I Will Not Forget

It was carved by a man by the name of Jones in Liberia in western Africa and given to one of our missionaries there to bring to the US, and she gave it to me 5 years ago, and I keep it on the corner of my desk.

On the bottom is carved the citation Isaiah 49:15, which we heard in our lesson this evening.

The people of Israel had been enslaved in exile in Babylon.

They are in mourning for their lost land, their lost relatives, their lost way of life, and for some, their lost God.

It is truly a sad and miserable time for many.

Shall they just forget the Lord God and everything about old Israel?

Many do, and simply disappear into the melting pot of mid-eastern peoples.

A few are willing to listen to this prophet that we call Isaiah who brings a message of hope that things will be different, that God has not forgotten his people.

Should they bother to listen?

Some try to get comfortable in their misery.

Some accommodate themselves to the new reality.

But a few listen to Isaiah, and the word-images which he uses stir at least a few of the people to hang on:

-Mountains become a road...

-Bare heights turned into pasture...

-Springs wherever they are needed...

-People coming from all points of the compass...

-A woman so devoted to a nursing child...

The images tumble over one another, verse after verse in Isaiah's message to the people in exile.

They lead to verse 15, which was cited on the bottom of that wood carving:

Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.

Then the Lord says that he has inscribed us on his hand.

As we might write an important phone number or some other vital information on our hand that had to be done right away.

The Lord does not want to neglect or forget us; we're written there for instant recall.

Has everyone had a chance to see the wood-carving?

We can sense how the carver was holding it to finish his work.

A very tender feeling comes across to me when I hold it.

Perhaps you sense that also.

The carving is to represent the hand of God which is tenderly holding Israel even in exile, in the words of the prophet.

“I will not forget you” says the Lord, and will cradle you all in my palm,

the palm that is marked with the nail-prints of Christ's suffering on the cross.

What an important statement of the Good News for this day!

Loneliness and sorrow are not pleasant companions for us to have.

They make time drag and friends flee.

But the word of the Lord through the prophet Isaiah does not mean to leave us stuck in loneliness or sorrow.

He means to involve all of creation with us in a hymn of praise:

Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;

Break forth, O mountains, into singing!

For the Lord has comforted his people,

and will have compassion on his suffering ones. (49:13)

And Jesus echoes that intention:

Blessed are those who mourn; for they will be comforted.

Just as the Psalmist had said in his turn:

...the merciful goodness of the Lord endures forever on those who fear him....

Our memories grow dim, and stones in the cemetery will one day wear away.

The burial service is very matter-of-fact:

“...earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust...”

But the other part of that sentence in the burial service is equally matter of fact: “We commend to Almighty God our brother or sister....” in trust and confidence.

Today we're borrowing the words of the prophet in our sorrow, and have blessed this carving with our touch as we have passed it around the room.

It is the hand of God that now holds all those of our beloved memory,

and the voice of God that says again

“yet I will not forget you.”

Let all the people say Amen.

Please note: The preceding sermon is provided as a resource for the thought, prayer, and meditation of the members and friends of St. Mark's. It is the residue of a verbal event, and thus it does not have academic footnotes and other details that would be expected in a written document. The writer gladly acknowledges the prior thought and work of many Christians before him.