January 2nd and 9th

Isaiah 60:1-6
Arise and Shine!

It's a new year – a brand new year, and the prophet Isaiah says it's time to arise, throw away our restful rockers, and become, if you will, a Rockin' Church.

There’s a woman - let's call her Mabel. She's 74, or 84 or 94 years old. Maybe she's you or me in a few years. Maybe she's you now, or someone you know. Erik Max Francis, in his poem, "In Her Rocking Chair," writes about her:

“She watches the cracks in the walls
And plays with the dust on the window
She plays solitaire, over and over
And never quite seems to be able to win
Her arthritis is worse, and her eyes are weak
Her knees ache when she tries to stand
And her back won't hold her quite upright
The doctor can only say, "There's nothing I can do...."

When we think of older people, we often see them in our mind’s eye sitting in rocking chairs - perhaps a couple on the front porch happily going back and forth, back and forth, in their rocking chairs. The truth is, rocking really does bring some peace of mind. It’s common knowledge a gentle rocking motion has a soothing effect on babies. The same goes for those of us who are older as well. It’s relaxing, isn’t it, to rock back and forth in a rocking chair?

The rocking chair – essentially an American object – is as old as the country itself. There are even records of rocking cradles made of hollowed-out logs that date back a thousand years, but making a chair for adults was an 18th-century innovation. Rocking chairs are still very popular. There's something timeless about a rocker ... as if there isn't a thing to do, nowhere to go, nothing to think, just rock and rock and rock and…

Ahhhh, comfort. We all want comfort. Even on Sunday mornings, especially if the seats are old and hard. Too bad church sanctuaries aren't equipped with a rocker like this instead of rigid old pews. Sitting in a rocker every week could easily become a habit... .

Yes. Imagine… here in the sanctuary, row upon row of rocking worshipers, lazily listening to this lazy preacher preach from my own rocker. We’d be a comfy church, a quiet church. This would be a calming place ... soothing sleepy souls....

But is that what really God wants? Is that what Isaiah suggests? A sleepy church rocked like a baby into self-satisfaction? A sanctuary full of rockers might be perfect - for a dying church, a tired church, content with things as they are, or a church lacking spiritual vision, just sitting there, watching paint peel, plaster crack and dust collect?

Are we called to be a ‘Rocking Chair’ church or a ‘Rockin’ church?
Isaiah says it's time to "ARISE" [leap from your rocking chair] - to throw away those rocking chairs.

I think Isaiah is calling us to be a ‘Rockin’ church:
- A church powered by prayer, the Holy Spirit, and a God-given creativity.
- A church that welcomes new ideas and isn't afraid of failure.
- A church committed to its members being ministers doing ministry.
- A church trying to solve its problems rather than ignoring them.
- A church discovering the needs of the greater community and doing something.
- A church people want to participate in, by becoming interesting and stimulating.

Isaiah says, “Arise, shine! For your light has come!” As a church, we have to get up and get going because our Redeemer has come and is among us. Jesus didn't do ministry then, and he doesn't do ministry now from a rocking chair! I invite you to stand up now (as you are able), acknowledging our light has come, and repeat after me –

The glory of the Lord has risen upon us.
The glory of the Lord has risen upon us.
If we look to God
If we look to God
We shall come into the light and be happy.
We shall come into the light and be happy.
Our hearts will be full of joy and excitement.
Our hearts will be full of joy and excitement.
The blessings of the Lord will come upon us.
The blessings of the Lord will come upon us.
We will arise. We will shine!
We will arise. We will shine!