Isaiah 42:1-9
Here the Prophet talks about a new kind of leadership. It's not
exactly clear whether he has an individual leader in mind, or whether he
envisages a reinvigorated nation of Israel offering that leadership to the
peoples of the world. What is interesting, however, is the kind of leadership
he talks about, which will be characterised by a gentle but persistent quest
for justice.
There isn’t an absolute convergence of the two styles of
leadership, but last year’s celebrations of the political leadership of Martin
Luther King and Nelson Mandela surely come to mind when we are thinking about
Isaiah’s new style of leadership. One political commentator remarked that both
men were characterised by a huge ego, a sense that they were destined to lead
their people; so much so in Nelson Mandela’s case that - to the astonishment of
his fellow prisoners - he predicted quite early on during their imprisonment
that one day he would become the first Black president of South Africa. And
Martin Luther King, in particular, did ‘make his voice heard in the street’
unlike the new leader in the prophecy. But, said the commentator, at least
their egos were harnessed to an idea.
Yes, they wanted to be leaders - not people who are led, but they dedicated
their ambition to the service of great ideas and particularly to the gentle but
persistent quest for justice and harmony.
How different this is from the self-serving leadership which
characterises many of our leading politicians. The mock documentary 'The Thick
Of It' depicted shallow politicians and their advisers who were motivated
solely by tomorrow's news headlines. They didn't shape opinion; instead they
slavishly followed it. 'The Thick Of It' was supposed to be a spoof of real political
life but, to the horror of its creator - Armando Iannucchi - many politicians
and political commentators wanted to know who had told him what was going on!
In contrast to these false leaders, the Prophet describes his
vision of a new, gentle but just leader as a living embodiment of God's
covenant, or promise, to the people of the Earth. The leader's mission is to
show its people how things could be different and open their eyes and minds to
new and challenging possibilities, thereby releasing the downtrodden from the
dungeons of despair in which they might otherwise find themselves
entombed.
Again, like Mandela and Luther King, the new leader could be a
single individual - and Jesus comes to mind. But it could also be an entire
nation which is being called to create a template for real justice here and
now. Or the new leader could be a community, like the Church, which is - after
all - the Body of Christ on Earth, with its own mission to carry on his kind of
leadership and be yeast in the leaven, or salt, or light for a needy world.
Part of the greatness of Mandela and Luther King was that they
each managed to persuade a great many people that we all have a role to play in
bring justice and harmony about. We are all destined to play a part in bringing
about the Prophet’s vision of a new world.
Acts 10:34-43
This sermon preached by Peter, one of the first leaders of the
Christian community, describes how Jesus can be understood as the new kind of
leader expected by the Prophet. Like the second Prophet Isaiah, Peter talks
about a leader who is characterised by justice. However, he introduces two new
elements into Isaiah's vision of godly leadership.
First, Jesus is clearly a more spiritual leader. His kingdom is
not of this world. He is more likely to 'appear' to people now when they share
bread and wine with him in Holy Communion. He can't be followed around by
journalists making "a day in the life of" documentaries and he
doesn't go on national campaigns to get himself elected or even - like Martin
Luther King - to overturn an unjust law. Jesus’ attitude is that he will leave
politicians to deal with political issues and concentrate on transforming
individuals and communities from within.
Second, he is a leader who has been made powerful through suffering
and death. Second Isaiah talks in some of his other poems about a suffering
servant who may even have to die for God’s cause, but Peter takes this idea one
stage further and says that it means that he can also be lord and judge of the
dead, as well as of the living.
Jesus' message of peace was directed first to the nation of
Israel but God shows no partiality and so it was always intended to be made
available, through the inspiration of his Spirit and the preaching of his
followers, to all people who believe in him and accept his offer of
forgiveness.
Of course, leaders since who have wished
to mould themselves in his image have had to embrace Jesus’ idea of sacrificial
leadership and be ready to face rejection and even death if necessary in order
to advance the cause of gentle justice. Nelson Mandela spent many years in
prison and Martin Luther King was assassinated, but the same principle applies
in its own small way to each of us. As the Covenant Prayer in the Methodist
Worship Book reminds us, disciples of Jesus may have to endure things which we
don’t like, we may be disregarded instead of being valued and we may end up
with nothing tangible to show for our efforts. That is the nature of following
him.
Matthew 3:13-17
In her Christmas message the Queen evoked the memory of her
coronation in Westminster Abbey 60 years ago. Matthew describes how God's new
leader was anointed not by holy oil in a splendid coronation service, but by
the Holy Spirit at his baptism in the muddy waters of the River Jordan. Kings
and Queens of England have often believed that they had been anointed by God's
Spirit too, with a divine commission to rule over the English nation on God's
behalf, but their actions have sometimes defied that belief.
By contrast, Peter is able to explain in his sermon how the
validity of Jesus' anointing was demonstrated throughout his life and death by
the good that he did and by his ministry of healing and reconciliation. This
proves that he really is the Beloved, chosen leader whose every word and action
was pleasing to God.
Argument raged for a long time in the Church as to whether Jesus
was part of what it means to be God before his baptism, and even before his
birth and conception. The prologue to John's Gospel goes so far as to say that
Jesus must have been part of God even before the creation of the Universe,
whereas some early Christians were content to say that Jesus became God by
adoption at his baptism.
It might seem a rather abstruse and pointless argument, but
actually a great deal hinges on it. The Christian understanding of God is that,
in the person of Jesus, he closed the gulf which separated himself from
humankind and the rest of the created order. But is that really possible if
Jesus only became divine by adoption?
In the end, most Christians agreed that true incarnation
requires a complete identification of God with human existence and creation.
And for that identification to be absolutely complete, God has to be
inseparable from the person of Jesus even before Jesus existed as a distinct
individual and, in fact, for all time. In other words, God must always have
known what it means to live and perish as a human being and Jesus’ gentle quest
for justice must have been part of God’s nature for all time.
(This is a revised version of an article which was first
posted on 5 January 2008)
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