Menders of Broken Walls

Isaiah 58: 6- 12
August 25, 2019
First Presbyterian Church, Sterling IL
Christina Berry

The book of Isaiah is among better known books of the Old Testament. Isaiah, a prophetic book, might actually be better thought of as two or three books. It was written over a period of about 400 years or more, starting sometime in the 8th century BCE and ending around 400 BCE. The first half of Isaiah sets out the God of the covenant, who is judge, ruler, sovereign and savior. As we move into the second half of Isaiah, often called Isaiah two, we see the call of the prophet to obey the covenant: specifically, to be faithful in the practice of justice, righteousness, sabbath, and worship. Let’s read this scripture together responsively as we listen for God’s word to us in Isaiah 58:6-12.

Leader: Isn’t this the fast I choose: releasing wicked restraints, untying the ropes of a yoke, setting free the mistreated, and breaking every yoke?

People: Isn’t it sharing your bread with the hungry and bringing the homeless poor into your house, covering the naked when you see them, and not hiding from your own family?

ALL: Then your light will break out like the dawn, and you will be healed quickly.

Leader: Your own righteousness will walk before you, and the Lord’s glory will be your rear guard.

People: Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and God will say, “I’m here.”

Leader: If you remove the yoke from among you, the finger-pointing, the wicked speech;

People: if you open your heart to the hungry, and provide abundantly for those who are afflicted,

ALL: your light will shine in the darkness, and your gloom will be like the noon.

Leader: The Lord will guide you continually and provide for you, even in parched places. He will rescue your bones.

People: You will be like a watered garden, like a spring of water that won’t run dry.

Leader: They will rebuild ancient ruins on your account; the foundations of generations past you will restore.

People: You will be called Mender of Broken Walls, Restorer of Livable Streets.

Leader: The word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God.


In the verses preceding this reading, we see a bit of dialogue between God, voiced by the prophet Isaiah, and God’s covenant people. The people want a little more recognition, apparently. They’d like a little credit for their efforts.

“Why do we fast and you don’t see;
why afflict ourselves and you don’t notice?” they ask.

Of course they wanted a little pat on the back, some encouragement. Events had not gone well for the Israelites. They hadn’t just had a bad day, or week or month, they’d had a bad couple of decades. They’d gone from milk and honey in the promised land to bitter tears by the waters of Babylon. Their beautiful homeland had become a country in ruins. After Solomon, that great and wise king who had built the temple and unified the nation, they got a new king: Rehoboam.

One preacher sums it up like this: When Solomon’s boy Rehoboam took over the united kingdom, he messed up everything he touched. He favored the rich; taxed the poor; ignored his advisors’ plea to speak to people in a civil tongue; mistreated women; had a stunningly low approval rating but didn’t care because he played only to his inner base of supporters; polarized his nation; enjoyed conflict; did not welcome strangers and foreigners; and sought not what was best for the whole but for his own self-interest. He was the worst leader in the nation’s history.[1]

So the people, trying to figure out what to do, fasted and prayed more.
They somehow thought that their fasting could turn things around.

You know how that happens:
nothing is going right, and you don’t know what to do,
so you do more of what you had been doing before.

We do it ALL. THE. TIME.

The kids are acting awful, so we yell.
They act awfuller, and we yell more.

The car is stuck in the mud, so we press the accelerator.
And the car gets more stuck.

Work is hard and demanding and overwhelming, so we work more.
But somehow we just end up tired and overwhelmed.

So the people were asking God: “We’re fasting! Why aren’t you fixing things?”

They thought that fasting would do the trick to get God’s favor, even though they were cruel, unjust and violent all the rest of the time. But God replies that their fasting is insincere and selfish. They figure it’s a transaction: we fast, God acts. And God acts in the way we want God to act. That’s the deal, right?

God isn’t having it. ”Yet on your fast day you do whatever you want, and oppress all your workers. You quarrel and brawl, and then you fast; you hit each other violently with your fists. You shouldn’t fast as you are doing today if you want to make your voice heard on high.”

The fast of which God approves is not that –
the fast of which God approves is one that seeks justice,
that lifts oppression, that provides for those who are in need.

You can almost see the people, having whined a bit,
having come to the prophet wondering why God
isn’t patting them all on the back and handing out prizes,
now staring down at their sandals.

Oh. So that’s what you want.

Well, now that you put it that way….

This is not a condemnation of fasting and praying. This is a wake-up call that fasting and praying without faithfulness is simply an empty, ritualistic act that means nothing.

With faithfulness, with wholehearted commitment to God,
fasting and praying lead to feeding and providing.
With faithfulness, with unstinting love and gratitude to God,
thoughts and prayers turn to unstinting love for others – even enemies.

The people had a problem, and their solution was to do more of the same.

But God redefines the problem. “Here’s what you do,” God says. “Liberate those who are oppressed and mistreated; feed the hungry; give shelter to the homeless; clothe the naked.”

Does it seem like we might have heard Jesus say something like this?

Also, while I’m listing things, God says, put a stop to the finger-pointing and the wicked speech. It isn’t just a metaphorical call to faithfulness but a concrete call to action. Sometimes our faithfulness is exemplified by actually fixing things.

In our own community, a perfect example of that is that sanctuary wall and our crumbling bell tower. Our church property committee, now and in the past, may have one of the most thankless jobs in the church. They are menders of broken walls, literally, but much of the repair and mending they do is out of sight. Unless we see the damage and the repairs in the spaces of the building where we congregate, we don’t even realize there was a problem, much less a solution. Our latest challenge is mostly a damage you can’t see, unless you are brave enough to climb around on the bell tower. But that damage must be repaired – the broken wall must be mended. This is not an act of selfishness, but an act of faithfulness.

Our church does much to fix what is broken:
providing for those in need,
caring for this community,
binding up the brokenhearted
and speaking out against injustice.

Fixing what is broken is a demonstration of faithfulness. Mending the broken wall of our sanctuary and our bell tower is an act of faithfulness, too. Our building provides sanctuary not only for worship but for those who are seeking help and support, like MOMs group and AA and Youth Outlook. Maintaining our building is a part of that work – our building is a ministry.

Caring for our building is faithfulness. When we are faithful, we faithfully do what God asks. It may seem impossible, as we look at the numbers.How can this small congregation do such a big thing? Margaret Mead said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, concerned citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

Faithfulness to God makes us bold, gives us the audacity to believe that we can accomplish any task, do whatever is needed to heal the world and fix what’s broken. And when we are faithful, we begin to experience God in new ways. The prophet says it poetically: your light will break out like the dawn, and you will be healed; your own righteousness will walk before you, and the Lord’s glory will be your rear guard; you will call, and the Lord will answer; your light will shine in the darkness.

God’s light will shine in us, and we will be stronger in the broken places.
In generations yet to come, this congregation will celebrate more birthdays.
When they remember us, let them say that we were repairers of the breach.
Let it be said of us that we were the foundation on which their church rests.
Let it be said of us that we were Menders of Broken Walls,
and the Restorers of Livable Streets.

And to God alone be the glory.

Amen.




[1] Rev. John Zehring on website “The Christian Citizen” https://medium.com/christian-citizen/on-being-repairers-of-the-breach-c651d1f8b771 accessed 8/24/19