Four years before our nation celebrated its 200th anniversary, there was a delightful musical produced about those uneasy weeks in Philadelphia more than 200 years ago when our Declaration of Independence was being written and signed. Throughout the whole production of 1776, a courier from General Washington keeps breaking in on the proceedings of the Continental Congress with increasingly disheartening news from the New Jersey encampments. The seemingly endless debate drags on ... 85 changes are made in the document ... and 400 words are deleted. Suddenly the courier arrives with the terrible news that General Washington and his troops are in full retreat from New York. The General has but 5,000 volunteers while the
British Regulars number more than 25,000 seasoned veterans. The production is so powerful that even sitting in the audience, you begin to feel the loneliness of Washington and his rag-tag army in the field, fighting for a cause in which no one seems to care. On goes the endless debate in Philadelphia while men are dying of exposure and disease. Finally, the character who portrays John Adams sings a song. It is a song that arises from the depths of his own heart, but it speaks for those in any age who question the ways of God as it asks, Is Anybody There? The song goes on to wonder does anybody care? How often even those with the strongest of faith have uttered that same cry!
There is a forlorn cry in our first reading from Isaiah. Zion, which represents the Israelite nation, wonders if the Lord has forsaken them. Has the Lord forgotten them? And then with reassurance that utilizes one of the strongest bonds of relationship and closeness – a mother with child – God makes it clear to the Israelites – and to us – that we are never forsaken or forgotten by our God. Have you ever been in a similar situation of feeling hopeless, lost and without someone’s care? Or perhaps you are the person to provide such care for another who needs that affirmation and support. Look around you. Is there such a person that comes into your week?