Just look at the Persian Emperor Cyrus and what Isaiah said about him. 

“Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus…

 whose right hand I have grasped,

 to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings…

 I will go before you and level the exalted places,

 I will break in peaces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron…”

God blessed Cyrus big time. By the way the fact that Cyrus is called God’s anointed is very important.  That’s because the Hebrew word for anointed is messiah.  So, what Isaiah really said was, “Thus says the LORD to his messiah Cyrus”

Cyrus was God’s “other” messiah.

In order to understand why Cyrus was God’s other messiah let me give you a brief 20 second history lesson. When Cyrus came to the throne in Persia the Jews were in exile in the neighboring kingdom of Babylon.  They had been humiliated and living in Babylon for eighty years. Cyrus defeated the Babylonians though and one of the first things he did was issue an order that allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem.  It was a miracle.  It was a gift from God. Just as God used Moses to lead the Jewish people out of Egypt, now God was using Cyrus to lead the Jewish people out of Babylon.

That’s why Cyrus was God’s other messiah and that’s why God blessed him.  God did that even though Cyrus wasn’t one of God’s Chosen People. God did that even though Cyrus didn’t know that this God of the Jews even existed. God gave Cyrus all the tools he needs to triumph even though God said “you do not know me…” 

When you look at what happened to Cyrus you begin to understand that it’s really simple. God will bless anyone who does His Will, any person, any people, any nation.

If we do God’s Will then God will bless us. If we don’t do God’s Will then God will not bless us. And it doesn’t matter how often the politicians invoke God’s name and God’s blessing in their lofty speeches.

So let’s take an honest look at what’s going on in this great land of ours.  Stores are open on Sunday.  Why?  So, the greedy can make more money. Soccer games are held on Sunday morning?  Why? Because it’s part of what the pursuit of happiness is all about. Foul language on television, violence in video games, poverty, racism, global warming and the current market meltdown are all signs of a nation that is drifting away from God. Just the other day I learned that some high schools are now offering day care for their students who are unwed teenage mothers.

You can also see that we’re drifting away from God in a conversation that a high teacher had with a school superintendent.  The teacher was being interviewed for a job.  Toward the end of the interview the teacher let out a big sigh.  “Let me see if I've got this right,” she said. “You want me to go into that room with all those kids. You want me to correct their disruptive behavior, observe them for signs of abuse, monitor their dress habits, censor their T-shirt messages, and instill in them a love for learning. You want me to check their backpacks for weapons, wage war on drugs and sexually transmitted diseases, and raise their sense of self esteem and personal pride.  You want me to make sure they pass their state exams and to teach them patriotism and good citizenship, sportsmanship and fair play and communicate regularly with their parents by letter, telephone, newsletter, and report card. You want me to do all this with a piece of chalk, a blackboard, a bulletin board, a few books, a big smile, and a starting salary that qualifies me for food stamps. You want me to do all this and then you tell me.................I CAN’T PRAY?!!?

When the Pilgrim came to these shores they talked about building a shining city upon a hill.  That’s right out of the Sermon on the Mount. If we don’t get back to doing that it isn’t going to matter how many times the politicians say, “God bless America.”

God will simply go out and find someone else to do His will.

Rochelle Melander is an author who has written a number of religious books including “Our Lives Are Not Our Own: Saying Yes To God.”  In one of her books she tells a story about a misunderstanding she had one day with her daughter.  This is what she wrote, “My daughter was watching television in the family room while I sorted mail on the dining room table. I heard her yell, "I want Jesus. Jesus!!!! I waaant Jesus." Thinking she needed some sort of spiritual help…I ran to the back room and asked, "What do you mean you want Jesus?" She looked at me like I imagine she will during her teenaged years and yelled, "Cheez-Its! I said, 'Cheez-Its.' I waaant Cheez-Its." Leaving the room, I thought how easy it is to misunderstand one another, even about something as simple as Cheez-Its.”

Rochelle Melander told this story as an illustration of how easy it is to misunderstand each other.  It also occurred to me that it’s a story that illustrates the different priorities we have in this country. Which is more important for us?  Cheezits and the good life or Jesus and the abundant life? 

The answer to that question is scary but I’m optimistic. I choose to face these challenging times with the same attitude that kept an elderly woman going after she broke her leg.  After the doctor put the cast on her leg he told her not to go up and down the stairs to her third floor apartment.  A few months later the elderly woman went back to the doctor.  After the cast was taken off her leg the doctor told the elderly woman she could go back to climbing the stairs.  The elderly woman smiled.  “That’s great,” she said.  “I was getting tired of shinnying up and down that drain pipe.”

I believe that God’s people can make a difference. I believe that each of us can make a difference.  That’s why it’s important that God’s people fill the pews on Sunday morning.  That’s why it’s important that God’s people live their faith the other six days of the week.  That’s why it’s important for God’s people to use our faith when it comes to choosing our leaders. When we do that we will be blessed by God.  Just ask God’s “other” messiah.  Amen.

Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes

October 19, 2008