Sermons:
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What God Wants
based on Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
Randy L Quinn
The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in
the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom! Listen to the teaching of our
God, you people of Gomorrah! What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?
says the LORD; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed
beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats. When
you come to appear before me, who asked this from your hand? Trample my courts
no more; bringing offerings is futile; incense is an abomination to me. New moon
and sabbath and calling of convocation-- I cannot endure solemn assemblies with
iniquity. Your new moons and your appointed festivals my soul hates; they have
become a burden to me, I am weary of bearing them. When you stretch out your
hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will
not listen; your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves; make yourselves
clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil,
learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead
for the widow. Come now, let us argue it out, says the LORD: though your sins
are like scarlet, they shall be like snow; though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the
good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the
sword; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
I recently read the story of a
businessman who was working on a project at home.
He was sitting at his desk, working hard one evening when his six-year-old
daughter opened the door and walked over to his side.
She stood there a moment
before the man rather anxiously said, “What do you want? I’m busy.”
“Mommy says it’s time for bed
and I should go get a hug and a kiss from you.”
He leaned over and gave her a
hug and a kiss, and then turned back to his work.
Meanwhile, the young girl
didn’t move. Irritated, by her mere presence, he finally looked at her again,
giving her a look that begged a response. (If you haven’t given that look,
you’ve probably seen it.)
So she said, “Daddy I know you
kissed me and I know you already gave me a hug, but you weren’t in it.”
When I first read that story,
it was like looking into a mirror. I heard my story being told through the eyes
of someone else. Maybe you recognize yourself, too.
Maybe it was at home with your
family and your mind was on something else.
Maybe it was as we were
praying together the Lord’s Prayer today.
Maybe it was when you hit your
brother and your mother told you to say you were sorry.
You were doing the right
thing, but you were simply going through the motions. You were not in it.
It happens to all of us on
occasion. When it becomes our habit, however, it becomes problematic. Marriages
fall apart when we are no longer in them. Children no longer have the guidance
and direction they need when parents or teachers or pastors go through the
motions and recite rote promises and passages without offering themselves along
with their activities.
In one of the towns where we
lived, the Ministerial Alliance took turns offering prayers at the beginning of
every City Council meeting. Most of us did not attend the meetings on a regular
basis so we didn’t know all of the issues being addressed and we didn’t know all
of the people in the room. So, while we may have had good prayers, it was more
often the case that we were not in it. We were simply saying words that no one
heard – least of all God.
Isaiah is speaking to people
in those kinds of settings. The people of Israel are doing all the right things.
But from God’s perspective, they weren’t “in it.” Their prayers had become
meaningless because their lives had no meaning. The Law of Moses, which had been
given as a promise and a gift, had become a hallow shell of ritual activities.
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