says that those who mourn in Zion will have joy and gladness instead of grief, and a song of praise instead of a song of sorrow. There’s even a closing promise that we will be like trees that the Lord has planted, and that God will be praised for what God has done. I just have to say that any text where there is PB&J and trees in the same passage is a scripture that is going to resonate with me.
I am not the only one. This text from Isaiah 61 has a pretty significant New Testament context, too. As I mentioned earlier, it was read by Jesus himself from the scroll at the synagogue in Nazareth, his home town. You can find this account in Luke chapter 4. It is notable for a couple reasons — first, in Luke’s gospel this is the beginning of Jesus’ his public ministry, it is his first teaching which is described in detail after he has been baptized and tempted in the wilderness. Second, people are impressed by Jesus (you know, Joseph and Mary’s kid, he grew up right here in our little town) — his gracious words and authority. And finally, people are impressed until they’re not, and decided to throw him off a nearby cliff to his death. This is a pretty dramatic turn of events, even for a preacher. It’s more typical to be met with more indifference than outrage, but Jesus’ exegesis of this passage from Isaiah turns the hometown supporters into a murderous mob.
Scholars have different opinions about whether Jesus’ choice of this passage was accidental or intentional. We know it would have been recorded on a scroll — a long piece of animal skins sewn together and rolled up. You can’t just leaf through something like that. A passage from the scroll would have been read in public each Sabbath, and them rolled to the next passage, so maybe that’s just the passage which was supposed to come next. On the other hand, this was Jesus’ home synagogue; he undoubtedly knew where the scrolls were kept and may have requested the one which contained the passage he already knew and wanted to read. Jesus would have known that these words from Isaiah 61 were received as good news by the Jews in exile. Who doesn’t love the assurance of comfort and freedom, and the promise of joy and praise? But here’s the catch, the fine print on the contract, the hinge on which Jesus’ message turned, and what made his listeners so very unhappy. Those promises — that praise and joy — are for those who bless the Lord. It’s right there in Isaiah 61:3, “they will all do what is right, and God will be praised for what God has done.”
The scriptures, especially the Old Testament, tell us to remember what God has done — to praise God for what God has already done on our behalf. For the Jewish people this touchstone was liberation from slavery in Egypt — the Passover, parting the Red Sea, shepherding them through the wilderness. But we are also commanded to praise God for things which we hope for but have not yet happened. This is the context of Isaiah 61: the good news is what is going to happen — not because of the people’s faithfulness, but because of God’s faithfulness and steadfast love for God’s people. God is going to save the people and defeat their enemies. That is cause for praise and joy.
I want to tell you what an inspiration it is to see and hear that praise and gratitude; and I get to hear praise and blessing for God and for this family of faith all the time. I hear it from people who are isolated and give thanks for your calls and cards and prayers; I hear it from people who are in pain, and say that it is your prayers and their trust in God which keeps them going. I hear it from people during difficult times with family who are persevering because they believe that God can guide their steps and has gone before them, whatever circumstance they are in. I would love to serve a congregation where there is no pain and no distress, and no need for me to hear these stories, but it turns out this is the most inspiring part of what I do. Your hope and your perseverance and your gratitude — especially in the midst of difficult circumstances–gives me hope. I know this is not my work; it is God’s work. My work is to show up and listen and marvel at what God has done and what God is doing. This is where I find joy when the world seems like it’s going off the rails. Thank you for all the PB&J you have shared with me. Your faith is an inspiration.I know that when this service is done, you will have other things to do — I hope that includes stopping in the Gathering Area for a special PB&J snack, courtesy of our fellowship team. It might include hearing Grace Mishler present about her work in Vietnam, or going out to lunch with friends, or watching an auto race. Whatever. But I encourage you, as you go about the rest of this day and the days ahead, to remember what God has done for you. To live in the hope of what God will do for you. If you can respond to that with praise and joy, that is a blessing which you can spread around. To other people who need hope and encouragement. If you can’t find anything in your life that is joyful or worthy of praise, you need someone to share a big helping of PB&J: I hope you can find it here. If you are empty or walking n the dark, know that our God is faithful, God’s love never fails, and everyone should taste and see that the Lord is good — we all need to be nourished with the sweetness of PB&J. Spread it around! Amen.