“The Lord is able to Take a Remnant and Make it Whole” 1 Kgs 19:9-18; Isa
10:20-22a; Rom. 11:1-5 10/2/11
[Athanasius Contra Mundum]
Have you ever been to “remnant sale?”
I tried to avoid such things,
until we had to do some work on our teeny tiny bathroom and we only
needed about 5’ by 5’ of vinyl flooring.
We didn’t need a whole roll.
But a remnant sale saved the day.
What would have been thrown away was a lifesaver for our little bathroom.
One of the key
concepts of scripture is this concept of a remnant.
The idea is that God is able to take just a few little seeds and
make a whole tree. That was Jesus’
teaching about his kingdom- it was like a mustard seed- the smallest of
seeds that became a tree for shade and for the birds to build nests in.
It appears to me
that the mighty God tries to teach us about our need to be humble and about
His power in the way He uses what is tiny in human eyes to achieve great
things.
Think about it-
Often after a catastrophe it is a remnant that rebuilds and fills the
earth. This is part of the lesson
of Noah- where just a few people were left.
It is part of the lesson of Lot after Sodom and Gommorah were
destroyed- Lot and his daughters were the seed that became the Moabite and
Ammonite peoples. There was
much talk among the prophets about the Lord providing a fresh start
through a remnant after the fall of Judah and Jerusalem.
It is clear that
even in the worst of times, God leaves a few faithful- as His witnesses.
Never is the truth of God totally snuffed out, because despite all
our sin and rebellion, we cannot snuff out the existence or the love or the
hope of God. I believe that is also
true inside of us. Some of you have
messed up so much that it is hard for you to easily see or think of God- but
there is a remnant of faith there- a seed- waiting for you to say yes- and
open up your heart to let that remnant of faith grow.
There were times
when it seemed that the church was shrinking so fast that it would be in
danger of being wiped off the face of the earth.
We are not, by the way, in those times now.
Though denominations have been shrinking, non-denominational churches
have been growing. This church is
an exception in that regard. But in
the year 2000 the number of non-denominational churches passed the number
of denominational churches, and they have not looked back.
But the church is exploding in China and India.
There are twice as many Presbyterians in Korea than in the United States.
But there have
been times, and we are taught to be aware of them, when
all that was left was a remnant- a small portion of its former self.
During the time of Elijah- he said he was the only prophet of the
Lord left. But the Lord reminded
him that he had 7,000 who had not worshipped Baal yet.
There was and is a natural tendency toward idolatry- toward the worship
of other gods- toward thinking it doesn’t matter what you believe.
Idolatry and syncretism has always been a fire waiting to consume
the kindling of the church.
Perhaps you remember that in the time of Jesus there were only a few who
were actively seeking the Messiah- like Simeon or Anna in the Temple.
When Christ came, he started with twelve and there was a time when all of
them ran away. When Christ died
on the cross it seemed to the outside observer that the messianic Christian
faith was finished. But the
mustard seed was germinating and now the church has spread all over the world.
The Lord may be pruning us, but there is much growth in other places.
Isaiah and
Jeremiah spoke a lot about a remnant.
One of the great verses that we read during Advent and Christmas says, “A
shoot shall come forth out of the stump of Jesse.”
In other words, a remnant of life is left in the stump and it
starts growing again. I think in
some ways about this church. How in
1982 when some left our church there were naysayers who said we would
never survive. Then in 2001
when some left there again were people who said we would not survive the crisis.
But the good news is that God never left us.
He has provided strong growth and we are thriving church compared
to most churches in our presbytery or even in our country.
That doesn’t mean we are perfect, or that we have it all together,
or that we have no needs. But
it does mean – and the key to this passage is this- God can take a remnant and
make it bear fruit for Him. I am
convinced that God is not through rebuilding us, shaping us, pruning us,
nurturing us. Someone told
Zechariah after the remnant returned from the exile that they were not as strong
as they used to be, and the Temple was much smaller than the magnificent Temple
of Solomon. The Lord spoke through
Zechariah to the people- and He speaks to us- “do not despise the day of
small things.” In other
words- do not try to squelch progress with negativity.
In Nehemiah’s day when the remnant came back, the outside peoples
criticized him, made fun of him, and even threatened physically to stop him from
building up the wall of Jerusalem.
They said it couldn’t be done- but Nehemiah and the people did it with God’s
help. We are not called to
listen to the naysayers who say we are as good as dead.
Just as God was able to raise Christ up- He continually raises up His
church.
In 1789 the
General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church sent a pastoral letter to all
the churches saying: a solemn admonition by the ministers of religion and other
church officers in General Assembly convened, has become our indispensable duty
. . . A solemn crisis has arrived, in which we are called to the most serious
contemplation of the moral causes which have produced it, and the measures which
it becomes us to pursue . . . Formality and deadness, not to say hypocrisy; a
contempt of vital godliness, and the spirit of fervent piety;
a desertion of the ordinances, or a cold and unprofitable attendance upon
them, visibly pervade every part of the Church, and certain men have crept in
amongst us, who have denied, or attempt to explain away the pure doctrines of
the gospel; to introduce pernicious errors which were either not named, or named
with abhorrence, but which have, within a few years since, been embraced by
deluded multitudes . . . God hath a controversy with us – Let us prostrate
ourselves before him! Let the deepest humiliation and sincerest repentance
mark our sense of national sins;
Deism and skepticism and a moral malaise pervaded our country after the American
Revolutionary War. However,
within a year after saying this- asking us to humbly come before God the
Second Great Awakening broke out- led by Presbyterian, Timothy Dwight at
Yale University; and Presbyterian James McGready at Cane Ridge Kentucky.
We can pray- that God would do it again.
But it starts with our repentance and humility before Him and His
scriptures.
Elijah
felt he was the only remnant left- that was not true.
God told him there were 7,000 left- and implied that he needed to seek
fellowship with them. Think of
a quilt. We have a patch quilt made
of just old clothes- remnants- put together to form a beautiful quilt.
God did not just sympathize with Elijah, he cared for Him.
Sent his angel to feed him.
Sent him help. Told him of others.
This message
is a message of hope.
Remember the remnant. Remember
that it was from Abraham’s 100 year old seed and Sarah’s dried up womb that the
people of faith came (that includes Christians)- and the people of faith
outnumber the sand on the shore and the stars in the sky.
Communion for us is
special. It is a reminder that God
can take something as small and secularly insignificant as the cross and fan it
into a flame that burns bright for the world to see.
So I invite you when you receive the
bread and wine- to remember what God can do- and to have hope.