Isaiah 49:1-7; John 1:29-42 Now and Then 1 15 17

What you seek/desire shapes the development of your identity.

The prophet Isaiah lived 700 years before Christ was born. In his time then,
in Jesus time, as we do in our time now, he wrestled with his call and identity.
Isaiah knew that he was formed by God in the womb and he believed the purpose
of his life was given by God. But how that purpose was to be developed was still a
mystery. Isaiah practically poked at God, saying, Ive been doing the work, Im
trying, but the work Ive done so far is in vain. Im not seeing any results. Gods
reassurance to him was that the important aspect of the whole call and response
process was that God chose him for service. That was the blessing. That was the
identity Isaiah was to embody and proclaim to be a chosen child of God. The
whole of Israel was a chosen nation of God. All of creation came to being by the
choice of God. This is who you are, Isaiah, chosen everything else that is done
comes from that core. Isaiah was seeking to do and accomplish. But found it was
in vain. When he finally engaged in a conversation with God about his desire, God
said, you are chosen. Not chosen to do a task and accomplish things, simply, you
are chosen. And always have been chosen. A Beloved child of God. That is all
you need to seek, and that is all you need to be.
It is a wonderful story, and a powerful message, but many of us can relate
to Isaiah, acknowledging that our identity is tied up with what we do with and for
God, more than who we are as children of God.
So much of what we do as individuals and as groups is wrestle with
questions of identity. We say things like, Im not the man I once was. Or, Im not
a little girl any more. Or, after that particular trauma or triumph: Im a changed
person. Then I was x, now I am y. Then I didnt know what I know now. Then is

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remarkably different from Now, but Then certainly informs who we are Now,
doesnt it? What about all of those things we were or thought we were, or the
identity we once held, but dont claim anymore?
Isaiahs experience of being divinely shaped in the womb, feeling
inadequate, and then being reminded of his identity as a chosen person of God
now, can be encouraging for us. No matter what has transpired in the doing
between then and now, our being as children chosen by God, is constant.
What, then, does that mean for our identity as Church? I dont mean the
kind of identity that gives us a name, e.g., what are we known for out there. But
an identity that draws us close to each other and close to God; an identity that
sends us out overcoming our fears of rejection in order to speak a word of hope
and truth; and an identity that is complex enough to hold and feed us when the
going gets tough. Is our communal identity about standing against injustice? Or
about standing for justice? Is our identity tied to deep spirituality fed by music,
prayer and study? Do we relate deeply to being a church that reconciles, teaches,
and celebrates? Are we like Isaiah and the nation of Israel, chosen by God to be a
light to the nations?
Sometimes the answer for individual or communal identity does not come
from within, but is named from the outside. You may not know your best
qualities until you get a birthday card or hear someone else describing you, that
you come to a fuller understanding of who you are.
I cant begin to tell you how many people outside the church have
commented about the banner in front of the sanctuary. Be the Church!

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 Perhaps that is an expression of who we are as a community, or who we
strive to be. Perhaps it is as simple as the words of our mission statement, right in
front of us every week in the bulletin, on the front page of our bylaws, interwoven
into the purpose and tasks of our boards and committees. Who are we?
In the book of John, the gospel writer wanted to get right to the question of
identity. From the get-go in chapter one, he introduced the readers to John the
Baptist. Was he the Messiah? No, but he pointed to the one who was coming.
When Jesus came on the scene, there was no mystery or wondering or
puzzlement as in the other gospel accounts of Jesus life. Jesus arrived, and he
was identified as the Son of God/ the Messiah/ the one everyone had been
waiting for. Where the gospel writer John spent his evangelical energy was
tracing the identity development of those who followed Jesus. In a time of
political unrest, oppression and poverty, identity and purpose were necessary for
the basic quality of dignity that every human needs. What did it mean then, and
what does it mean now, to have the identity of a follower of Christ? The book
of John explores that question.
So John the Baptist pointed out Jesus, and there were individuals who
chose to follow after him. After a while, Jesus stopped and asked those who were
walking behind him a defining question: what are you looking for? What do you
desire? What are you seeking? The disciples were stunned. They didnt know.

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Uhhhhhh. Where are you staying? They couldnt even articulate what it was
they sought and what they desired.
We are still in the season of Epiphany, when the wise men were seeking the
child. As we said last week, they were not answer men, they were the
questioners. They were the seekers, desiring more knowledge and bigger
questions. That search/ their journey, determined their identity as wise. As we
engage the question of our individual identities and our group identity, we, too,
must name what it is that we seek what are we looking for? What do we as one
church among many, desire? Who are we as A PEOPLE of God? Where is our
place of synchronicity?
One source of claiming our desires is found in our prayers. During our time
of sharing joys and concerns, we pray for individuals who are having health
struggles physical illness, disease, injury, addiction, mental illness, surgical
repair, and emotional challenges. What are we looking for in these prayers?
Wholeness.
When we pray about the leadership of our country and the nations of the world
what are we looking for? Direction.
When we pray about violence and warfare, we are looking for peace
When we pray for those who are traveling, we seek safety
We pray in celebration for new birth, anniversaries of weddings, and
reconciliations. In these prayers we express our desire for hope.
And our prayer requests about the people among us those who are new to our
midst, or who have returned after an absence, or family visiting from afar, these
prayers speak to our desire for gratitude.

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We seek wholeness, direction, peace, safety, hope and gratitude. These desires
shape who we are as a community of faith, and help determine how it is that we
articulate that identity.
Finally, we cannot leave without turning to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr., as a source of insight into who we are and who we are becoming as a people
of faith. In his 1967 book, Where do we God from Here? Chaos or Community, he
speaks of identity as a issue of respect and reconciliation. He said it is not so
much who we are, but with whom we identify. Rev. King said,
I choose to identify with the underprivileged. I choose to identify with the
poor. I choose to give my life for the hungry This is the way Im going. It if
means suffering a little bit, Im going that way. If it means sacrificing, Im
going that way. If it means dying for them, Im going that way, because I
heard a voice say, Do something for others.
What is the identity of First Congregational Church of Evanston, United Church of
Christ? The answer is found in the fact that we are chosen by God, like Isaiah; we
are named and identified by those outside the church; our identity is tied to what
it is that we seek and desire as revealed in our prayers; and our identity is
intertwined with those with whom we identify along the way.
Beloved children of God, who you are, what you do, what you seek and
with whom you travel are the elements of your community identity that will
sustain you as you fulfill the ministry God has given to you.
Amen.