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.
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