“Tikkun Olam”

“Tikkun Olam”

Text: Isaiah 58:1-12

© February 21, 2007 by C. Edward Bowen

A woman was on an airplane flight from Switzerland back to the United States. And as they do on long flights like that, part way into the journey the flight attendants served dinner to everyone. But as soon as that woman took the lid off her tray, the very first thing she did was she opened the salt and pepper packets and poured them all over the piece of cake that was there for dessert. When the flight attendant saw what the woman was doing, the flight attendant said, “Ma’am, you really don’t need to put salt and pepper on your cake. The cake is quite delicious just the way it is.” The woman said, “I know. So that’s why I put the salt and pepper on it. I’m trying to lose some weight, and I figured that pouring all that salt and pepper on it was the only way to keep me from eating it.”[1]

Here we are – it’s Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. It’s that time of year when many people come up with some rather creative ways to keep themselves from eating those things that they’ve given up for Lent – things like cake, ice cream, candy, or pizza. And giving up a certain kind of food that you like, or giving up a certain kind of activity that you like – like watching television or playing videogames or going to mall – can be a useful thing to do during Lent. The basic idea is that if you can discipline yourself so that you don’t give in to that particular temptation, then when other kinds of real temptations come into your life, you’ll be better prepared to deal with them.

But is that all that Lent is about? Is that all that God wants us to get out of this season? You see, in the passage that we heard tonight from the prophet Isaiah, the people in Isaiah’s day were also giving things up. They were fasting. They were praying. They were going to worship services. But in some way, they could sense that even though they were doing all those religious kinds of things, God wasn’t happy with them.

And so here in this passage in the Bible, Isaiah comes right out and tells the people why God isn’t happy with them. Isaiah says, “Sure, you’re fasting. Sure, you’re praying. Sure, you’re showing up for worship. Sure, you’re doing all kinds of religious things. But while you’re fasting and praying and worshiping, there are people all around you who are going hungry, there are people all around you who are going through difficult times, and you don’t seem to care. Sure, you’re fasting and praying and worshiping, but what are you doing for those people? What are you doing to make this world a better place?”

It’s unfortunate, but a lot of times in the church, people get the impression that Christianity is something that involves just me and God. A lot of times in the church, people get the impression that all that really matters is that I believe in God, and that God loves me and forgives me for my sins. And while it certainly is important to have faith in God and to have faith that God loves us and forgives us, God expects us to do something with that faith. God expects us to take that faith and put it into action – to put it into action by doing what we can to help the hurting and needy people that are there in the world around us.

In the Jewish tradition, they have a term tikkun olam. And tikkun olam is a Hebrew expression that means “repairing the world” or “healing the world.” Tikkun olam means that if we really have faith in God, then that faith is going to lead us to do what we can to reach out to others in the world around us and help to make things right, and in some way to repair and improve the way that the world is. In other words, if we really have faith in God, then our concern won’t be just for our own personal salvation or for our own personal well-being. No, if we really have faith in God, then our concern needs to be much broader than that. Our concern needs to be for the people in the world around us, so that they too can receive the opportunity to live the kind of life that God wants them to enjoy.

Back during the colonial period in the 1700s, one of the wealthiest men in North America was a fellow by the name of Robert Carter III. He was a next door neighbor of George Washington, and he was friends with Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and many of the other leading figures of that day. But out of all of them, Robert Carter III was the richest by far. His assets included twenty different plantations, a textile factory, a bakery, an iron company, and nearly five hundred slaves.

But in June of 1777, Robert Carter III became a Christian. He had previously believed in God, but in June of 1777, he nearly died when he had a severe reaction to a small pox vaccine that he received. And so when he recovered, he decided that he was going to make a change and commit himself wholeheartedly to following Jesus. And one of the things that he decided that he needed to do as a Christian was to free his slaves.

And even though Thomas Jefferson and many of the other signers of the Declaration of Independence urged him not to do that, and even though freeing all those slaves involved a huge financial loss for him, Robert Carter III believed that if he was going to be serious about being a Christian, then he needed to do what he could to help other people. And he realized that there was no better place to start than with his own slaves. And so Robert Carter III freed every last one of his slaves, totaling almost 500, meaning that when he did that, he freed more slaves than any other person in all of American history. And not only did Carter free them, but he also gave them generous gifts of money and supplies to help them get started with their new lives.[2] By himself, Robert Carter III didn’t bring an end to the practice of slavery in the United States. That wouldn’t happen for nearly another hundred years. But by doing what was in his power to do, Robert Carter III made the world a better place, at least as far as those nearly 500 slaves of his were concerned.

By ourselves, we can’t fix and repair everything that’s wrong in the whole world. But even so, every day God puts it within our power to do things to make this world a better place, sometimes in small ways, sometimes in big ways. And so during this season of Lent, if you’re planning to give something up, go ahead and do that. But don’t stop with that. Instead, during this season of Lent, make a special effort to be on the lookout for ways that you can make a positive difference in someone else’s life. During this season of Lent, make a special effort to put your faith into action.