Fifth Sunday of Epiphany 2012

Epiphany 5, Year B | Boy Scout Sunday | Isaiah 40:21-31; Psalm 147:1-11, 20; 1 Corinthians 9:16-23;  Mark 1:29-39 | February 5th, 2012

Have you not known?  Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He does not faint or grow weary;

his understanding is unsearchable.

He gives power to the faint,

and strengthens the powerless.

Even youths will faint and be weary,

and the young will fall exhausted;

but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,

they shall mount up with wings like eagles,

they shall run and not be weary,

they shall walk and not faint.

(Isaiah 40:28-31)

 

I have a “coffee-table book” of photos taken of the world from outer space.  The perspective in those photos is amazing.  Before we developed the technology to send space ships and satellites beyond our atmosphere, our view of this earth–our home planet–was very limited.  We could never see the whole planet at one time, only pieces of it.  But the day came when those first pictures of the earth were transmitted from space—“a shimmering blue-green, white-flecked ball spinning against the dense blackness of space!” (Feasting on the Word, Yr B, Vol 1, 320)  It was a mind-blowing new way of seeing ourselves.

 

From where we stand everyday, the earth seems to go on forever and ever, or at least as far as we can see.  We can get caught up in the particularities of lives and the small details of objects and people near us or we can imagine that the world we inhabit, the place we live, is the center of everything that is.   From the distant perspective of space, however, the camera looks back at an earth that does have limits in a universe that is so much larger than anything we can imagine with our feet planted on earth.  How amazing that way back in the time of Isaiah and of the psalm writer–centuries before the birth of Christ, thousands of years before satellite photos of the earth—those poets were proclaiming a cosmic view of the world.

 

That God’s eye view lifts us out of the particular limitations of our everyday lives to see the grandeur of creation and our small place in the overall scheme of things.   There is no equal for God, the Holy One, says Isaiah.  He “stretches the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to live in.” (Is. 40:22b)  He is greater than the rulers of the earth—greater even than Mitt or Newt or Barack.  He created the stars and calls them all by name.  (v. 26)  The fullness of our God is unknowable, unsearchable, transcendent, yet that same God is immanently near us in the particularities of the created world, in the person of Jesus Christ, and in our human relationships of care and concern for each other.

 

Even when life seems meaningless or problems keep coming at a dizzying pace, even when we grow tired and faint, our God remains steady, carries us when we are lost, and gives strength to the weary and courage to the faint-hearted.

 

The prophet Isaiah wrote during the time of the Babylonian exile, a time of despair and chaos in the life of the Israelites.  Isaiah offers hope and reassurance by reminding them of the big picture, giving them a wide-angle perspective from which to view their present situation.  Then he contrasts this God who is everlasting, who “does not faint or grow weary” (v. 28) with human beings (even strong, healthy young people) who “fall exhausted” (v. 30) with weariness.

 

Perhaps the Boy Scouts who are with us today have experienced weariness on a long hike at Philmont or Camp Manchester or on a wintry campout when it was especially hard to stay warm.  Perhaps there are students here this morning who know the almost fainting weariness and anxiety of long nights spent studying for exams or writing papers.  Perhaps some adults here today have experienced that kind of bone-weary faintness in the midst of major illness or after months of searching for a job after being laid off or as caregiver for elderly parents or a chronically ill spouse.    I imagine most of us reach a point sometime in our lives when we just want to sit beside the road or in our “tent,” put our head in our hands, and give in to the weariness.

 

Times such as these are when we most need to remember the God who created the universe and called the stars by name.  We, who may seem like mere “grasshoppers” on “the circle of the earth” (v. 22) when viewed from the wider perspective are to remember that this God of cosmic proportions created us in all our particularity and individuality and cares for us with “gracious favor,” as the psalmist says.  This God “binds up wounds” and “lifts up the lowly.”  (Ps 147:3) Jesus does this when he heals Simon Peter’s mother-in-law and goes out to the other villages healing the sick and proclaiming the nearness of the kingdom of God.  We act as agents of the healing God of compassion and steadfast love whenever we offer a kind word or a helping hand to someone who is having a bad day, whenever we see the hurt or despair of another human being and use whatever skills we might have to relieve their suffering, whenever we sit and listen without imposing our own agenda on someone who is searching for meaning in his or her life.

 

“…Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,

they shall mount up with wings like eagles,

they shall run and not be weary,

they shall walk and not faint.”  (v. 31)

Isaiah’s beautiful imagery is meant to give hope to his listeners, and that hope remains available to us who live many centuries later.

 

The image of the eagle is particularly appropriate for this Boy Scout Sunday.  Troop 1 is known for its ability to produce Eagle Scouts, the highest rank of Scouting.  In my seven years at Grace Church, I’ve been to quite a few Eagle Scout ceremonies.  They are always impressive, but the part of the ceremony I most enjoy is when each new Eagle Scout makes a short speech.  Most of those talks include words of thanks to their parents and scoutmasters for nurturing and guiding them through the years of Scouting.  Usually one or two amusing stories from a camping trip or other Scout adventure are shared.  Sometimes the new Eagle describes a time when a hike was long and arduous or some task seemed impossible and he wanted to give up, but someone (usually a Scoutmaster, but sometimes a fellow Scout) pushed him to keep going.  Because someone cared enough to demand their very best, because someone pushed them not to give up in the rough places, because someone believed in them and could call them by name, they were able to move beyond their weariness or doubt to renew their strength and determination.  For those boys, the day they receive their Eagle rank and all the paraphernalia that goes with it is powerfully poignant.

 

Each Eagle Scout Ceremony for Troop 1 begins with an off-stage voice reading a poem called “Voice of the Eagle.”   It goes something like this:

I am the Eagle.

I am prepared to stand for the virtues of freedom, strength, and pride.               

I am the Eagle.

I am prepared to serve my God, my country, and other people.

I am the Eagle.

I am prepared to stand for honesty, truth, and integrity.

I am the Eagle.

I am prepared to lead others to accomplish set tasks to the best of my ability.

….

I am the Eagle.

I am prepared to cross all lines of race, creed and nationality.

                I am the Eagle.

….

(Judy McGorray, “Cookbook for Planning an Eagle Scout Court of Honor,” Windsor, CA: JayMac Communications, 1996 found on website: www.scouters.us/eagle)

 

The characteristics of an Eagle Scout are admirable and lofty goals to embrace, and the eagle is a grand image for the work and promise of living into those ideals. Eagles in nature are amazing creatures.  If you’ve ever viewed them on an Eagle Watch trip at Land Between the Lakes, you are well aware of their majestic beauty and powerful wings.  Who wouldn’t want to soar like an eagle?

 

Some of you boys and men in church today are Eagle Scouts.  Some of you younger boys will become Eagle Scouts some day, but it is a select group who reach that rank in Scouting.  However, while most of us will never be Eagle Scouts, all of us can claim the promise spoken by the prophet Isaiah.  When we are facing barriers in life, when we are feeling powerless, when we are so weary we feel faint, when doubts weigh heavily upon our soul, when we need comfort or healing, “those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength and mount up with wings like Eagles.” (v. 31a)  What a marvelous promise from the God who created the universe, the eagle, and each of us!

Hallelujah!  Praise the Lord! (Ps 147:1 and 20)

The Rev. Libby Wade

Grace Episcopal Church

Paducah, KY 42001