總有出路

這個星期給以賽亞書 43: 14-21 深深吸引. 所以, 不論婚禮訓勉, 靈修分享和講道都環繞這主題. 早上崇拜講道後, 就會與一位 13 年前的學生及其先生一起吃午飯. 隨即, 就要出席一個由 Roundtable 主持的講座, 題目是宗教衝突對國際秩序的影響. 晚上, 就會同parents in law一起晚餐.

Text: Isa 43: 14-21 (There is always a way out)

Since we are so used to the material interpretation of the concept of creation out of nothing, the newness of that 'I (God) am about to do a new thing' (Isa 43:19) is mostly understood nothing related to the previous or the past. In fact, what creation out of nothing is concerned is about the meaningfulness instead of the origin of existence. Also with the deep influence of capitalism, the newness is more identified with replacement of the old, for the old has to go in order that the mechanism of capitalism can smoothly function. Such kind of understanding is very un-ecological.

The rise of the ecological consciousness in the last 40 years reminds us that the newness is more appropriate to be understood in the light of renewal, rebirth or regeneration of the old. The ecological interpretation tells us that the old would not be thrown away or destroyed due to the emergence of the new, but rather the new is a kind of continuity and discontinuity of the old. This is a common theme found in the Bible. The new covenant symbolized by the gospel is not to replace the old symbolized by the law, but the new regenerates the old. Likewise, circumcision practiced in the old covenant is not replaced by the baptism practiced in the new, but the old is not understood exclusively. Resurrection of the body is new, not in a sense of against the body, but in relation to the body in a sense of discontinuity and continuity.

However, you may not find the interpretation correct, for this is not what the text means (Isa 43:14-21), because the Israelites were asked not to remember the former things and consider the things of old (v.18). Ironically, it was God who reminded the Israelities the Exodus event. (v.16-17) The Exodus event was the former thing, but the Israelites who could believe in what God promised in verses 19-20 were dependent upon the remembrance of Exodus event. This ambiguity brings us to reconsider what the former things and the things of the old are in God’s request. In short, Israelites were in exile at that time, and this was why many passages of God’s promise of salvation were found in different chapters of Isaiah. In this context, the former and the old were most likely referred to the so-called glorious time, the Israel nation. In other words, the exiled people considered that the restoration of the nation was the realization of God’s salvation. This was also the belief of the Israelites during the time of Jesus. With this understanding, God’s request of not to remember the former things and the things of the old was to urge the Israelites not to have any dream of restoration of the Israelite nation. Despite this, God still saved them by making them a new people (v.21), and God’s providence was found in their lives. (v.19-20)

However, the application of this passage has to be careful. For instance, does this passage say no to Uighur Christians in Xinjiang, if any, asking for independence? Should they accept the reality? Likewise, does this message say no to Sun Yat Sen’s revolutionary movement against the Ching government? It can’t be denied that the Bible is spoken to the people at that time, but is not restricted to it. If so, how can we understand this passage in a very different context? A common practice is that Christians ignore the context and read the text from a personal sense. What I mean is that Christians just replace the Israelite concern with our own experience. An example of this is the story of the Lutheran Theological Seminary. In the mid 1980s, the old campus of the LTS was under the threat of the confiscation, for the government might have to use the land for building the Shing Mun’s Tunnel. This text (v.19) became the promise as well as the comfort for the president of LTS at that time. That is to say, God would provide a new campus for LTS. This is why the text inscribed on the cross in LTS’s campus. In order not to interpret the text as our wish, I think the key is verse 21, that is, God is going to create the people to declare God’s wondrous act. This new community is created not based on nationalism, but based on the relationship with God. In fact, the promise of a new community is not new, but rather Israelites had forgotten it, because they were absorbed to national identity. Nevertheless, the identity of being God’s people is not in contrast with one’s national identity, but they are not the same. In other words, don’t abuse the name of God for fighting one’s political aim, but there is nothing wrong to fight for political aim as a Christian. The identity of being God’s people still continues even though one has lost the national identity. In fact, one of the reasons of contemporary Israelite and Palestinian conflict is that the Israelites subject being God’s people to the land’s people.

Unlike the Israelites, we Christians are easier to understand being the worshipping community mentioned in verse 21. However, we should not turn the worshipping community into a ghetto characterized by lifestyle, but rather we are asked to declare and witness to God’s wondrous act. What is God’s wondrous act? According to the text, it is God’s promise of salvation. In Chinese, God’s promise is 總有出路 (there is always a way out). Those who are fallen in a very difficult relation always have a way out. Even though it may end up in divorce, God still makes a way in wilderness, and rivers in desert. Likewise, those who have had a very difficult financial burden always have a way out. A way out does not mean to release all financial burden, but rather bankruptcy, if happens, is not the end of the world.

When the Lord said, 'I am about to do a new thing', it is not about destruction. Neither is it a return to the previous glorious stage. Rather it is a promise of salvation. It requests us to have the courage to be separated from the ideology that we are identified with, and at the same time, to believe that we have future even though it seems impossible. The emergence of the worshipping community is a witness to it.