The City on Whisky Hill

The Rev. Dr. Skip Ferguson

Manassas Presbyterian Church

Manassas, Virginia

January 8, 2017

The City on Whisky Hill

Isaiah 42:1-4

Here is my servant, whom I uphold,

my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my spirit upon him;

he will bring forth justice to the nations.

He will not cry or lift up his voice,

or make it heard in the street;

a bruised reed he will not break,

and a dimly burning wick he will not quench;

he will faithfully bring forth justice.

He will not grow faint or be crushed

until he has established justice in the earth;

and the coastlands wait for his teaching.

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A prophecy – is that what our text is?

Is that what it was as Isaiah spoke those words

so many centuries ago?

Was Isaiah speaking of the one who was to come,

the one whose birthday we just celebrated –

our Lord Jesus Christ?

“My chosen, in whom my soul delights;

…he will bring forth justice to the nations.”

Surely, those words fit our Lord perfectly.

But to read our text that way and leave it there

is to stop too soon.

We need to read with deeper eyes,

for deeper meaning.

This is an expansive text,

a text that speaks, yes, to Christ;

but it also speaks to you and to me.

This is a text for all of us who follow Christ,

all of us called to the challenging work of ministry

in the name of Jesus Christ.

This text complements the text we heard last week

from Paul’s letter to the Romans,

for it tells us how we are called to live our lives,

and go about our work as disciples,

as ministers, each of us.

We are to go about our work with conviction, of course,

as well as enthusiasm and energy,

empowered as we are by God’s Holy Spirit.

But we are not to do so in a showy, splashy way.

“He will not cry or lift up his voice,

or make it heard in the street,”

our text tells us.

Or, as Eugene Peterson words it in the Message,

“He won’t call attention to what he does

with loud speeches or gaudy parades.”

In other words, we are to work faithfully,

but quietly, calmly,

patiently.

And what is our work?

Nothing less than to help our Lord Jesus

bring justice to all the nations,

to establish justice on all the earth.

And Scripture helps us

to understand what justice is:

Through the prophet Isaiah, we hear:

Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;

…cease to do evil,

learn to do good;
seek justice,

rescue the oppressed,

defend the orphan,

plead for the widow.

(Isaiah 1:15ff)

And through the prophet Micah,

“He has told you, O mortal, what is good;

and what does the Lord require of you

but to do justice,

and to love kindness,

and to walk humbly with your God?

The painful truth is that too often

we’ve interpreted the call to bring “justice”

to the world,

as a call to bring judgment to the world;

that we Christians see ourselves

as the chosen, the favored,

and so we can judge others,

and we do so in ways that at best condescends,

and at worst, brings violence to others.

No: we are to walk humbly as we bring justice,

justice pursued zealously,

energetically,

joyfully;

And also, as our text reminds us,

with care, concern,

and often a gentle hand,

“a bruised reed he will not break

and a dimly burning wick he will not quench;”

“A dimly burning wick” –

how easy it is to look at a dimly burning wick

and dismiss it,

scoff at it,

let it burn itself out,

             

Yet, our lesson teaches us

that if we follow our Lord faithfully

we are to cup our hands around

the dimly burning wick,

the flame that is struggling,

and help it, tend it,

bring it to life,

until it can burn strong on its own.

In April 1630, almost 400 years ago,

a fleet of ships set sail from England

bound for what those on board called

“the new world.”

They would establish

what would become the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

The leader of that group of immigrants

was a wealthy English lawyer and landowner

named John Winthrop,

aboard the Arabella.

The voyage would take more than two months,

more than 60 days to cross from England

to the Massachusetts coast.

Can you even imagine that?

In a day when you or I can board a jet

at Dulles and land in London

in less than 6 hours – 60 days!

Two months at sea:

all aboard facing furious storms,

heaving, swelling seas,

and also days becalmed,

still in the water,

not a whisper of a breeze to fill the sails,

to move them closer to their new home.

Two months gave Winthrop time to think, ponder,

and then write,

write a sermon for all called,

“A Model of Christian Charity”.

Winthrop’s sermon was filled with words of instruction,

words of guidance,

and words of hope

for what he and all might become

in their new land, their new home.

What he longed for for himself and

for his brothers and sisters in faith

was that they become a model of

Christianity community,

a model of what he called Christian charity,

charity meaning here goodwill, compassion,

consideration for others,

simple kindness.

He concluded his sermon with these words:

“Consider that we shall be

as a City upon a Hill,

the eyes of all people upon us.”

The image Winthrop used came from

our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount,

that beautiful sermon in Matthew’s gospel

that begins with the beatitudes:

Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst

for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful,

for they will receive mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

Jesus then goes on to say,

“You are the light of the world.

A city built on a hill cannot be hid.

No one after lighting a lamp

puts it under the bushel basket,

but on the lampstand,

and it gives light to all in the house.

In the same way, let your light shine before others,

so that they may see your good works

and give glory to your Father in heaven.”

We are lights, all of us,

and, like a city on a hill,

we are there for all to see,

letting the world see our light shine

through our good works,

through our “charity”, to use Winthrop’s term,

“charity” in the broadest sense.

It is particularly fitting that we embrace that idea

that we are a city on a hill,

for our church is on the highest point in Manassas.

I was told this shortly after I became pastor here,

and I remember the person quickly following up

with a wry smile,

telling me that the hill

on which our church sits

had long been known as Whisky Hill.

So there we are as we begin our 150^th year—

a City on Whisky Hill!

We have work to do,

lives to live individually and together

as followers of Christ.

As John Winthrop would have us do,

“we must delight in each other,

make other’s conditions are own,

rejoice together,

mourn together,

keeping the unity of the spirit

in the bond of peace.”

Last week we heard from Paul’s letter to the Romans;

and they are words that complement Winthrop’s sermon

words well worth hearing again

to help us shine our lights:

“Let love be genuine;

…hold fast to what is good;

love one another with mutual affection;

outdo one another in showing honor.

Do not lag in zeal,

be ardent in spirit,

serve the Lord.

Rejoice in hope,

be patient in suffering,

persevere in prayer.

Contribute to the needs of the saints;

extend hospitality to strangers.

Bless those who persecute you;

bless and do not curse them.

Rejoice with those who rejoice,

weep with those who weep.

Live in harmony with one another;

do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly;

do not claim to be wiser than you are.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil,

but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.”

In a fractious, angry,

selfie,

polarized world,

it is no easy task to live

as Paul tells us we should,

as Winthrop would have us do:

as light to all the world.

But our Lord is with us,

to teach us, guide us,

encourage us

with the Spirit empowering and enabling us.

So let us shine brightly this 150^th year,

brightly for all the world to see,

we,

proud disciples of Christ,

a city on Whisky Hill.

AMEN