A mother approached the great Teacher for assistance with a domestic problem. "My son has horrible eating habits," she said. "Please, he will listen to you if you tell him to stop eating foods with so much sugar."

The teacher listened sympathetically. I ask that you come back next week and make the request again."

The mother agreed and returned seven days later. "My son's problem continues," she said. I am greatly concerned about his health. He rarely eats vegetables or fruits. Please, won't you talk to him about he the danger of eating too much sugar."

Please, come back and see me in a week, " the Teacher said simply.

Though the mother was disappointed, she left and returned one week later. Once again she made her plea. This time the Teacher agreed to talk with her son.

When the conversation was completed, the mother thanked the Teacher. "I am grateful that you took the time to talk to my son, but I don't understand why it took three requests for you to do so."

The Teacher looked at the woman and said, "I didn't realize how hard it would be for me to give up sugar."

Someone might say, "Was it really all that important for the teacher to give up sugar?" The answer might be, "Sure. He had to practice what he preached." But I think the answer goes deeper than that. Let's look at our scripture a little closer.

Chapter 42 of Isaiah comes from a section of Isaiah's writings that reflect the situation and culture of the Israelite people who are in exile in Babylon. In case you don't know anything about Babylon, it's an ancient city no longer in existence situated near Baghdad in the modern country of Iraq. We have a lot of negative images and feelings of Baghdad and Iraq, and the Israelite people's negative image of Babylon 2600 years ago is just as bad, if not worse. The writer and the people of Israel are in mourning for their country which has been destroyed by the invading army of Babylon. They are filled with grief, hopelessness, and questions. Why did this happen to us? What is to become of us? How could we have avoided this? Where is God? In trying to make sense of their predicament, the writer comes up with a novel idea that not only helped to make sense to them, but also gave insight to Christians centuries later as they tried to explain and proclaim Christ to the world.

The answer was that, even though God was punishing Israel for her grievous sins against God, God was using Israel to help bring the people and nations of the earth into the saving grace of God. Thus came the image of the suffering servant, that Israel's suffering would be used on behalf of others. She would suffer horribly as a substitute for others so that their sins might be taken away, much like the sacrificial system of Israel. In that system, an animal was sacrificed as a substitute for the people who had sinned, and the sins would be taken away because of that sacrifice. What Israel understood was that her suffering, pain, and exile had a divine purpose that would awaken the souls of the world around her. She suffered so that others didn't have to suffer. She paid the price so that the world might be saved. This was her national purpose.

The first Christians observed the death of Jesus, the promised one that they believed that God sent into the world to save Israel. How to make sense of this death filled with pain, suffering, and the loss of hope? The first Christians were Jews, and so they searched their scriptures, in such books as Isaiah, and found this idea of the suffering servant which helped to also explain the life and purpose of the crucified and resurrected Jesus. Jesus died for our sins. He died so that we might live. Jesus was the suffering servant sacrificed for us.

So, while the function is the same, the servant is different. In Isaiah's time, the servant was the whole nation of Israel. In Christian times, the servant was a particular person, Jesus. Both ideas are valid and necessary to make sense of the servant who brings justice to the nations. Let's look at the Christian interpretation first.

As I said, Jesus is the suffering servant, the one who died for all of us, taking the pain, suffering, sin, and death upon himself, dying in our place. A particular person, the one through whom we must come in order to receive the forgiving grace of God.

As true as this identification and understanding of Jesus for us Christians may be, there is a problem. We look at Jesus as the suffering servant and at what he has done for us personally, but we neglect to consider our role. The problem is, we don't think that we have any part in the promise and role of the suffering servant other than to recognize and receive Jesus as Lord and Savior.

As important as that is, we need to look at and appropriate the whole picture. You see, both the Jewish religion and the Christian religion are community religions, which means that God speaks to the whole people of God and not just to individuals. Yes, some people do get a direct word from God; yet all of us receive God's word through our worship and ministry and fellowship together as God's people, the Church. In the Old Testament, God spoke to the people of Israel, and in the New Testament God spoke to the people of Christ, the church. In fact, writers like the Apostle Paul called the Christians the "Body of Christ." We identify with Christ as we fulfill our call to discipleship, and we fulfill that call as the Church, the body of Christ, not just as individuals.

Thus, God's purposes have been fulfilled through a people and through one particular person, first through the Jewish people and then through the Christian Church, and through Christ himself. And what does Isaiah say that purpose is? To bring justice to the nations. And what did Isaiah mean by justice?

Simply this: justice describes the activity of the servant. In verses one through four, justice is directed to the nations, will be a part of the structure of the earth itself, and will be reliable. These verses go further to say that justice is not rooted in the public display of power; that justice is not taking judgment to its logical conclusion, but in fact nurtures what good is left; and that justice requires a dogged pursuit of all that is good.

Do we hear what Isaiah is saying? The work of the Lord is justice; the work of the suffering servant Jesus is justice; the work of God's people, whether it be Israel or the Christian church, is justice. In fact, justice permeates all of creation, and everything that Christ has done and everything that we Christians do in the name of Christ is justice. When we feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, clothe the naked, sit with the sick, visit the imprisoned, welcome the stranger, we have done justice. And it is also justice when we preach good news to those who do not know God, when we offer spiritual freedom to those who are bound by sin, when we bring salvation to those who do not know God, when we grant forgiveness and acceptance to those who have been rejected and unloved, when we live each day as Christ would live and as if Christ walks this earth today.

Because you see, Christ does walk this earth today. Christ walks the earth in our shoes, the disciples who follow Christ. And until we live as Christ lived, we cannot ask others and lead others to live as Christ. We cannot ask people to be disciples if we are not disciples. We cannot ask a young man to give up sugar because it's bad for his health if we have not given up sugar first. You can take the analogy from there.

It is more than practicing what we preach. As followers of Christ, we take upon ourselves like Christ did the sins of the world. Because we are the Body of Christ, the Church, we have to give up sin ourselves before we can ask others to give up sin. We have to constantly ask for forgiveness so that others may receive forgiveness. We have to let Christ work first through us before we can preach and share Good News to the poor, to those who have no good news in their lives. The best witness is one who has already walked in my shoes and has found a better way.

The better way that we offer the world is Jesus the Christ. It was through Christ that God came to us and brought love and grace into our lives. It is through us that God in Christ continues to come and bring love and grace into the world. As followers and disciples of Christ, we continue to bear the sins of the world and suffer for it as God's suffering servants. All so that God's justice can transform the world into one that not only knows but follows Christ.

Are we ready to give up our sugar, whatever that may be, so that our words have credibility and will be believed? People will not listen to people actively involved in sin, but they will listen to someone who has conquered sin. What are you willing to sacrifice for the sake of the gospel, so that justice may come to this earth?