A Christmas Transformation - Isaiah

Read Isaiah 52.7-10

We gather tonight as a broken people, a city laid bare and left in ruin. Our Advent preparations began with just a glimmer of hope. A candle, a small flicker of light perched on a far away hill in the darkness of a moonless night, was all the hope we had. But we held fast to our hope. We kept our eyes on the light. The candle-light got brighter and nearer. Our hope drew closer. The darkness of night began to fade as the sun began its ascent in the eastern skies. The black of night yielded way to the vivid purples and blues of the early pre-dawn hours. The purples and blues made way for dawn’s brilliant shades of pink smeared across the sky.

Now as the sun rises, we see the candle. A messenger carries it. He is close, very close. We can see his face. We can see his feet. O how we have waited for news. But look… look at his feet! They are not stumbling clumsily. No! They are swiftly and gently striding ever closer. The news. It must be good! And look his face it is not filled with pain and exhaustion as we expect. No! It is filled with awe and with joy. In fact, look closer, that is not a messenger – it is the Lord! Toll the bells! Sound the alarms! Break into joyful song! The Lord is here! The king for whom we so anxiously waited is here! Pass on the news. The city will be rebuilt! We will be restored! Life can now return! The Lord has come – the Lord has won our peace, our redemption, and our victory!

No more watching. No more waiting. No more preparing. Today is the day of celebration! With this image, we bring to a close our Advent with Isaiah. After four long weeks of hope, our hope is now fulfilled. After four weeks of longing for peace, peace is now ours. After four weeks of loving and joyous preparation, it is now time to celebrate!

Often, when we think of things like redemption and salvation, we jump straight to Easter. It’s almost like a game of theological monopoly. Go straight to Easter. Do not pass Christmas. Do not give much attention to Christ’s coming at Christmas. This idea, however, is quite foreign to Old Testament prophets, New Testament evangelists, and Early Church fathers alike.

Consider Isaiah. It is at the Lord’s coming that he brings good news of peace and salvation. Consider the Christmas story according to St. John. “The word became flesh and dwelt among us… From his fullness we have all received grace upon grace. The law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” Consider St. Athanasius, who told us, “he became what we are, that we might become what he is,” or St. John of Damascus who vehemently fought to make sure it is clear that Christ, in his coming, made our transformation possible. Salvation, Sanctification, Holiness, real life transformation has everything to do with the coming of Christ at Christmas.

Christmas is not warm fuzzies, hot chocolate, gifts, and family. None of those really has anything to do with Christmas. Christmas, or Christ’s mass, has everything to do with our worship of the one who made possible the transformation of the ordinary into the holy. Christmas has every to do with worshipping the one who made possible our sanctification. Christ came. The divine became flesh. The night became day. The lame walked, the deaf heard, the blind saw, the speechless shouted “Glory to God,” and the dead were brought to life. The sinner became saint, as the flesh became divine.

How beautiful indeed, are the feet of him who brings peace, proclaims good news, and provides salvation. Did you catch the transformation? How beautiful are the feet. If Christ’s coming can transform those dirty, sweaty, dusty, stinky feet into things of sheer beauty, imagine what his coming can do in our world and in your life. And that, my friends, is the reason for the season... And that my friends is reason to celebrate! To the glory of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Advent: A Season of Joy - Isaiah 7.10-17

One of my favorite places on earth is Virginia Beach. I don’t know why I like it so much. I think maybe because it is closer, cheaper and much less crowded than some other beaches I’ve been to. Antonina and I went there for our honeymoon and had a wonderful time. We returned this past year on our 5th anniversary, so it has many fond memories for us. This year was a first for both of us. We got flooded out of our campsite!

Since we were tent camping, we didn’t watch a lot of news or hear a lot of weather. The morning was bright and sunny, so we hopped the trolley and headed off to the beach. We played in the surf, and baked in the sand. We played in the surf some more and then we heard the whistles. It was the lifeguards. They were calling everyone out of the water. When we looked back at shore, we saw a dark black sky directly to our west. We hurried to get dried off. We scurried about trying to pack up our bag. We rushed back up to the trolley trying to make it back to camp before the rain because I left the tent windows open!

Before we got to the trolley however, the skies burst forth in the most torrential downpour I’ve ever witnessed. The rain was coming in sideways as the winds howled. The sky was mostly dark, but was brightened by the frequent lightning. It was raining so hard, in fact, that the trolleys quit running because they couldn’t see to drive. The problem was that none of them stopped at the pick up point. There we were, standing in the rain, soaked through our skin and down to our bones.

A trolley finally arrived, and when it did, everyone pushed to get on. I am fairly sure it was fuller than is safe, and I am quite certain it was fuller than was comfortable. We got on toward the front, but as people kept piling on, it got fuller and fuller, until I just wanted off the trolley all together.

Do you ever feel too crowded? So crowded it might just be easier to jump off the trolley all together? So crowded it might just be easier to give in? So crowded you just want to throw your hands up and say, “fine…you win”? As I look around at our world today, it seems like this time of the year is one of those times where we feel pushed from every direction. Consider Advent. Advent really has all the makings of a truly spectacular season. It is my personal favorite. It has all the beauty Christmas celebration, yet it is quiet and serene. I liken Advent to the first big snow where all is quiet and still, and all is well in the world and in our souls.

But when was the last time you could really embrace the quiet of Advent? It never happens. It seems that Advent is usually skipped altogether. We are pushed right into Christmas. The Christmas sales make their debut on Thanksgiving, and these days, it seems the music and decorations start even before that. The pressure is so early, and so intense that by the time we get to the 25th we are ready for it to be over and we still have almost two weeks of Christmas celebration left to go. We’ve got so much to do that the silence, the serenity, and the beauty of Advent preparation just seem to get pushed right out by the busyness of Christmas.

And speaking of things getting pushed out, I’m sure you’ve noticed how it seems Christ can so easily be pushed out of Christmas. If it weren’t bad enough that we push Advent right out the way to get to Christmas earlier than we ought, we are pressured even more to push the Christ-child out of the season that bears his name. Parades, Santa, Jingle bells, reindeer, snowmen, family and if I hear “Happy Holidays” one more time I think I’m going to explode. Not that I don’t understand, not that I’m unsympathetic and not even that I really mind so much. It’s just the pressure. All the pressure. Everything builds up, and pushes me over the edge sometimes. It just gets to me. Sometimes I just want to give in and celebrate the holidays from Thanksgiving to December 25. Enjoy Rudolf, Santa and all the elves, eat lots of candy, drink lots of eggnog, travel to see family and wish everyone a hearty “Happy Holidays!” Maybe then I’ll not get so tightly strung. Wouldn’t it just be easier to get off the trolley?

Then I come to Advent passages like today’s reading from Isaiah 7.10-17.

Now to really get the impact of Isaiah’s words, we must understand a little of the geography and a little of the politics. Israel is now a divided kingdom. There is the southern kingdom and the northern kingdom. The southern kingdom is known as Judah. The northern kingdom is Israel, although it is also often referred to (as it is in this passage) as Ephraim. Each kingdom is independent and each kingdom has its own king. The king of Judah is Ahaz and the king of Ephraim, we are told, is the son of Remaliah. Two kingdoms, two kings.

Now, lets just say that Judah is represented by Belmont County, and Ephraim, or Israel, is represented by Jefferson County. There are a couple other players in our story. The first is Aram. Aram was just to the north of Ephraim, and their king was Rezin. They will be represented by Columbiana County. So now we have Belmont, Jefferson and Columbiana Counties: all independent, all with their own kings. The final player is Assyria. Assyria is a mighty empire. It is not a single nation like Judah, Ephraim and Aram. It is a mighty Empire. It is not a small county like Belmont, Jefferson and Columbiana. It is more like a state, like Western Pennsylvania.

So now, you have a rough picture of the geography in the region. Next, we need to imagine the political pressure in the area. Assyria is trying to strengthen and enlarge its empire. It is moving south and west. It has its eyes set on the valley. Particularly, it is moving in on Aram and Ephraim. Jefferson and Columbiana have no chance alone so they join forces. They realize their chances are still slim against the force of Western PA so they come down to Belmont to see if Belmont will join the cause. It seems like a good idea, but there is one hitch. YHWH told Ahaz, the king of Belmont to keep out of it.

And so scene is set for the filling of the trolley. The kings from Aram and Ephraim are threatening Ahaz if he refuses to join them. He doesn’t want to join them. He knows he shouldn’t join them. But he is afraid not to join them. All the pressure from Aram and Ephraim is filling the trolley where Ahaz is being smushed. On top of that, times are tough. Judah is facing economic and agricultural shortage. The land of milk and honey has dried up. Perhaps joining Aram and Ephraim would get his people some food. Perhaps the land could flow with milk and honey again. The pressure builds. The trolley fills. Ahaz just wants to get off.

Just as the trolley is getting too full, and Ahaz is about to push open the doors and jump off, the prophet comes with a message. Ahaz is to ask the Lord for a sign. But Ahaz knows no one should test the Lord and so he refuses. The situation is so dire that the Lord gives Ahaz a sign anyway. What was that sign? The sign was a child. There is a young woman, we are told, who is presumably known to both Isaiah and Ahaz and who is pregnant. She will very soon give birth to a son. It will be known that the son is a sign from God, and before the son knows right from wrong he will be eating milk and honey in the land. And before the son knows right from wrong, the kings of Aram and Ephraim will both be gone. And before the son knows right from wrong Aram and Ephraim will be exiled to Assyria.

The boy is a sign of God’s presence in Judah. Ahaz must not align Judah with Ephraim. Ahaz must not give in to the pressure. Ahaz must not jump off the trolley. If he does, Judah will suffer the same fate as Aram and Ephraim. If he resists, however, the land will once again prosper. Ahaz must not feel the pressure; he must watch the baby! He must watch the baby and find hope and peace, and love and joy! He must watch the baby!

Watch the baby! What a profound sign. In this morning’s Gospel lesson, Matthew quoted from Isaiah. He took the sign that was given to Ahaz and reinterpreted it as a sign to the world. To a world mired in sin, to a world pressured by evil, to a world where hope is in short supply, where peace is not to be found, where people need love more than ever, God promises a sign. It is a sign of joy. We need not live in sin. We need not be overcome by evil. We do have hope, we can have peace, we are all loved! It is found in watching the baby.

As I reflect on the season Advent, and what it means, and all the pressure we feel to push Advent out early to celebrate Christmas prematurely, I think of the baby Antonina and I have been blessed with. I was talking to a friend a few weeks ago after our last ultrasound. He asked me how much our baby weighed and I told him. He said to me, “your baby is already 6 oz heavier than my son weighed when he was born at 32 weeks.” They had alot of difficulties with their pregnancy, and the baby was born very earth. It occurred to me that we could have our baby any time. It could come early just like Brennan did. I am glad though that I get to wait. Every day I grow even more excited. Every day I feel the baby do things I could never have imagined. Every day that goes by is a better chance that both Antonina and the baby will be healthy. Every day that goes by is another day to prepare our home for the coming of the baby. Every day that goes by my joy is increased. I could jump the gun and wish the baby was here now, but then I think of all the joy I’d miss…the joy that only comes with waiting, and anticipating, and watching the baby.

When I reflect on Christmas, and what it means, and all the pressure we feel to push Christ out of Christmas, I am given a sign: watch the baby. Keep firmly focused on the child. Christmas is a time for worship. All the food, all the presence, all the parades, and reindeer and snowmen are nice. St. Nicholas is wonderful, and we all love to get home for the holidays. But amidst all that we must watch the baby. Christmas, before anything else, is a day – a season – of worshipping the baby in the manger. God’s gift of love to us. Christmas is all about the family of God gathering for a celebration of incarnation. Christmas is about the Church gathering to proclaim to the world that they don’t have to get off the trolley. They don’t have to be overcome by the pressures of life. It is about gathering as God’s family, proclaiming with one voice that there was once a virgin who gave birth to a son, and he is known as Immanuel, which means, “God is with us.” It is about gathering as Christ’s Church, proclaiming with one voice that there is hope – that there is peace – that God is love – and that in him is joy…if only we will watch the baby. To the glory of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Advent: A Season of Love - Isaiah 35.1-10

our choir cantata was this Sunday so the sermon was a bit brief

READ ISAIAH 35.1-10

Did you hear the wondrous way Isaiah communicated Judah’s hope? “There will be an abundance of flowers and singing for joy.” Hasn’t the singing being a tremendous source of worship this morning? And if you were perceptive, you also noticed our new decorations this week. Poinsettias! We have a few here on the steps. We have a few in the window sills. Now we just need some in our trees. You know, I bet our kids can help us with that…

We have seen it over and over again in our Advent readings. The first week we looked at swords and spears melted down and remade into plows and pruning shears. The second week we watched as the lion and the lamb laid down together. This week the transforming work of God continues. We cannot miss it. Isaiah wastes no time getting to the point. To make sure we don’t miss it, he repeats himself – not once, not twice, but three times in the first two verses. He tells us of wilderness, and desert, and wasteland. Three clear images of dustiness, dryness, and overall lifelessness. Like last week’s dead and rotten stump, hope streams forth. In the midst of death and decay, in the land of dryness and desolation, the Messiah shall come and shall spring forth life. Flowers will begin to sprout and the hills will come alive with the sound of music – joyful songs of praise. To drive home the point, Isaiah matches the three places of lifelessness with three places full of abundant life: Lebanon, Mt Caramel, and Sharon. The wilderness will become green like Lebanon. The desert will become as lovely as Mt Caramel. The wasteland will become as fruitful as the plane of Sharon. Yet again, the prophet casts a vision of restoration and life in broken and dying world.

This week’s lesson, however, goes a bit further. Whereas in weeks past the emphasis has been upon God’s transforming work in the world, Isaiah brings it home to tell of God’s transforming work in persons…just normal people like you and me. The tired will be strengthened! The weak will be encouraged! The blind will see! The deaf will hear! The lame will walk! And the speechless will burst out and join the hills in their songs of praise!

Jesus was asked, “Are you the Messiah – the one we’ve been expecting – or should we keep looking for someone else?” Jesus replied, quoting Isaiah, “Go back and tell him what you have seen and heard – the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.” Yes, Jesus – the little child whose birth we so eagerly await – is the Messiah. And yes, He is coming to save you!

A charming story is told of Pepita, a poor Mexican girl who had no gift to present the Christ Child at Christmas Eve Services. As Pepita walked slowly to the chapel with her cousin Pedro, her heart was filled with sadness rather than joy.

"I am sure, Pepita, that even the most humble gift, if given in love, will be acceptable in His eyes," said Pedro consolingly. Not knowing what else to do, Pepita knelt by the roadside and gathered a handful of common weeds, and fashioned them into a small bouquet. Looking at the scraggly bunch of weeds, she felt more saddened and embarrassed than ever by the humbleness of her offering. She fought back a tear as she entered the small village chapel.

As she approached the altar, she remembered Pedro's kind words: "Even the most humble gift, if given in love, will be acceptable in His eyes." She felt her spirit lift as she knelt to lay the bouquet at the foot of the nativity scene. Suddenly, the bouquet of weeds burst into blooms of brilliant red, and all who saw them were certain that they had witnessed a Christmas miracle right before their eyes.

From that day on, the bright red flowers were known as the Flores de Noche Buena, or Flowers of the Holy Night, for they bloomed each year during the Christmas season. Today, the common name for this plant is the poinsettia!

Many suggest that the red of the poinsettia is the red of the blood of Christ, and both remind us of God’s love for us. All this transformation we have been talking about is not some kind mysterious coincidence. It is a product of God’s love for each and every one of us. Kids, come and decorate our trees with poinsettias of God’s love. May each of your lives be transformed by the love of God that comes to us at Christmas, and may your homes be filled with an abundance of flowers and singing for joy this Advent season. To the glory of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Our hearts are strangely stirred this week as we our preparation continues this Advent, this season of peace. It is closely linked to our preparation in last week’s look at hope. Our hearts truly long for peace on earth, yet it has been an anything but peaceful week in our world. Perhaps your life was touched by the tragic news of our neighbor Nate loosing his legs in Iraq, or perhaps you’ve been moved by the national scene where the search for Stacy Peterson is eclipsed by a 19 year old’s act of desperation, killing several in an Omaha mall before taking his own life. We are daily reminded of our world’s desperate need for hope, and our short supply of peace.

Hear the Word of the Lord as we continue our “Advent with Isaiah.” Isaiah 11.1-10. Hear the Word of the Lord.

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This is one of the most vivid images of the kingdom of God given to us in all of scripture. It is also one of my favorites. How could you not like it? New life springing from a rotten stump; wisdom and righteousness and justice; and O, the peace! The wolf and the lamb live together; the leopard and goat rest together; the lion and the calf are friends; the cow and the bear graze together; the baby plays safely with the most feared snake; nothing will hurt or destroy on God’s holy mountain. It is so vivid and so beautiful. It is full of hope for a world of perfect peace. It is so idealistic – so surreal… perhaps even unreal.

We look back from our 21st century perspective and read Isaiah’s oracle as a foreshadowing of the coming of Christ. It might do us some good to take a look at life in Judah, where Isaiah lived, as we try to understand Isaiah’s oracle of peace. Judah has been around for a while. It has seen its share of kings. With each king comes a new sense of hope for a good world. The new king is anointed as God’s chosen leader. The new king is exalted as the one the Lord has anointed to lead his people. But, with each king comes just another disappointment. King after king, after king, fails to live up to the hope Judah had in their new kings reign. With every new king, the hopes that maybe this one will be different are rekindled. But soon those hopes are dashed, as the royal line of David looks less and less like a tree trunk that give life to all the twigs and leaves and nuts. Instead it increasingly looks like a dead and rotting stump, with no sign of life at all.

Does that sound at all familiar to any of us? Of course it does. It happens every four years here in America. We are smack in the middle of it right now. Women and men of every persuasion gather on stages across the country to convince us that they are the one who will bring change. They are the one who can restore American trust in the government. They are the one we should elect. We all buy it. We all line up behind the one we believe will return America to whatever it is we think it ought to be. We get all excited, our hope is renewed that this new president will finally be the one to bring peace to the middle east, the one who will finally bring the jobs back home, the one who will restore the educational system, reform the tax system, and repair the broken bureaucracy. Then our candidate wins, we are excited. Time wears on, the reality of our system take over, and this president, who was the ONE, is just another in the long line of disappointments. Our world and theirs are not so far apart.

It is in the midst of this cycle that Isaiah pens this oracle of peace. Many suggest that this oracle was a song of anointing used at the coronation of King Hezekiah. The line of David, that has grown to look like nothing more than a dead stump, is giving life yet again. A new branch has grown. The oracle then is seen as a song, a prayer, that this king, who God raised up, who God called out, and who God set apart might be the kind of leader the world really needs. This vision, this song, this prayer that at first glance seemed so idealistic, so surreal, even so unreal and impossible now seems much closer. Isaiah is not proclaiming, “Someday we believe God will do this.” Quite the contrary. Isaiah is suggesting that this is what God expects out of this king that is being crowned. It was not to be a distant hope; it was to be a divine expectation. It was not out there; it was right there.

The expectation was that God-raised leaders would be marked by the Spirit of the Lord. They would have notable gifts of the Spirit: wisdom… understanding… counsel… might… knowledge of the Lord… fear of the Lord. It was expected that those God chose to lead his world, God would also equip with the gifts necessary for being the king.

The expectation was that God-raised leaders would use their giftedness to reign according to God’s values. They would be obedient to God’s direction. They would be just as God is just, seeking first the wellbeing of the poor and the oppressed, the widow and the orphan. They would speak and act with the authority of God against all evil. They would be known for truthfulness and righteousness. It was expected that the divinely given gifts of the Spirit would be used to rule in God’s place, with God’s character, according to God’s values.

The expectation was that divinely gifted kings, ruling as God would rule, would lead Judah into a golden era of peace where all types of natural enemies would live together in peace. Wolves, leopards, lions, bears, O My! Those are pretty mean characters. They make a quick snack out of little things like baby sheep, baby goats, and baby cows. Yet, here they are living together, resting together, eating with each other, befriending each other. The most natural of opponents become the most natural of allies. Even people and snakes (which –if you remember the creation story - are divinely made enemies) are safe from one another. It was expected that the result of divine gifting and just ruling would initiate a peaceful reign.

So, how’d that work out for Judah? How’d that work out for Israel? Never did that divine expectation come to pass. The stump just got larger and deader, and the hope of a peaceful world died with it. Some unfortunate soul had the task of keeping an eye on the stump. The only life ever seen on the stump of the tree of Jesse was a bunch of moss covering one side of it like a velvet burbur, and the occasional creepy-crawler scurrying from one hole to the next.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the moss parted. Could it be? Could the impossible be once again possible? At Christmas, we celebrate the coming of God to earth in the person of Jesus Christ. The coming of Christ brought hope to the world. Hope for peace. The good news for today’s world is that God sent us a king who fulfills all the messianic expectations. The challenge is that Christ came and passed on his rule to us.

At the beginning, we noted the similarity of the despair and hopelessness Judah felt with their kings and that we often feel with our presidents. There is a glaring difference. God raised up Judah’s kings to carry out his rule, he did not however, raise up the American Presidents to carry out his rule. God raised up his church to lead the world to him. Christ was divinely gifted by the Spirit of God, at Pentecost that gifting was passed on to us. Christ revealed to us God’s plan for leading: with obedience, justice, righteousness. Those same mandates are passed on to us. In Christ, we, like all of Judah’s kings of old, have each been raised up and called out and set apart to do Christ’s work bringing reconciliation and peace to the world.

During this season of peace, the degree to which Isaiah’s vision of peace becomes reality is largely dependent on us. How will we lead the world?

Will we lead with obedience? Total obedience? Remember, obedience cost Christ his life. To what extent will we obey?

Will we lead with justice? Not the justice of this world that seeks vengeance and revenge? Christ showed us that justice means leveling the playing field: giving a voice to the voiceless, giving hope to the hopeless, caring for those the world has forgotten, and lifting up those the world beats down. Whose justice will we seek?

Will we lead with righteousness? Not self-righteousness, not works’ righteousness. Christ showed us the way of righteousness is faithfulness, humility, sacrifice, service. We are righteous only because he is righteous. We are righteous only as we are in him? Whose righteousness will we embody?

We all long for peace, but are we willing to work for it? We all long for peace, but what are we willing to sacrifice for it? The good news this morning is that Christ came, and made the supreme sacrifice that we might have peace. The challenge this morning is going and being agents of Christ’s peace in the world. Some say that peace is impossible. I say God becoming human is impossible. I say virgin births are impossible. I say living a 100% sinless life is impossible. I say resurrection is impossible. But I also say in Christ the impossible becomes very possible. So let us join, this season of peace, join with all Christ’s people all around the world and with all the angels of heaven in the age old song of “peace on earth, good will to all the people of the earth!” To the glory of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Advent...A Season of Hope

They say that survival is part physical, but mostly mental. First, you must imagine yourself surviving. What will life be like? What will you do when you get home? Make a picture in your mind. Once you have survived, what will you do? See? Smell? Taste? Feel? Hear? You must create an alternative reality. You must find hope. Our Old Testament Lesson, this morning, begins a several week look at Advent in Isaiah. Today we will be reading Isaiah 2.1-5. Hear the Word of the Lord.

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Did you see the story in the news this week about the cruise ship that sank in the Antarctic waters?

Can you even begin to imagine being aboard that cruise liner as it began navigating the iceberg infested waters of Antarctica like a crumb floating atop a glass of ice-water? The jolt from the ship striking a submerged iceberg hard enough to put a massive hole in the hull must have rattled the passengers’ bones as well. The sound of the bilge pumps working overtime…the sensation of rocking and sinking…the urgency of getting all 91 passengers fitted with life jackets, into life boats, and evacuated the ship must have been just a little stressful! We made it off the boat, but now we find ourselves afloat, not in a luxury liner with all the amenities of home and shelter from the elements, but rather aboard small rowboats with only bare necessities and no protection from the Antarctic weather. How do you survive? You keep hope. Aboard those tiny dinghies, the passengers found hope. It took the shape of another cruise liner on the horizon. They saw hope, and they kept their eyes fixed on their hope. And O the joy of finally being rescued…finally being plucked out of the grip of an otherwise sure death.

This morning we celebrate “Advent: a season of hope.” If survival requires a vivid, hope-giving, mental image, then the prophet Isaiah is presenting it here. His oracle tells of a day when the Lord’s house will be built upon the tallest mountain. When the mountain will be a crowded highway filled with people from every nation coming up to worship the Lord. All the people coming up will be sharing the mountain with the Word of the Lord that is streaming down the mountain to nourish and instruct all the peoples of the earth. God will be a wise and just judge, not a mighty warrior or a divine executioner. And because of God’s mercy and wisdom, because of God’s word that flows down the mountain, the people of the earth will begin learning the ways of the Lord instead of the warring ways their world taught them. They will put away their swords. They will melt down their weapons that once brought death and destruction to the face of the earth. They will forge from them instruments of life and health and growth.

I suspect this is the kind of image that might just give a people hope. A small, war-torn, oppressed nation like Israel would have heard this and broke out in song: What a day that will be, when our Jesus we shall see, when we look upon His face, the one who saved us by his grace. When he takes us by the hand and leads us to the Promised Land, what a day, glorious day that will be! Is that hope or what?

Israel had hope that one day the Messiah would come, that the Messiah would make all things right, that the Messiah would restore the world, and that all would be as it ought to be. But here is the rub for us, as it was for many Jews of His day: Jesus has come, but there is no high mountain; people are not streaming upward to worship; it seems the Word of the Lord falls on deaf ears; our world is as violent and evil as ever.

Enter Advent. Yes, the season of Advent is directly aimed at preparing our lives for the coming of Christ, a lowly baby in a manger, at Christmas. It is also aimed, however at making preparations for the coming of Christ, a majestic king upon his throne, at the second coming. Advent serves us as both a beginning and an end. It is the beginning of our yearly journey through the life of Christ as we echo the words of John the Baptist, the voice calling out in the wilderness, “Prepare a way for the Lord.” It is also the end of our yearly journey through the life of Christ as we echo the words of John the Revelator calling, “Look! He is coming on the clouds every eye will see him!” Advent reminds us that the Kingdom of God is already here. It was inaugurated by Christ in his first coming. Advent also reminds us that the Kingdom of God is not yet here. It will only be fulfilled by Christ in his second coming. There is hope for our world yet!

So often, we read the pages of Holy Scripture and have a hard time identifying with context. We are so far removed from biblical times that it is nearly impossible for us to see ourselves in the text. They were nomadic; we are settled. They were agrarian; we are industrial. They spent days walking from one town to the next, we hop in the car and drive across the state and back in a few hours. The cultural differences are so vast it sometimes seems impossible to bridge the wide divide between their world and ours, but Advent is a season where the ground is leveled. Many of the issues Israel faced, are still faced today by the church. All the same things that ailed Israel’s word, still ail ours.

Thou times and culture have changed, two things remain the same. We live in an evil world. Sin abounds. God is ignored. The poor are oppressed. The widows and orphans are neglected. People build false gods made in their own image. Violent wars are waged. Their world was full of evil. So too is ours. Their hope was Christ, so too is ours. I have often wondered why Christ has come and yet the world seems largely unchanged. The lesson of hope we must embrace this advent, is not so much the image of hope itself that is given to us, but rather what we must do with that image…how that image must change the way we live.

The image is vividly painted in verses 2-4, but the lesson is found in verse 5. “Come, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord!” What is the light they are to walk in? The light is that which was revealed in the image of hope. Israel was given a picture of hope. Though it was not reality at that moment, Isaiah tells the people to live as if it were reality. They were to live in world shown to them, not the world they saw around them,

Imagine those stranded cruisers bobbing in the Antarctic seas. They were shipwrecked. They were lost, but they had hope in the form of another ship on the horizon. How did they survive? They did not survive because they saw the other ship and said, “It is to difficult.” “There is no way they can see us.” “They will not get here in time.” “It is a good idea, but look around, that is not where we’re at.” No, they survived because they saw the shipped. They had hope; they kept warm thinking about being warm on that ship. They lived every minute on those lifeboats as if they were aboard the big ship. They probably even did everything within their power to make sure their hope became reality.

Our hope is Christ. In Christ, God revealed his kingdom. In Christ, we have an image of hope. The question this Advent is, what will we do with that image of hope. Will we discard it or will we embrace it? Will we stream up the mountain to worship? Will we flow out into the world with the Good News of Christ? Will we continue building swords and spears or will begin melting them down and transforming them into plows and pruning shears. I often wonder why Christ came and yet the world is largely unchanged. But then I wonder why we expect the world to change when we continue living in, endorsing, promoting, and perpetuating the ways of the world instead embracing and living according to our hope in Christ Jesus. This advent, let us covenant together and with God to let the ways of the world die within us. Let us covenant together to embrace Christ, our hope, and begin living in his kingdom, following his way, and partnering with his mission. As we pray “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” Let us also proclaim together, “O Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!” To the glory of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.