This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
Presiding bishop God equipped prophets—and continues with us—to bring hope to God’s people


Sharp sword, polished arrow P


icture this: Surrounded by an alien culture; wor- ried about keeping young


people engaged; a nonfunc- tioning government; a religious establishment in disarray; the economy is a mess; compet- ing and beguiling demands on people’s attention, time and loy- alty; a worship facility in serious need of repair; a dizzying rate of change; and people either tempted to throw out all forms of


the past or to cling mindlessly to tradition for fear of change. Sound familiar? This describes the people of God in exile


in Babylon after the fall of Jerusalem. This was the world to which the prophet Isaiah was called


to speak God’s word of judgment, promise and hope. Isaiah 49:1-7 is the Old Testament reading for Tuesday of Holy Week. It’s the day when our pastors, associates in ministry, deacon- esses and diaconal ministers are invited to renew the vows they made when consecrated, commissioned or ordained. It is the day when the oil for baptism or healing is blessed. It’s a time for these dear servants of the gospel to come to be fed with word and sacrament. It’s also a time to be encouraged to continue their ministry and the ministry entrusted to God’s servants throughout the ages. The world in Isaiah’s time was in turmoil. It’s clear he


doubted anything was being accomplished: “I have labored in vain, I spent my strength for nothing and vanity” (Isaiah 49:4). We feel that way sometimes—the “parking lot meetings”


that take place after church council, years of preaching and teaching about the death and resurrection of Jesus and yet we still argue about which group gets to use the church par- lor (I once had two committees arguing over the use of a slot- ted spoon), or worship wars over styles of music, contention between parishioners while wearing WWJD bracelets. But it is to this wonderful, often frustrating, ever-changing


mission that we have been called and have been equipped. Like Isaiah, God has given us God’s word that has the power of life. And, equipped with God’s word, we are armed with a


50 www.thelutheran.org


Elizabeth A. Eaton


sharp sword and a polished arrow (Isaiah 49:2). It is likely Isaiah might have felt a little underequipped


when contending with kings. After all, in a world that decides the rise and fall of nations with real swords and arrows (or guns, money or political power), the metaphorical weapon of God’s word might seem like a feeble piece of equipment. In difficult, conflicted, intractable situations I sometimes feel a little naked armed only with the word of God. But time and time again God has sent prophets into the breach equipped only with God’s word of life. One can imagine the reaction of opponents armed with


real weapons when faced with the Lord’s servants armed with God’s word. Think: Pharaoh when he saw Moses. The Canaanite kings


It is likely Isaiah might have felt a little underequipped when contending with kings.


when they saw Deborah. The lions when they saw Daniel. Really? Haman when he saw Esther. Goliath when he saw David. An ossified and compromised church when it saw an Augustinian monk. Really? Institutional racism when it saw Martin Luther King Jr. The Montgomery Transit Authority when it saw Rosa Parks. The Salvadoran generals when they saw Oscar Romero. The Liberian warlords when they saw Laymah Gbowee. Death when it saw Jesus hanging on the cross. Really? A culture of cynicism and materialism. A cul- ture gripped by anxiety. The indif- ferent and the hostile. The angry and the desperate … when they see you. Really! “For the message about the cross


is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart’ ” (1 Corinthians 1:18-19). In his commentary on Second Isaiah, Harvard Divinity


School Old Testament professor Paul D. Hanson wrote, “For the human servant called to serve the world-embracing pur- poses of God, one of the chief temptations is to scale back the assignment to human dimensions.” We all do that from time to time. We lose sight of the cross. We are distracted by threat- ening forces around us. But it is to us, we earthen vessels, and for such a time as this that God’s mission has been entrusted. We may not see the fruits of our labor, but through us God will bring hope to God’s people. 


A monthly message from the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Her email address: bishop@elca.org.


MICHAEL D. WATSON


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52