Living in the Spirit

Based on Readings: Isaiah 35:10; James 5:7-10; Psalm 146:4-9; Luke 1:46-55; Matthew 11:2-11

Last week, the prophet Isaiah described a historic transition that was about to take place, not in a moment, but one taking place over some 800 years. He opened our readings talking about the coming of Jesus from the Davidic line. In Romans, Paul then invoked the power of the Holy Spirit as the provenance of hope, peace, and joy. And in Matthew, John the Baptist was quoted speaking of a baptism by the Holy Spirit and fire. I believe todays readings carry forward this same transitional concept. Let me explain the transition that I am referring to.

Until the coming of the Messiah, salvation was completely achieved through “life-in-faith”, a belief in God evidenced by living according to Mosaic law. And, it seemed, on the surface at least, that salvation was reserved for God’s chosen people through his covenant with Israel. Let’s consider Israel’s life-in-faith covenant, with Paul’s mission, which was to win obedience from the Gentiles, and in that obedience, give others a route to salvation as well. So, the transition I am getting to includes the larger Christian community of both Jew and Gentile. Paul went on to tell us in Romans, that the concept of salvation now rests in believing, not only living the law but believing in Jesus as the Christ, “so you may abound in hope through the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13)

Collectively then, those readings transitioned the attainment of salvation solely by living-by-faith, to a Christian world of living-by-the-spirit. Of course, to live by the spirit requires the faith component but it is a significant expansion of the Old Testament, faith-only concept.

Have you ever wondered why God just didn’t extend the covenant to Gentiles and be done with it? Well, one could argue that at some point, God determined that the gift of himself in a loving covenant with Israel, as structured in Mosaic law, was not powerful enough to overcome the cosmic power of sin. I am not suggesting God’s gift was insufficient, but I am saying that Israel and by extension, we Gentiles were and are too weak to live by his laws alone without sinning. He communicated this through Isaiah and many others throughout biblical history.

In chapter 35:8-10, Isaiah alludes to God’s solution. He prophesies that there will be a highway by which the ransomed of the Lord will return. He is referring to those who will be ransomed by the blood of Jesus and his earthly replacement, that is the Holy Spirit, the new and everlasting life of “living-by-the-spirit”. Let me divert to a related topic for few minutes, to give you time to absorb the enormity of this transition.

I think we can all agree that many biblical passages are not easy to understand. They may require interpretation from clergy or scholarly biblical educators, even require significant study on our part to grasp the message. This can be attributed to various things. For example, it could be the many language translations the bible went through where words may have been unintentionally re-written, and messages blurred. We may also wonder if human language even has the capacity to communicate God’s thoughts. And as a practical matter, perhaps it is because much of the bible is written in poetic form.

Much of our reading from Isaiah today, is written in poetic form. The verses contain personification, imagery, and alliteration among other poetic tools. Why? Why make these Godly thoughts even more difficult to understand? Why not just come out and say what you mean in ordinary language?

I would suggest that poetic form is used here and throughout the bible, because it allows for a smoother, responsive discourse as would be important in the Psalms. Also, other parts of the Bible are written as rhythmic song verses, again a poetic style. However, I think the fundamental reason that is consistent throughout all the verse in the bible is that poetry is a language of love and beauty. And love, as expressed in the Bible, is the thread that connects us. It starts in the Old Testament stories of God’s love for the people Israel. It continues through the New Testament in the words of Jesus’s love and compassion. The Apostles subsequently pick up that same message of love and carry it forward into their Great Commission. Ultimately, at our core, this same love links us as individuals within the Christian community. Indeed, a language of love and beauty.

Mary’s “Magnificat” is perhaps the earliest recording of poetry. The Christian scholar, Dana Gioia, describes Mary’s poetry like this, “Prose [language] cannot express the extent of Mary’s wonder, joy, and gratitude. [A] plain statement will not evoke the unique miracle of God’s becoming man. The incarnation requires an ode, not an email” (Gioia, page3).

Isaiah carries on the use of heavy, symbolic language in today’s reading as he personifies nature in 35:1-2, saying: “The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom, like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing.” We know that the wilderness and the desert have no capacity to think anything. Ahh, but as symbols of the “redeemed sinner” who seeks forgiveness? He is saying that the redeemed shall rejoice with joy and singing – like a “crocus.” And what’s a crocus anyway? Did Isaiah choose that word at random or mindfully? Well, I found that the crocus is a beautiful, flowering plant, with purple and gold flowers that smell of vanilla and spice. Not a bad symbol for God’s redeemed. But that’s not all! Crocus flower seeds, bulbs, leaves, and the flower itself, are used in medicines as an anti-depressant, anti-inflammatory, in expectorates for stomach ailments and other medicinal uses. Now don’t go buy one and eat it because they are poisonous in the natural form, but they are richly symbolic for rebirth, innocence, joy, and new beginnings. So, I think Isaiah was showing a cunning use of symbolism to describe those who would be redeemed in Christ.

Now that we find ourselves here in a time when living-by-the-Spirit of Jesus is required for salvation, what does that mean? What does it require of us? James, who in this case is a brother of Jesus, not the apostle James, says that one requirement is to be patient. Though we live our lives with countless blessings, we live in a fallen world. As a result, we all face periodic troubles which sometimes cause us to question where is God in my life? Could this be a sign of our impatience? As we face these difficulties, James 5:7-10 says to “be patient, like the farmer who waits on both the early and late rains for his crop, the coming of the Lord is near. Be patient, the judge is standing at the door.” As we look up at the imaginary door to our lives, our faith calls us to see Jesus standing there and that his coming through that door is imminent.

I realize that it may not seem imminent to any of us as we have lived many years and assume we have awhile longer, but in the context of the incomprehensible time of God’s existence, our life is just a flash. His message is that when Jesus does come, the swiftness of his coming will show that he was indeed, always near, and the time from our lives to his appearance, required no more time than it takes to take one step over the threshold of the doorway. He stands there waiting for our time, and we must patiently wait for him. Aren’t we blessed that he stands at our doorway? And why would he do that? He is there because we have asked him to be there. In the asking, we are expressing our love, our faith and trust in him and his response is always to be near.

What I hope you will take home today, and I am preaching to myself as well, is the need to live by the spirit, every day, which includes loving others. I am suggesting we incorporate love into our general outlook on life as we go about our everyday lives.

There are many types of love as we all know. There is love we show in our emotions, feelings, and attraction, those we would extend to family and friends. Other forms of love, the love that I am referring to here, requires faithfulness, commitment, and sacrifice without expecting anything in return. That love is easy to show here in church, in our friendly conversations, in the singing of songs, in our support for one another. It is not so easy to express outside these grounds, where we may encounter an unfriendly attitude, or suffer an undeserved trial, even be on the receiving end of an insult or betrayal that has hurt us deeply. That environment is much harder but is exactly where we are called to live by the spirit.

This is also the type of love the Bible speaks about the most. The love it alludes to through its poetic language, linking us together in the Christian community. Without that kind of love, would we even be a community or more like solitary seeds scattered in the wind?

My message today isn’t a new one, but our commitment could be. Let’s leave here today with a renewed commitment to live with faith in God, fed by the Holy Spirit, to love others and to always see Jesus in our doorway. AMEN

Work Citied:

Gioia, D. (2022). CHRISTIANITY AND POETRY: A MONTHLY JOURNAL OF RELIGION AND PUBLIC LIFE. First Things, , 1-22. https://go.openathens.net/redirector/liberty.edu?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/christianity-poetry/docview/2701148079/se-2